Hilary Gerdes, the UO's senior director of the Accessible Education Center, sent the following message to faculty:
Dear UO Faculty,
I wanted to share with you a few reminders related to your important role in providing accommodations to students with disabilities, and to call your attention to Project AMP (Amplify My Professor). This is a new initiative to increase instructors’ use of microphones in large classrooms, launched by the College of Education’s communication disorders and sciences (CDS) program.
Project AMP: An often overlooked or dismissed issue is the right of every student to hear their lessons. Statistically, one in five students has some degree of hearing loss. Some of these students don’t realize they have a problem, while others are reluctant to say anything. Even if you believe your voice is loud enough, students with hearing loss will have difficulty comprehending, particularly as you move around the classroom. Classrooms are filled with competing sounds, in addition to nearby environmental noise like leaf blowers or heavy equipment. The best way to improve the signal-to-noise ratio in a large classroom is to use the wireless microphone and Crestron panel. If you’re unsure how to use the equipment or need a refresher, please watch this one-minute video. To find out which equipment will be available in the room you’re teaching in next term, you can check the CMET classroom equipment list.
Karen McLaughlin, undergraduate program director in CDS, was inspired to start Project AMP by a student majoring in communication disorders who noticed that few of her professors used amplification. Their own research into the issue bore this out; in an observational study, they found 67 percent of professors were not wearing microphones while teaching in large classrooms. It isn’t endemic to the UO, but we have an opportunity to create a set of best practices that will echo into other institutions and contribute meaningfully to larger conversations about student access. We hope you will join us in this effort and provide feedback as we help address this seldom-discussed aspect of accessibility at the UO.
Important Reminders
Notification Letters: Students eligible for disability related accommodations, such as modified testing environments, time on exams, video captioning, etc. communicate this information via a notification letter from the Accessible Education Center (AEC). This triggers specific responsibilities, so please don’t hesitate to contact the AEC if you have any questions or concerns after interacting with the student.
Test Accommodations: In many cases instructors are able to facilitate testing accommodations. When that is not feasible or effective for the student, AEC coordinates accommodated exams. Students taking exams through the AEC need to make requests 7 days in advance, and by 2/26 for final exams. It is very important that you and the student discuss specific exam parameters (length, materials allowed, deliver and return). AEC, in collaboration with the University Counseling and Testing Center, coordinate and proctor over 3,000 accommodated exams each year. Questions about the test accommodation process can be directed to aectesting@uoregon.edu.
Notetaking: Some students will need to record lectures, use a computer in class to take notes, use a notetaker or captioned video. Students may seek your assistance in identifying a volunteer notetaker in class. In other situations a notetaker is sent into the class. Please direct any questions or concerns to aeccbn@uoregon.edu.
For more information on support for students with disabilities and universal design contact the Accessible Education Center. Questions about captioned media can be directed to aeccaption@uoregon.edu, and inquiries about accessible format of materials to altformat@uoregon.edu.
Hilary Gerdes, Ph.D.
Senior Director
Accessible Education Center