Teach Access Grants

2023 Faculty Grant Winners

For the 2023-2024 academic year, 19 recipients will be awarded $1,000-$5,000 to support the creation and delivery of accessibility-infused college curricula.

• Katherine Aquino, St. John’s University 
• Nicole Brown, Western Washington University
• Karen Caldwell, SUNY Potsdam
• Pamela Cutter, Kalamazoo College
• Tanya Darlington, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
• Renata Endres, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Linqiang Ge, Columbus State University
• Renuka Kumar, Community College of Baltimore County
• Kevin Lin, University of Washington
• Laurie Iunker, San Diego Mesa College
• Luke Mashburn, Georgia Highlands College
• Zapoura Newton-Calvert, Portland State University
• Scott Ortolano, Florida SouthWestern State College
• Ceceilia Parnther, St. John’s University
• Diana Ruggiero, University of Memphis
• JooYoung Seo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Jeremy Shafer, Temple University
• Tim Urness, Drake University
• Reba Wissner, Columbus State University

Overview

To accelerate the creation and delivery of accessibility-infused college curricula, Teach Access will be providing direct awards to full-time, part-time, adjunct faculty, or instructional staff at US-based institutions (including US Territories) of higher education (community colleges, two-year colleges/universities, and four-year universities). Awards of $1,000-$5,000 each will be given to faculty to develop modules, presentations, exercises or curriculum enhancements or changes that introduce the fundamental concepts and skills of accessible design and development into their existing courses.

The awards are intended to support ways for faculty to incorporate teaching about accessibility into their existing courses, rather than requesting the creation of a completely new course.  To expand the impact of the awards, award recipients will be required to present their work at appropriate venues within their institutions as well as in the Teach Access Curriculum Repository. Awardees are also encouraged to present their innovative work at conferences, symposia, and workshops.

Teach Access is committed to equity and supporting a variety of faculty and institutions. Faculty from a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), Historically Black Colleges and University (HBCU), Community College (CC), and/or Tribal College and University (TCU) are highly encouraged to apply.

Please also check out our frequently asked questions.

Faculty Grant Funding and Support

Tier 1: $1,000 Faculty Grant Award

Recipients of a Tier 1 grant should demonstrate a basic understanding of accessibility. Tier 1 proposed projects might incorporate, for example:

• • Using curriculum from the repository and incorporating into course
  • Inviting a speaker to discuss or engage learners in topics related to inclusive design and development of technology
  • Developing one assignment, lecture, and/or activity that promotes accessibility-infused college curricula

Tier 2: $2,500 Faculty Grant Award

Recipients of a Tier 2 grant should demonstrate an understanding of accessibility. Teach Access grants such as Tier 2 proposed projects might incorporate, for example:

• • Developing several assignments, lectures, and/or activities that promote accessibility-infused college curricula
  • Entry point for subject matter/discipline not currently represented in Teach Access Curriculum Repository.
  • Faculty intend to share accessibility-infused curricular resources with other instructors within their program, college, or university

Tier 3: $5,000 Faculty Grant Award

Recipients of a Tier 3 grant should demonstrate a great understanding of accessibility. Teach Access grants such as Tier 3 proposed projects might incorporate, for example:

• • Developing multiple course goals, assignments, lectures, and/or activities that promote accessibility-infused college curricula 
  • Content that is intended to be used over multiple sections or multiple semesters
  • Curricular content that is easy to reproduce over time across different institutions (replicable and scalable)
  • Faculty have articulated a plan to share accessibility-infused curricular resources with other instructors beyond their home institution
  • Applicant shows a great understanding of accessibility, including the integration of current WCAG or discipline-specific standards or expectations within the proposed content

Outfitters4 (https://www.outfitters4.com/) operates as the finance department for Teach Access and will be managing the dispersal of funds.

Required Activities and Deliverables

• It is the expectation that course materials developed as a result of these awards will be accessible (following WCAG 2.1 standards) and made broadly available. Please see Teach Access’ resources for creating accessible courses.
• Course materials will be posted to the Teach Access Curriculum Repository. Materials will be posted with a Creative Commons license allowing for use by other faculty, so long as proper citation has been given to the original author.
• Award recipients will be required to show evidence that they have made at least one presentation of their new course components to other faculty and administrators within their institutions, via appropriate mechanisms such as faculty meetings, school-wide presentations, department meetings, central curriculum-sharing tools, or similar means.
• Pre- and post-testing of student knowledge of accessibility information will be required of award recipients; Teach Access will provide the set of key questions about technology accessibility to be administered to students. Results of the tests will be made available to each grantee, and answers will be anonymous and will not be used to determine student grades for their respective courses.
• Faculty awardees will be asked to submit to Teach Access a summary report on their curriculum development, student outcomes, institutional impact, and the perceived impact.