This course is for professionals who interact either directly or indirectly with students beyond the reaches of the classroom setting who wish to utilise the Universal Design framework to provide an inclusive university experience for all. It will provide practical knowledge and tips to empower professional staff working beyond the classroom in further and higher education to support student and staff engagement.
Local rollouts will be organised in Spring 2025. Keep an eye on this webpage for further details.
This 10 week course consists of:
- 5 Modules: self directed online, hosted on Brightspace
- 4 Peer Group Sessions or 1 half-day workshop: these meetings allow participants to engage with each other, learn about different contexts, share ideas and sustain motivation.
- 3 Recorded Webinars
- A Redesign Task: Map the Learner Journey to Support in your context. Using the Universal Design framework and a +1 approach redesign one aspect of your work in learner success, support or engagement.
The estimated time commitment for the Badge is 25 hours over the 10 week period, about 2.5 hours per week.
A flexible programme to fit around busy schedules, it provides an opportunity for sustained reflection, helps make sense of inclusion, enhances participants’ skill sets and is a valuable piece of continuous professional development. This badge will serve to inspire staff to universally design their practices, regardless of their roles, so that all students and staff can engage with their work.
Contact your UCD Professional Staff Partner or (opens in a new window)universityforall@ucd.ie for more information.
Colleagues who have completed this Badge are from a variety of contexts:
- Access, inclusion and outreach
- Careers support
- Communications and marketing
- Disability support
- IT services
- Libraries
- Programme administration
- Registration
- Staff training
- Student support
Background Information: With the success of the UDL badge primarily aimed a teaching professionals, UCD Access & Lifelong Learning have teamed up with AHEAD to jointly deliver the Digital Badge for Universal Design Beyond the Classroom targeting learner support and engagement. This course, hosted by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching & Learning, will provide participants with a strong practical know-how of Universal Design and how to apply it in their roles. A closed pilot rollout was completed at the end of 2023 with 105 colleagues from across the Irish tertiary sector.