The (Creating Accessible Teaching and Supports) CATS project was initially funded by the Australian Universities Teaching Committee (AUTC) to improve the quality of teaching and support for students with vision impairment. The Carrick Institute has now funded Stage 2 of the project, which will broaden the focus of the resource to encompass the needs of students with other disabilities and implement an interactive audit tool to assist with monitoring compliance.

During the research phase of this project, the Authors consulted with University teachers, Disability practitioners and Students, identifying a range of issues that are faced regularly by staff and students. These consultations identified the potential for more consistent and systematic approaches to addressing the needs of students with vision impairments in Universities and for supporting the staff who teach these students.

In response to this research, we have established a framework for good practice that identifies the main aspects of University life and defines benchmarks for good practice in relation to these. Each benchmark includes practical teaching and support strategies and links to other useful resources. The project has also identified a number of guiding principles on which provision for students with disability should be based.

The project Team is developing a series of booklets covering key issues relating to the teaching and support of students with disability. These are available by contacting Dr Pat McLean at the University of Melbourne by email at pmmclean@unimelb.edu.au or telephone 03 8344 0836

Source: Disability News - Infoxchange Australia