Taking distance education courses seems to be a natural fit for students who have difficulty in coming to campus.  While this is mostly true, there are some challenges that students with mobility impairments face relative to distance education.

• If the course is taught in a location off-campus, the site will need to be accessible for a wheelchair-user.  This would include the classroom space as well as parking, building entrances, and restrooms.
• Some students with mobility impairments may use assistive software to help in perform tasks on the computer.  In courses that use chat rooms for class discussions, the student may not be able to effectively participate because it may take him/her longer to input information into the computer.
• If the student requests any exam accommodations such as extended time or a scribe, you may refer the student to DSD to assist in the provision of these accommodations.  If you use Inqsit for online exams, DSD can simply program in the necessary extended time for the student.  If you use Blackboard and a student needs extended time for an exam, you will need to create a separate section of the exam for the student and extend the time allotted for the test.  This is a quick and simple process.  Hamid Tabariasl (285-1844; htabaria@bsu.edu) can assist with this.