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Join Former Accessibility Trailblazer Award Winner and UMBC Faculty Member Dr. Sarah Bass for an Accessibility Presentation

Repost from Instructional Technology

STEM courses often include complex content—equations, graphs, data tables—that can create significant accessibility barriers for students with disabilities. This session provides STEM faculty with a clear, practical overview of how to make STEM materials accessible. The session will focus on common accessibility challenges in STEM and highlight fixes that faculty can implement without advanced technical skills. 

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  1. Identify common accessibility barriers in STEM course materials (e.g., math notation, graphs, tables, and PDFs) and explain why these create challenges for students using assistive technologies.

  2. Describe practical strategies and tools for improving accessibility in STEM content, including approaches for math equations, visual data, and structured documents that align with WCAG 2.1 AA standards.

  3. Apply a prioritized approach to remediation by recognizing which fixes are easiest for faculty to implement themselves and where to seek additional support for more complex issues.

The virtual format will be primarily presentational, with brief discussion pauses to address questions and share experiences. Participants will leave with actionable strategies, recommended tools, and resources to begin improving accessibility in their STEM courses. The session will be recorded.

Open to all UMBC and USM faculty, staff, and students. No prior accessibility experience needed.

Presenter: Dr. Sarah Bass, Associate Teaching Professor of Introductory, Analytical and Instrumental Chemistry, University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Dr. Bass is a dedicated faculty champion for accessibility, promoting inclusive teaching practices to create a more supportive educational environment for every learner.

Helpful STEM Links to Review:

Brought to you by:

This session was initially presented as part of the USM Kirwan Center Spring Cleaning 2026 series.

  • USM Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation (KCAI) 
  • Council for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL) 
  • USM Digital Accessibility Work Group (DAWG) 
  • USM Campus Centers for Teaching and Learning
To view the original myUMBC post, click the link below:
https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/instructional-technology/events/151561
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Posted: February 25, 2026, 1:50 PM

Read Original Post in myUMBC
A group of four adults sit together in a classroom, working on a collaborative activity. One person holds a tablet and smiles, while another folds paper. Tablets, notebooks, and whiteboard in the background suggest a hands-on learning or training session.