As the CEO of O’Donnell Learn, I stand with and champion Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). Today, we’re taking stock of the ways in which we, as a company, prioritize accessibility, and can continue to support placing accessibility at the forefront in higher education. One billion people globally have disabilities and impairments, including visual, hearing, motor and cognitive, and these one billion need equal and inclusive access to the resources that are available to the unimpaired and not disabled people.

However, many of the shifts necessary to offer unanimous accessibility are slow to come into fruition. GAAD’s mission is to “disrupt the culture of technology and digital product development to include accessibility as a core requirement.” We herald this goal and continue to make digital accessibility the vanguard of our business model. This includes creating digital services, and learning platforms using the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). We’re creating learning content that is accessible and removes barriers for entry.

We are determined to push the dial forward by creating communities where humanized and inclusive learning is the modus operandi, not a bonus. When higher education prioritizes inclusivity in their online, hybrid, or in-person classrooms opportunities to feel seen, heard, and valued are proliferate. Today, and everyday, we celebrate students, faculty and administrators from all backgrounds. We are united with GAAD in continuing to focus on how education can include all of us. And celebrate the disruptors in education – those who lead the charge to modernize old systems and create new systems where all feel welcome.