Check-in begins at 8:30 AM. The institute will begin at 9 AM.
Fall 2026 Teaching Effectiveness Institute
Designing for Access: UDL, Accessibility, and Inclusive Course Design
August 13, 2026, 9 AM - 4 PM
In-person at the Holmes Student Center
Facilitated by Tom Tobin, Ph.D.
Registration is Now Open
Overview
Great teaching starts with thoughtful design.
Accessibility at NIU is more than compliance—it reflects a core commitment to inclusive excellence and student success. By intentionally designing courses that anticipate and remove barriers, we create learning environments where all students, regardless of ability, background, or learning preference, can fully engage and thrive.
This interactive session explores how accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) work together to support effective, student‑centered teaching. You will examine practical approaches that make learning more flexible, engaging, and equitable for everyone.
Internationally renowned educator Dr. Thomas Tobin will introduce key UDL concepts and share actionable strategies for designing inclusive course experiences. Building on foundational accessibility and technical skills, Tom will demonstrate how creating accessible course materials benefits all learners—not only those who request accommodations. Drawing on decades of leadership in distance and digital education, his work emphasizes quality, academic integrity, and expanded access through intentional course design.
In the afternoon, we move from theory to practice. Bring a laptop and apply what you’ve learned by working directly with your own course materials. With guided support, you’ll begin adapting content to be more accessible, usable, and inclusive, leaving with concrete improvements and ideas you can implement right away.
Speaker
Dr. Thomas J. Tobin is an internationally recognized scholar, author, and speaker on technology-mediated education—especially copyright, evaluation of teaching practices, academic integrity, accessibility, and universal design for learning.
He holds an English literature master’s and Ph.D., an information science master’s, and certifications in project management (PMP), online teaching (MOT), Quality Matters (QM), accessibility (CPACC), and academic leadership (Penn State). He helped to found the University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Teaching, Learning, and Mentoring. He is the author of the forthcoming UDL at Scale: Whole-Campus Universal Design for Learning and co-author of Reach Everyone, Teaching Everyone: UDL in Higher Education, in addition to other books on evaluating online teaching and alternative academic careers.
Registration Information
The Institute is open to NIU faculty, instructors, and SPS and Civil Service staff. Please register by the deadline so that we can ensure we have sufficient space available.
Registration Deadline: Tuesday, August 11, 2026. Register Now!
After you register, if you are unable to attend, please cancel your registration by Wednesday, August 12, 2026 at citl.niu.edu/myprograms.
The Institute is open to NIU faculty (including tenured / tenure-track, clinical, research, visiting, and instructional faculty), SPS, and Civil Service staff.
The Teaching Effectiveness Institute is typically offered every fall and spring. We invite presenters who are well-known for their expertise and experience in higher education teaching. The Institute is geared toward those who are new to teaching as well as experienced faculty wanting to learn about new and exciting teaching topics.
The Teaching Effectiveness Institute will be delivered in-person. It will not be live-streamed or recorded in order to promote open dialogue among participants.
Yes, if the presenter makes their handouts and presentation materials available electronically, we will make them available after the event. Contact the center at citl@niu.edu for further information on receiving institute handouts.
For the afternoon hands-on activities, you will need a laptop (and likely a charger). A personal laptop will be fine. If you do not have a laptop, we recommend asking to borrow one from your department. We will have a limited number available at the event that can be borrowed.
We want you to be relaxed and comfortable, so please dress casually. Bring a sweater or jacket in case of room temperature changes.
There is no fee for attending the Teaching Effectiveness Institute; the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning offers the institute free of charge. However, it is expensive to provide the Institute, not to mention the time our staff devotes to planning and executing the program. The center does not receive student fees or grants to fund the Teaching Effectiveness Institute and other programs. Therefore, we would appreciate that you attend as much of the Institute as possible. If, after you register, you know that you will be unable to attend, please cancel by the deadline so that those on the waiting list can be given the opportunity to register and/or program expenses can be reduced.
If you have purchased a blue parking permit, the parking lot near the Peters Campus Life Building or the parking garage on Normal Road are the most convenient parking locations. The north and east doors of the Holmes Student Center will be locked; you will need to use the lower-level doors facing MLK Commons (these are unlocked during business hours) or the east doors facing the bus pick-up (these doors require an NIU OneCard to open).
If you do not have a parking permit, you may park in the visitor pay lot located on Carroll Avenue or in the parking lot near the Peters Campus Life Building for a daily fee. View a map of all parking lots at NIU's DeKalb campus. For more information, visit the Campus Parking Services website.
We understand that the week before classes is busy for many faculty. We encourage you to attend as much of the Teaching Effectiveness Institute as possible, but you may leave if you have other commitments.
Due to the expense and logistics as well as the interactive nature of the event, it will not be streamed or recorded.
No, lunch will not be provided due to budgetary constraints and institutional restrictions. If you plan to attend both the morning and afternoon sessions, you may bring your own lunch and eat it in the room where the institute is held. Check out the NIU Campus Dining website for information on which on-campus dining locations will be open the day of the institute (note that several locations will be closed due to the summer break).