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The article discusses efforts at accessibility for students with disabilities in U.S. higher education. Topics include an effort by the group Project AMP to have professors use microphones during lectures, efforts to accommodate students with learning disabilities in relation to the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the views of psychology professor Allison Lombardi on the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) curriculum approach.

The article focuses on the principles of universal design and how it might not benefit all college students who have disabilities. It comments on universal design steps that can improve education such as video captioning to benefit deaf students and help other students, distributing lecture notes to college students to eliminate the need for stand-in note-takers, and its role in graded testing and assignments. It talks about the American With Disabilities Act and the University of Indianapolis.

In this article the author discusses disabled college students in the U.S. and examines ways in which policies to include people with disabilities in the college environment can benefit all teachers and students. She comments on her displeasure with the minimal requirements outlined by the Americans With Disabilities Act, comments on the universal-design and Independent Living movements, and highlights comments from professor Lennard J. Davis on disabilities as a form of student diversity.

The article discusses Pennsylvania State University and a complaint filed against the school by the National Federation of the Blind, which found that the school does not adequately accommodate visually impaired faculty and students. Of particular note is technology used by the university, including its website, course management software, and library catalog. The organization has asked the U.S. Department of Education to investigate if the school is fully complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The article discusses legislation that would broaden coverage under the Americans With Disabilities Act. The bill, which has been stalled in United States Congress for several months, is causing some college officials to worry that expanding the definition of a disability could overwhelm offices that work to accommodate disabled students. Since most colleges voluntarily go beyond the letter of the law in accommodating students on their campuses, broadening the definition of a disability could add more demand for offices that already work with too many students.