What an interesting year to participate in my first season on Design Forward. Other than COVID, which I wasn’t a staff member for at the time, I believe there was no better time to engage with the material and content within Design Forward and to have meaningful discussions about instructional design. Though I will admit, time slipped away from me more than I ever could have anticipated this academic year. Student needs were at an all time high while our institution underwent some drastic structural changes. Things were difficult to follow through with at times, mostly because I found myself in rooms and situations I typically wouldn’t have in other years. I had to operate within my scope as a staff member, but also be aware of the needs of both students and faculty member as these changes fell into place while things were already in motion for the semester.

These changes required me to adapt my area of focus into something more pressing – Flexibility Agreements. I noticed the rise in the need for flexibility accommodations as we take in more and more students with complex medical and mental health needs, while acknowledging the tricky position this can put faculty in as they do their best to adapt pedagogy to be engaging for students, actively brainstorming new ways (often on the spot) to incentivize students into attending and participating. Adding in the need for flexibility, navigating that in an academically equitable way while maintaining rigor and expectations, is a lot to ask of faculty as they also navigate the drastic changes within our institution that left them wearing more hats than they ever asked for. Looking back to the Care and Equity module, as well as the spirit of the “interactive process” of accommodations, I wanted to ensure that flexibility accommodations were not automated care and “one size fits all.” Not only is each students needs and abilities different, but so is their program, and a balance must be struck to provide them equitable access that doesn’t force faculty into a corner where they feel their standards are altered.

I got the wonderful opportunity to sit down with a couple faculty members (thank you Laura and Kate!) to talk out how a moderated flexibility agreement might look like. I heard their struggled with navigating how to maintain expectations while being understanding of students who are navigating their own complex needs. Not wanting to over-accommodate and just allow for whatever, but also recognizing that students do have genuine needs for flexibility. What came out of that discussion was an identification of the need for clarity. There are a number of readings within multiple modules in Design Forward, as well as research in executive functioning and learning in higher ed that emphasize the importance of having clear expectations in writing. In my opinion, knowing very clearly what the expectations are builds predictability, which helps create a sense of safety for students within the classroom. This safety is so vital for full engagement in learning and material in meaningful ways because it allows students to feel safe enough to take risks. How can I help faculty create this for their students while acknowledging and honoring their documented need for flexibility?

My initial goal was to create the process from start to finish, but that didn’t come to fruition by the end of this semester. It is still in the works though, and I have the skeleton of a draft for the template I will create for future Flexibility Agreement meetings. I will create a process that can be initiated by either the student or faculty member to review course expectations and thoughtfully plot out the details of how flexibility will be applied within that course. Faculty expressed to me that they would appreciate the opportunity to discuss things without the student present, which I completely understand. CAS can stand as the mediator and relaying this information on “non-negotiables” and the details of how a student will communicate with a faculty member, and how a faculty member will communicate in return. It won’t be a “contract” per say, but a written agreement that both student and faculty will sign and acknowledge their own responsibilities to lay out clear expectations that CAS is able to oversee and monitor as the semester progresses.

My time in Design Forward Season One showed me just how much faculty empathize with their students with accommodations, and even those without formal accommodations. Our institution is so lucky to be filled with folks who actually want to understand and support students to the best of their abilities. But this year put so many faculty in such tricky positions, without proper supports or resources. The last thing I wanted to do was give them another responsibility to juggle, I wanted to support them in supporting their students. I wanted to take over the part of individualizing it for students so that academic outcomes are still upheld and respected, while being accessible for a student with complex needs. Being accommodating does not mean you need to abandon your rigor or your expectations out of your students, and I hope that faculty participating in DF feel more comfortable with that as a result of the DF curriculum. I tried my best to determine what I could reasonably do from my role as a staff member and accommodations coordinator.

My goal is to finalize the template over the summer and I hope to have this process fleshed out for the Fall 2026 semester. I’m so grateful for all of the conversations I had the opportunity to be apart of in Design Forward, both within the modules and out and about on campus. I hope this next academic year brings all of us a bit more predictability and safety, some calm after a wicked storm. That’s at least my hope, but at least I have incredible folks around me in the same boat, just doing what we can to make things work for our students.