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Get ahead in your college journey with an online winter course | 10.13.2023
By Selena Adetunji, CITL Marketing Intern

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is delighted to announce that a robust line-up of online courses will be available to undergraduate students and non-degree students during Winter Session 2023-2024.

Winter Session runs from December 18, 2023, through January 12, 2024. It provides students with the opportunity to study at a top-ranked university, learn from highly-rated instructors, and complete a semester-long course in a short period of time from anywhere in the world on their own time.

Courses are demanding but are reasonably paced, giving students the opportunity to spend time with family and friends, work a part-time job, and enjoy some downtime. Eligible students can take only one course and with a wide range of courses to choose from, there is something available for every student. You can view the course list here. Be sure to check back regularly as courses are subject to change.

Here are some other reasons as to why students should consider taking a Winter Session course. They can:
- Knock out a general education requirement or a difficult course in a short period of time
- Become one step closer to graduating on time
- Take a class that they may not have time to take during Fall or Spring
- Explore a new subject
- Catch up on credits or boost your overall GPA
- Leave summer open to more opportunities
Need further convincing? Here’s what a past student had to say about a course they took:

"This class was a prerequisite for a class I want to take next fall, and I won't be on campus this coming spring. I think Winter Session is a great option for students that aren't living on campus during this time period."

Be sure to check out more student testimonials and read about CITL Intern Brigid McCall's experience with a Winter Session course in this blog post.

Learn more about Winter Session 2023-2024 here and register for a course. Priority registration opens October 30th, 2023!
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Register for the Fall 2023 Information Accessibility Design and Policy (IADP) online certificate program | 9.18.2023
The Information Accessibility Design and Policy (IADP) online certificate program is offered through the Department of Speech & Hearing Science in the College of Applied Health Sciences (AHS) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The Fall 2023 cohort begins on Oct. 23, and registration is open through Oct. 20.

Through this award-winning program, website developers, programmers, designers, information technology specialists, compliance officers, educators, and disability service providers will learn about the following:
- Principles of accessible information architecture and universal design information technologies used in educational, healthcare, corporate, and employment settings
- Federal and state legal mandates governing information technology accessibility and their relationship to the civil rights of people with disabilities
- Information technology accessibility standards, design practices that enable adherence to those standards, and tools that support validation and evidence of compliance to those standards
Why enroll?

There has been a rapid increase in the use of multimedia sources for information dissemination in education, healthcare, business, government, and other settings. Concurrently, there has been an increase in the prevalence and participation of persons with disabilities in all aspects of society including students, employees, and consumers of commercial goods and public services.

In response to the escalating accessibility needs of this population, many states are passing legislation—for example, the Illinois Information Technology Accessibility Act—to establish policy parameters for digital accessibility. There are also several national mandates that address information technology accessibility, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

A barrier of achieving the goal of functional information accessibility is that many software developers, programmers, and information designers lack the necessary accessibility knowledge, skills, and tools they need to effectively perform their jobs. In addition, service providers and administrators often lack an understanding of how the various legislative acts and polices of information accessibility apply to their setting.

AHS continues its pioneering efforts on behalf of the full inclusion of people with disabilities by developing one of the very first university-based professional certificates in information accessibility design and policy. At the completion of this certificate program, graduates will have relevant knowledge of policies governing information technology accessibility, along with the skills and tools to meet Website Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and create and/or convert digital information into accessible formats.

The program is approved by the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) for CAEC Professional Development Credits.

The Information Accessibility Design and Policy (IADP) online certificate program starts on Oct. 23, 2023. Register by Oct. 20.

For more information about the program, including course content and learning outcomes, contact Dr. Marc Thompson at thompso1@illinois.edu.

For information about registration, tuition, technology, and other logistics, contact Erika Albin at ealbin@illinois.edu.
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Teach Access chief credits Illinois' IADP program with helping to round out her accessibility knowledge and skills | 9.18.2023

As the executive director of Teach Access, Kate Sonka works to address the digital accessibility gap by providing educators with the knowledge, skills, and resources they need to make learning accessible to all.

Before stepping into that role, Sonka was looking to beef up her knowledge and skills in the technical aspects of accessibility.

She credits the Information Accessibility Design and Policy (IADP) online certificate program at the University of Illinois for helping her do that.

Prior to enrolling in the program, “my work at that point had mostly been very high-level approaches to helping faculty make accessible materials,” she said.

At that time, Sonka was Assistant Director of Inclusion and Academic Technology at the College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University. She also started the Accessible Learning Conference at MSU, “a small event that brought together people from the area to talk and learn about accessibility.”

Sonka learned about the IADP program when Marc Thompson, the program director and one of the instructors, spoke about it at an EDUCAUSE conference. Thompson is also Assistant Director of Teaching & Learning Experiences at the Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning and heads up CITL’s new Universal Design for Learning team at Illinois’s Urbana-Champaign campus.

“I became interested in it because it was a focused program that would help me round out some of the accessibility skills and knowledge where I lacked experience,” she said.

While she was excited to learn about the technical aspects of accessibility, she admits she also was a tad nervous.

“My background is actually in Linguistics and Language Acquisition, so I had never spent time learning how to code or program software,” she said.

But Thompson and the other IADP instructors put her at ease, Sonka recalled.

“They were always available for extra help or feedback, which I definitely took advantage of during the technical moments!” she said. “Beyond that, the online nature of the course made it possible to fit into my schedule as I was working full-time. I thought the pacing of the courses where we took one at a time over an academic year also made it manageable to keep up with the content.”

Sonka completed the program in 2018, and she stepped into her current position at Teach Access the following year.

Teach Access is a nonprofit organization that supports educators in teaching about accessibility to their students. The organization collaborates with a number of academic, industry, and disability advocacy organizations to create programs and resources that support this mission.

“Our goal is that students are able to learn at least a little about disability and accessibility and go out into the world to build accessible products and services from the beginning,” Sonka said.

Sonka credits the program for preparing her for her current role.

Prior to enrolling, she said she sometimes wondered where she best fit “in the big field of accessibility.

“I knew the technical aspects were not my strength (e.g. coding, programming, testing, etc.) but that I was still excited to be a part of it,” she said. “Going through the IADP certification helped me understand that in order to achieve a more accessible and inclusive world, we need people working in many spaces. This includes education, nonprofits, policy, industry, and more. It helped me find my niche and understand the ways I can best contribute to the great work that has been done and all the work ahead of us.”

Sonka said she “absolutely” would recommend the program to others.

“The program provides you with a graduate-level certificate in just one academic year. The courses cover a wide range of topics that are useful for anyone, no matter what their background in accessibility is.

“Accessibility is everyone’s responsibility,” Sonka continued. “From top to bottom and side to side, if we really truly care about equity and access, we need people across the entire organization to center disability and accessibility. People will need to know different things and have varied skills based on their roles, but it is important that everyone has some information or experience with accessibility so that needed changes can not only be made but be sustainable.”
The Information Accessibility Design and Policy (IADP) online certificate program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign starts on Oct. 23, 2023. Register by Oct. 20.

Read the story about the Fall 2023 IADP program.

For more information about the program, including course content and learning outcomes, contact Dr. Marc Thompson at thompso1@illinois.edu.

For information about registration, tuition, technology, and other logistics, contact Erika Albin at ealbin@illinois.edu.

Read More.
UIUC offers Introduction to Cannabis course | 9.7.2023
The fully online, asynchronous course is the first in the new certificate program designed to prepare students for the cannabis industry.

Following the legalization of recreational cannabis in Illinois in January 2020, there has been tremendous growth in the state’s cannabis industry.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is leading the way in educating the industry’s rapidly expanding workforce.

Crop Sciences, in the College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES), now offers Introduction to Cannabis, the first course in its new Cannabis Mini Certificate Program. The course is available online via an asynchronous format, allowing participants to work independently. And like the certificate program, it’s open to undergraduate, graduate, and non-degree-seeking students.

In the introductory course, students will develop a foundation of cannabis production skills from classification to biology/physiology to production management. The modules are designed to provide students with an understanding of the cannabis classification system, including subspecies and varieties, cannabis biology, and life cycle phases.

The program is designed for professionals who:
- Desire knowledge and insights on Cannabis production and management practices
- Want to develop skills that can be readily applied on the job to solve real-world challenges and contribute effectively to this dynamic field
- Aspire to be experts in the growing Hemp industry, such as agronomists, cultivators, growers, field technicians, etc.
Students can look forward to a sneak-peek of upcoming courses in this Mini Certificate Series, including:
- Pest & Disease Management
- Nutrient Management
- Light, HVAC, & Water
- …and more!
Enroll in the Introduction to Cannabis course today.

According to D.K. Lee – Crop Sciences professor and Director of Online Programs, who developed the certificate program – understanding cannabis biology and taxonomic classification is critical for proper management practices for the production of essential oils, psychoactive compounds, fiber, and seed oil and protein, and applications of those products. Discrepancies between scientific and vernacular names of cannabis and the inconsistency of vernacular names are misleading to producers and consumers.

Crop Sciences, in the College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES), also offers an Online Cannabis Production and Management Certificate based on academic credits. The 11-credit-hour Cannabis Production and Management Certificate Program will equip students with the knowledge for cannabis indoor, outdoor, and large-scale field production, classification of subspecies and varieties, biology, propagation, planting, pest management, and harvesting of target compounds and products.

The courses include:
- HORT 100: Introduction to Horticulture (online asynchronous in Spring)
- Hort 106: The Sustainable Home Garden (online asynchronous in Fall)
- CPSC 180: Medical Plants and Herbology (In-person in Spring/online asynchronous in Spring &Fall)
- CPSC 480: Cannabis Classification and Management (In-person in Spring/online synchronous in Fall and required for all students)
- CPSC 499: Cannabis Phytochemistry (online synchronous in Fall)
- CPSC 499: Cannabis Flower Production (online synchronous in Spring)
Students need to complete four courses, including CPSC480 from the list, and all course credits from the certificate program are transferable academic credits.

Learn more about the Cannabis Certificate Program and be on the frontier of this fast-paced, emerging opportunity!
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Online Winter Courses 2023-2024

Information Accessibility Design & Policy Certificate

Introduction to Cannabis

COE's Human Resources Development Program

HCOM Certificate Programs

Strategic Brand Communication

Impact: College of Education Certificate Program

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