Reflection Blog #3: UDL as a Bandage for Anti-DEI Policies

As I worked through the material for modules eight and nine in our course content, I kept feeling drawn back toward the Teaching & Learning EDUCAUSE Horizon Report from 2025. Two sections kept gnawing at me: inclusive learning environments and federal policy shifts blocking inclusive innovations. The key takeaway from the EDUCAUSE (2025) report states that inclusive teaching strategies “boost[s] student retention, success, and engagement” (p. 8). I don’t believe that this claim comes as a surprise to anyone in the library world who has worked directly with marginalized patrons.

Then this question loomed in my mind: the facts are apparent and the news is dire, so what can we do about it, especially if we are scared?

I began to dig through peer-reviewed articles published in the last five years tied to the keywords inclusive, academic, and library, and discovered an older framework which I have not read about before: Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UDL is multifaceted and too complex to explore in detail here, but it’s important to note that it was developed based on how a variety of people learn, and at the surface level is a method for producing the most effective, and equitable learning environment (CAST, 2024; Skaggs & McMullin, 2024).

However, a deeper look uncovers significant crossover with inclusionary practices without the terminology that has come under fire in 2025. For example, Shotick (2024) explores how higher education learning environments are systemically white, and how UDL when combined with antiracist pedagogy creates systemic, equitable change in the virtual classroom. The combination of methodologies enables marginalized students to become visible and increases the quality of their education.

It’s not unusual for many people to consider digital materials to be accessible simply because they’re online. White (2024) debated this concept by identifying a study performed on library guides from R1 universities that found 48% of instructional videos did not have accurate captioning, amongst many other accessibility issues. White (2024) goes on to explain in detail how UDL in combination with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines can be used to create accessible and inclusive online environments by acknowledging differences in perception from both physical variance but also cultural and systemic experiences—another DEI crossover.

As visible in the graphic above, UDL is complex and has many applications from teaching styles to homework instructions to libguides, and more. While the surface may be focused on learning, there are significant inclusionary concepts that can be found within this framework, and it melds easily with more direct DEI practices. UDL appears to be a functional “band-aid” in a world where federally employed educators and support staff fear retaliation but wholeheartedly wish to continue inclusionary practices to provide the most equitable playing field for evolving minds.

Further Exploration:

• CAST provides many free materials about UDL that include all age groups, and can be applicable in all library settings: https://udlguidelines.cast.org/
• Library workers involved in academia or creating online library guides/materials for adults should explore Universal Design for Learning in Academic Libraries: Theory into Practice. Available to SJSU students here: https://csu-sjsu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CALS_SJO/tu4ck5/alma991014240891102919

References

CAST. (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines version 3.0. https://udlguidelines.cast.org

Robert, J., Muscanell, N., McCormack, M., Pelletier, K., Arnold, K., Arbino, N., Young, K., & Reeves, J. (2025, May 12). 2025 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report teaching and learning edition. https://library.educause.edu/resources/2025/5/2025-educause-horizon-report-teaching-and-learning-edition

Shotick, K. (2024). Designing for everyone: Accessibility, inclusion, and equity in online instruction. In Skaggs, D., & McMullin, R. M. (Eds.), Universal Design for Learning in academic libraries: Theory into practice (1^st ed., pp. 91-108). Association of College and Research Libraries.

Skaggs, D., & McMullin, R. M. (Eds.). (2024). Universal Design for Learning in academic libraries: Theory into practice (First edition.). Association of College and Research Libraries.

White, E. B. (2024). Combining UDL and digital accessibility principles to create inclusive learning experiences in libraries. In Skaggs, D., & McMullin, R. M. (Eds.), Universal Design for Learning in academic libraries: Theory into practice (1^st ed., pp. 109-124). Association of College and Research Libraries.