Özet:

Universal Design (UD) is an effective, flexible blueprint that focuses on differences as they relate to learning; because learners differ in the ways they see and understand information that is presented to them, students from various socio-economic, cultural, and learning differences need different ways of approaching content.  Extant research has largely explored attitudes related to UD from a faculty or student perspective, this exploratory case study employs quantitative research methods to explore perceptions of UD among faculty and the students they teach at a mid-sized regional public university.   Using a quantitative, causal comparative framework, findings indicate student and faculty agreement with statements about the importance of UD strategies/practices is overwhelmingly higher than respondents’ agreement with statements about the implementation of those strategies/practices in their classrooms. This difference was statistically significant across all items for students; faculty perceived the gap to be a lot more narrow.   Findings highlight the challenges that still face faculty and students, and the academy. Benefits to students of expanded professional development opportunities for faculty to support the changing needs of diverse learners are identified, and practical UD applications in the college-classroom are presented. 

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