The USM Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation is pleased to announce a call for applications for the Boosting Course Accessibility mini-grant program. This initiative will support 12 USM faculty members in engaging in digital accessibility-related course redesign to better meet the accessibility needs of all students. Each selected faculty member will receive a $1,500 stipend and participate in a collaborative professional development program designed and co-taught by our nonprofit partner, Teach Access.

Program Overview

Faculty grantees will engage in a hybrid program running from October 1 through November 21, 2025. The program includes:

• Completion of five asynchronous online modules (topics include: Defining Disability, Accessible Design, Universal Design, and two elective modules such as Content Development, Game and Interactive Media Design, Instructional Technology, Organizational Communication, and more).
• Participation in five 90-minute synchronous Zoom sessions held on Wednesdays from 12:00 - 1:30 p.m. (October 8, October 15, October 22, October 29, and November 5).
• Presentation and discussion of course revisions at a culminating in-person event on Friday, November 21, 2025, at the National Federation of the Blind Headquarters in Baltimore, MD.
• Serving as a faculty ambassador for digital accessibility in Spring 2026, creating one outreach opportunity engaging faculty in conjunction with your representative from the USM Digital Accessibility Work Group.

Program Goals

This program aims to:

1. Promote inclusive teaching practices by equipping faculty with tools, strategies, and frameworks grounded in accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
2. Support the redesign of existing courses to reduce digital barriers for students with disabilities and increase access for all learners.
3. Build a faculty-led culture of access and accountability across the USM through shared learning, peer exchange, and cross-campus collaboration.
4. Establish models of accessible course design that can be shared, celebrated, and potentially scaled across departments, disciplines, and institutions.

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Full-time faculty member at a USM institution
• Teaching is your primary professional role
• Available to participate fully in all synchronous and asynchronous program components, including the in-person event on November 21.

Grant Award

Each selected participant will receive a $1,500 stipend. Breakfast, lunch, and parking will be provided at the in-person event.

Application Instructions

Applications will be submitted using this submission form by Friday, September 12. The form requires the following information:

• Faculty member’s contact information
• Course Title(s) for Proposed Accessibility (Re)Design, Course Modality, and Approximate Enrollment per Term
• Response Questions:
  • Describe the course you intend to focus on in this program. The course should be one that you will be teaching in Spring 2026, although grantees are welcome to incorporate techniques starting in the Fall. Include details about the student audience (undergraduate general education, undergraduate in the major, graduate) and any known challenges or opportunities related to accessibility in the course. (350-500 words)
  • Why are you interested in participating in the Boosting Accessibility mini-grant program? What do you hope to learn, change, or contribute? (350-500 words)
  • What experience (if any) do you have with accessibility, inclusive teaching, or Universal Design? (Prior experience is not required.) (200-300 words)
  • How do you anticipate sharing what you learn with your department, colleagues, or institution? Consider ways your participation might have broader impact. (200-300 words)
• Confirmation of availability to attend all required sessions
• Letter of support from department chair or dean uploaded

Session 3: Imagining Justice and Belonging Together

Session 2: Understanding Identity in Community

Call for Events, Programs, and Ideas: Cultural Heritage Month Curations

DOIE is excited to work toward a unified announcement of events, programs, and initiatives in celebration of upcoming Cultural Heritage Months. 

This is your opportunity to highlight events and programs, or offer fresh ideas for engagement. Whether you are planning an event or simply have an idea you would like to support in bringing to life, we want to hear from you. 

We are currently curating for:

• Latinx Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15); 

• LGBTQ History Month (October); 

• Disability Cultural Month (October); 

• Native American Heritage Month (November);

• Black History Month (February);

• Women’s History Month (March); and

• Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (May).

DOIE invites UMBC-affiliated organizations and campus departments or offices to request financial sponsorships or collaboration to support AY25-26 initiatives that align with the university’s commitment to inclusive excellence.

Sponsorships of up to $1,000 annually are available per organization or department/office. 

Submit your request today!

Link to submission: http://bit.ly/DOIESponsorship

Eligibility

UMBC-affiliated organizations, offices, or departments may request sponsorship or collaboration for initiatives that:

• Advance inclusive excellence within the UMBC community.

• Align with DOIE’s vision, mission, and core values.

• Promote UMBC’s strategic priorities such as innovative teaching, civic engagement, accessible environments, or research that enhances inclusive excellence.

• Are open for full participation by all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other protected category under applicable federal law, state law, and the University's nondiscrimination policy.

This fall, UMBC faculty will have the opportunity to test Blackboard’s new AI Virtual Assistant (AVA), a suite of tools designed to support common teaching tasks. 

AVA Feedback Assistant will launch in early fall. This tool offers two functions to help instructors save time while maintaining high-quality, student-centered communication:

• Summarize Feedback generates a clear summary of rubric-based grading. AVA does not read student submissions and cannot evaluate student work. 
• Rewrite Feedback transforms short grading notes into polished, constructive responses.

Instructors must choose to activate AVA each time they want to use the functions.

Coming later this year, AVA Responses will help address frequently asked student questions send via Messages by generating real-time answers based on your course content. Whether it’s a question about deadlines or grading criteria, responses are linked to the original source in the course and shared with the instructor, who can review, confirm or correct as needed.

AVA will be available for faculty use through June 30, 2026, and ongoing feedback about these tools will be essential in evaluating the effectiveness of AVA and its long-term potential at UMBC. 

An information session will be scheduled in September when AVA is available. As with all of Blackboard’s AI tools, instructors must choose to activate AVA each time they want to use the functions.

About Blackboard’s AI Tools

UMBC currently uses Blackboard’s Course Design Assistant tools, which include AI support to:

• Define a course structure including learning modules, titles, descriptions.

• Generate images based on keywords for learning module thumbnails or course content, or search the Unsplash stock image gallery.

• Generate test questions and question banks, authentic assessments, journal and discussion prompts based on selected content in the course or other inputted keywords.

• Create rubrics drawing on an assessment, discussion, learning objectives, or selected course content.

• Create Socratic or roleplaying AI conversations around a topic or scenario to engage your students.

• Design attractive layouts for Ultra Documents that include images, knowledge checks, and helpful headings.

All AI tools and features are optional and available under Anthology’s AI Trustworthy Framework, giving instructor full control over how and when they use them. 

For more information about Blackboard’s AI tools, please contact Instructional Technology via RT ticket.