How CSU Global Designs for Inclusive Online Education from the Start

Campus Technology Insider Podcast

The Campus Technology Insider podcast explores current trends and issues impacting technology leaders in higher education. Listen in as Editor in Chief Rhea Kelly chats with ed tech experts and practitioners about their work, ideas and experiences.


Campus Technology recently published 14 technology predictions for the coming year, based on input from higher education and ed tech industry experts across the country. A key statement on that list was this: Digital accessibility will be central to an inclusive campus culture. As Brian Fodrey, assistant vice president for Business Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University, put it, "Campus leaders must be thinking about how we are preparing our respective communities to take a more proactive and comprehensive approach to removing barriers and promoting all aspects of digital equity…. Prioritizing digital accessibility practices in all aspects of campus operations and life creates a more supportive community and inclusive culture for all."

That focus on digital accessibility is central to instructional design practice at Colorado State University Global. As the nation's first fully online, accredited nonprofit state university, CSU Global strives to achieve universal design standards in all of its programs, and to make courses accessible to a wide range of learners. We spoke with Associate Vice President of Digital Learning Andrea Butler and Director of Instructional Design Diona Hartwig about the importance of designing for accessibility from the start, ways to engage students in the online environment, and how inclusive design ultimately serves all students.

Resource links:

Music: Mixkit

Duration: 28 minutes

Transcript

Ways to Listen

Campus Technology Insider is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify and Stitcher. Subscribe today or listen at campustechnology.com/podcast.

About the Author

Rhea Kelly is editor in chief for Campus Technology, THE Journal, and Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • consumer electronic devices—laptop, tablet, smartphone, and smart speaker—on a wooden surface with glowing AI icons hovering above

    OpenAI to Acquire Io, Plans Consumer AI Hardware Push

    OpenAI has announced plans to acquire io, an artificial intelligence hardware startup co-founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive. The deal is aimed at creating a dedicated division for the development of AI-powered consumer devices.

  • Jasper Halekas, instrument lead for the Analyzer for Cusp Electrons (ACE), checks final calibration. ACE was designed and built at the University of Iowa for the TRACERS mission.

    TRACERS: The University of Iowa Leads NASA-Funded Space Weather Research with Twin Satellites

    Working in tandem, the recently launched TRACERS satellites enable new measurement strategies that will produce significant data for the study of space weather. And as lead institution for the mission, the University of Iowa upholds its long-held value of bringing research collaborations together with academics.

  • computer monitor with a bold AI search bar on the screen

    Google Reimagines Search with AI Mode

    About a year after launching AI Overviews in its flagship search offering, Google has announced broad availability of AI Mode in Search.

  • abstract pattern of cybersecurity, ai and cloud imagery

    OpenAI Report Identifies Malicious Use of AI in Cloud-Based Cyber Threats

    A report from OpenAI identifies the misuse of artificial intelligence in cybercrime, social engineering, and influence operations, particularly those targeting or operating through cloud infrastructure. In "Disrupting Malicious Uses of AI: June 2025," the company outlines how threat actors are weaponizing large language models for malicious ends — and how OpenAI is pushing back.