BIO 304 . POLICY . AMERICAN RIVER COLLEGE
Accessibility in BIOL 304
How this course works with the body you have, and how to get help if it doesn’t.
What’s Built In
These accessibility features are part of how this course is designed, not add-ons. Every student benefits from them whether they request accommodations or not.
Platform & textbook
Canvas and OpenStax
Canvas is independently audited for accessibility and supports screen readers, keyboard navigation, and browser zoom. OpenStax A&P 2e is designed to meet WCAG 2.0 AA and is available in HTML, PDF, EPUB, and print.
Captions & alt-text
Built into every video and figure
All concept videos include captions; transcripts are available on request. OpenStax figures ship with descriptive alt-text, and the classroom-model photographs I take are written up with my own alt-text. Course documents use high-contrast text, clear headings, and a print-friendly stylesheet. If you need an alternative format or extended description for any figure, contact me early in the week.
Submission flexibility
Predictable rhythm, three submission paths
Initial discussion posts are due Wednesday at 11:59 PM; workbooks, portfolio pages, replies, and quizzes are due Sunday at 11:59 PM. Two anchor points each week let you structure the work around your life and energy. Weekly work can be completed by handwriting on printed pages, building digitally with revision history, or handwriting on blank paper.
Honorlock
Lockdown only, no recording
The Honorlock browser extension used for proctored quizzes runs in lockdown-only mode at ARC: no webcam, no audio, no screen recording. It only blocks other browser tabs during a quiz.
If You Need Formal Accommodations
DSPS (Disability Services and Programs for Students) is the office that approves accommodations. I follow what DSPS approves.
- Contact ARC DSPS as early in the term as possible. Email DSPS@arc.losrios.edu or call (916) 484-8382. If you are already registered with DSPS, request accommodations for this course through their normal process.
- Share the documentation with me. Once DSPS approves your accommodations, send me the letter (email is easiest). You do not need to explain the underlying condition. Only the approved accommodations.
- We make a plan. For most accommodations (extended time on quizzes, alternative formats, flexible pacing), the path forward is straightforward. For anything that needs adjustment to how the course runs, we talk it through and I make the changes.
The earlier in the term you do this, the smoother it is. Accommodations can be added mid-term, but retroactive adjustments to past assignments generally cannot.
If You Hit an Accessibility Barrier
Sometimes the course has a barrier we did not see coming. Tell me so I can fix it.
Examples of the kind of thing I want to hear about: a video without captions, a document that will not work with your screen reader, a link that breaks, a figure that is missing alt-text, a deadline that conflicts with a medical appointment, a technical tool that is not working with your assistive technology, anything.
Known Limits
Honesty about what this course has not been able to guarantee yet.