Should Student Coursework Be Universally Designed? Universal Design Requirements May Prevent Academic Cheating

Abstract

This study explores the proposition of requiring students to hand in universally designed coursework and the transferrable benefits of accessibility audits. Coursework that adheres to universal design (UD) principles will be more accessible to fellow students and teachers. In this study we investigate if the universal design perspective can have positive side effects as a vessel for plagiarism detection. An experiment confirmed that an accessibility checking tool indeed can help flag some cheating attempts that go undetected by the plagiarism detection tool, but not all. Universal designed coursework requirements may prevent students from exploiting several of these cheating techniques. Through the process of preparing universally designed assignments, students will gain practice, knowledge, increased competence, and awareness of UD.