Universal Design Opens Important Pathways to Learning

Universal Design addresses how access to physical and digital spaces impacts learning. Through this close study, we will elevate awareness of resources, impediments, and solutions universal design offers and how it relates to student success — a relevant and important topic that impacts both individual well-being and our broader campus community. 

Through our 365 Days of Learning & Service initiative, we invite Radow College students, faculty, and staff to engage in a year-long exploration of a critical societal issue.  Now in its fourth year with a different focus each year, we are exploring Universal Design during AY 2025-2026. Through education, dialogue, and hands-on experiences, you will develop a broader understanding of the issue. Guided by a dedicated steering committee and the Associate Dean for Student Success, this immersive experience pairs academic inquiry with real-world service opportunities.

Get Involved

Associate Dean of Student Success Michael Chen and the faculty steering committee have planned a range of events and activities, including panel discussions, guest speaker presentations, unique events, and community service opportunities, that offer an in-depth examination of Universal Design. See the calendar below and join us for enlightening discussions and activities during this academic year’s exploration of the important topic of universal design for physical and digital spaces.

The Goal

The 365 Days of Learning & Service initiative is intentionally designed to bring students, faculty, and staff together to inspire them to go beyond research and study, by encouraging participants to put into practice new knowledge acquired throughout the year and facilitate ongoing positive change even after the year is over and after students have graduated.

The Approach

A person reads a Braille book in a library

Our steering committee, which includes faculty and staff representation, works with the Dean and Radow College to identify a contemporary, relevant issue for year-long deep study – this 2025-2065 academic year, we are focusing on Universal Design for physical and digital spaces.  

The committee works with Associate Dean of Student Success and Engagement to present events and opportunities throughout the academic year to examine the issue. Components of the program vary from year to year, and may include a speaker series, service-learning classes, support for faculty to develop teaching modules, student creative design competitions, film showcases, movie screenings, and book club discussion groups. Through this initiative, Radow College develops and strengthens relationships with institutional partners in our communities, and creates opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to develop into leaders who we hope are inspired to drive positive changes long after the year of study comes to an end. 

Universal Design: Program Launched September 18th, 2025

Launch Event for 365 Days of Learning and Service: Universal Design

Each year Radow College celebrates the launch of the 365 Days of Learning & Service initiative where we announce the topic for the academic year. The event features remarks from Dean Kaukinen, as well as comments from experts in the field within Radow College and from the Greater Atlanta community.

Check back soon for the full video from this year's Launch Event.

Watch the Program Launch Events From Past Initatives

What is Universal Design?

A person using a wheelchair converses with another person walking beside them in a hallway

According to The UD Project, Universal Design is “…design that is usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design.” Often centered in physical space, the reliance on digital lifestyles expands this concept to include both the physical and digital spaces in which we exist. 

National statistics say 27.8% of the American adult population is living with some type of disability. That is a staggering number and one that underscores the need to understand the hurdles that more than a quarter of our population faces, and to develop solutions and strategies for designing physical and digital spaces that facilitate accessibility in academic and professional settings. For the 72.2% of adults in the US who are not currently living with a disability, it takes only one illness, accident, or the effects of aging to migrate from being able-bodied to disabled. Universal Design is in everyone’s interest. 

It is in this context that 365 Days of Learning & Service chose Universal Design as this academic year’s in-depth study. We will explore how knowledge is shared broadly to ensure all students, including those with physical, mental, and/or learning challenges, have an opportunity to a quality education, and how a deeper understanding of Universal Design impacts career readiness and career advancement.

Year End Reports

Summaries from previous years' initatives.