Alternate format course materials

Providing textbooks suited to your disability need

The Accessibility Services alternate format service offerings evolve as Athabasca University innovates it’s online accessibility and distance education delivery mandate.

The standard formats for university-provided course materials are listed in the course syllabus as “e-text” or “print”, to be noted before you register for a course.

AU courses use a variety of online platforms to view and read course content which students must be able to use. An on-line course may include e-text or hard copy textbooks, library database rendered documents from a digital reading room, Bright Space learning platform, online quizzes, exams, and assignments, discussion forums, and multimedia.

The accommodation to receive an alternate format textbook is assessed by your Accessibility Advisor. This service accommodation is not based on personal reading preference or past service history. A medically verified disability need must be noted on your student file to be eligible for a PDF or hard copy textbook. Additional medical documentation may be requested to verify your functional need.

Accessibility Services provides alternative textbooks:

• after a student has received confirmation of the accommodation for the alternative format textbook
• and, a student has requested alternate format services for a specific course textbook using the New Course Accommodation form

About alternate format textbook services

Accessibility Services provides alternate formats for textbooks only. Alternate formats are not available for course content. Accessibility Services may provide a similar textbook format to the requested format if it is known to work for your need or with your assistive technology (i.e., searchable PDF instead of epub).

All requests depend on the student’s disability-related need, source availability, and unit capacity. Accessibility Services assists eligible learners to apply for funding for assistive technology to independently use course material (i.e., text to speech software, scanning software, a printer, note taking software).

Accessibility Services provides alternate format textbooks on a cost-recovery basis whenever possible. Learners eligible for the Canada Student Grant for Students with Disabilities will have the estimate for services submitted on their application. More about potential funding for equipment and services is found on our funding resource page.

Alternate formats available due to a disability related need:

• Searchable PDF with navigation support (bookmarks, split into chapters)
• A hard copy of the e-textbook (if available from the publisher)
• Braille/tactile supplementary diagram guides to accompany a digital textbook (request at least 12 weeks before course start)
• Un-zoned Kurzweil 3000 format (zoned Kurzweil service is only provided when funded; request 8 weeks before course start date)
• A text transcript of AU-produced multimedia (if closed captioning is not available in the learning management system). External to AU sites must caption their multimedia. Contact that site owner for text alternative requests

Contact the Assistive Technology team in Accessibility Services for more details about information on this page.