The University of Vermont's Designing for Learning Program is a unique collaboration between the Center for Teaching and Learning, the Writing in the Disciplines Program, and the College of Arts and Sciences. A cohort model is used each semester as part of building the community of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) knowledge. In each semester cohort, up to 10 College of Arts and Sciences faculty work to redesign their courses, using UDL principles in concert with backwards course design. The intentional application of UDL and backwards design helps to reinforce “tight goals and loose means” of infusing UDL into Higher Education course work. Each faculty member in the program participates in a series of five workshops on Universal Design for Learning and backwards course design. In addition, each faculty member has a teaching observation by a CTL staff member who guides them through the existing UDL components of their teaching and identifies places for improvement.

The University of Vermont's Designing for Learning Program is a unique collaboration between the Center for Teaching and Learning, the Writing in the Disciplines Program, and the College of Arts and Sciences. A cohort model is used each semester as part of building the community of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) knowledge. In each semester cohort, up to 10 College of Arts and Sciences faculty work to redesign their courses, using UDL principles in concert with backwards course design. The intentional application of UDL and backwards design helps to reinforce “tight goals and loose means” of infusing UDL into Higher Education course work. Each faculty member in the program participates in a series of five workshops on Universal Design for Learning and backwards course design. In addition, each faculty member has a teaching observation by a CTL staff member who guides them through the existing UDL components of their teaching and identifies places for improvement.