Thomas Tobin
sole proprietor,
Thomas J. Tobin Consulting LLC
Scaling Smart: How Universal Design for Learning Makes 291+ Higher-Ed IT Roles More Efficient
Wednesday, October 29, 2025 | 3:15PM–4:00PM CT | EDUCAUSE Commons, EDUCAUSE Central Poster Area
Session Type:
Poster Session
Delivery Format:
Poster
Many people know the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework as a way to reduce access barriers for college and university students in the classroom. UDL can also help us to improve organizing and strategic planning skills to reduce rework, barriers, and confusion in the workplace. With more professionals from different backgrounds joining the higher-education IT workforce, there is a growing need to work efficiently and effectively to support campus initiatives. The UDL framework provides an evidence-based set of approaches, informed by the neuroscience of how humans learn and interact, to make our IT work more agile, responsive, and predictive. The presenters identified over 300 information technology job titles at two large Research-1 universities and interviewed a representative sample from more than 15 conceptual clusters to identify the job duties in which IT professionals need to engage peers, share information, and practice with new ideas and concepts—the very elements that UDL helps to make smoother and more efficient. Come to this session and learn how to apply the principles of the UDL framework to the IT workforce in order to reduce errors, speed professional learning, and increase productivity, teamwork, and end-user satisfaction.
