Note: *The term “Deaf” is used as an inclusive term to include Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind and DeafDisabled (D/HH/DB) individuals.

When students walked into a Winston Hall classroom for their evening English seminar this spring, they immediately noticed something different. Screens lined the walls. Cameras and microphones sat overhead. Furniture had been carefully arranged across the room. Behind the scenes, a DELTA support technician monitored audio levels, adjusted displays in real time and helped ensure every student could fully participate in class.

By the end of the semester, students had a nickname for the unseen support staff helping from behind the scenes.

“They would even say goodbye to the ‘ceiling people’ before heading out,” said Taylor Ofori, coordinator of Deaf*, Hard of Hearing and DeafBlind Services within NC State’s Office of Equal Opportunity.

The classroom support grew out of a partnership between DELTA’s Innovative Learning Spaces and the Office of Equal Opportunity to better support Communication Access Realtime Translation, or CART, services for deaf* and hard-of-hearing students.

CART services provide live captioning during class through a professional stenographer who transcribes lectures and discussions in real time. In this case, the course included three deaf individuals with different communication needs in a discussion-heavy seminar environment.

“The biggest challenge was that the classroom technology setup wasn’t working,” Ofori said. “We’d tried troubleshooting for multiple semesters and had no success.”

The existing classroom setup created barriers. Audio issues made it difficult for CART captioners to accurately capture the discussion. Traditional support systems often could not respond quickly enough during evening classes. Ofori frequently found herself handling troubleshooting alone after hours. While searching campus resources for alternatives, she came across DELTA’s classroom support webpage and discovered Winston 131.

Shawn Colvin, associate director of Innovative Learning Spaces and Support, said the classroom’s technology infrastructure and support model aligned naturally with the course’s accessibility needs.

“We provide real-time support in a classroom environment where faculty can remove the barrier of technology and focus on teaching,” Colvin said.

Within days, the DELTA team tested the room, configured the technology and relocated the course into the new space. The setup solved several problems at once.

Because monitors are positioned throughout the room, CART captioning can appear on multiple screens simultaneously, allowing students to sit where they feel comfortable rather than clustering around a single display. Ceiling microphones captured classroom discussion more effectively, while DELTA technicians adjusted audio levels in real time as students and instructors moved through the conversation.

“If a student is talking quietly or walks away from a mic, then the captioner can’t caption it,” Ofori said. “This room allowed our support technician, Lesiana Randolph, to adjust the levels in real time since she was really providing that support and was listening into the class the entire time.”

Brandon Pope, assistant director for Innovative Learning Spaces and Support, said the live support model became one of the biggest differences for instructors.

“In a non-DELTA classroom, the responsibility is on the instructor to make sure the microphone levels are where they need to be,” Pope said. “Our technicians can provide that quality control and allow the instructor to teach without worrying about facilitating a virtual meeting.”

The team also adapted the room setup week after week. Because the seminar relied heavily on discussion and interaction, staff rearranged furniture before each class and placed floor markers to ensure a consistent layout.

Colvin said the experience reflects DELTA’s broader commitment to accessible learning environments across campus.

“We consider all of our spaces accessible learning environments,” Colvin said. “What we want to do is make sure that we provide a space that meets the needs of all students.”

The collaboration also prompted additional improvements. Based on feedback from students and instructors, the team plans to adjust monitor heights and explore more flexible furniture configurations to improve sightlines and classroom accessibility moving forward.

For Ofori, the partnership demonstrated how meaningful accessibility often depends on immediate, responsive support.

“Real-time troubleshooting is often the difference between meaningful access and performative access,” Ofori said. “With DELTA, we had immediate tech support so we could adjust as different issues inevitably arose.”

By the end of the semester, the technology no longer felt intimidating. Instead, students settled into a classroom environment where they could focus less on access barriers and more on learning.

“The primary impact was the ability for students to participate more fully,” Ofori said. “The availability of captioning benefited a diverse range of students.”

Faculty, staff and students seeking accommodation support can begin by contacting NC State’s Office of Equal Opportunity, which coordinates disability-related accommodations and works with campus partners to support access across learning environments. Instructors who need help adapting classroom technology, learning spaces or instructional delivery can also connect with DELTA for guidance on available classroom support and virtually tour each DELTA classroom. Together, these resources help ensure courses are designed and delivered with access, participation and student success in mind.