Championing accessibility within disabilities studies Published Saturday, May. 29, 2021, 6:17 am Join AFP's 100,000+ followers on Facebook Purchase a subscription to AFP Subscribe to AFP podcasts on iTunes and Spotify News, press releases, letters to the editor: augustafreepress2@gmail.com No grandmothers died. No dogs ate homework. No computers corrupted term papers. And so it was that Carolyn Shivers’ students used no such excuses when turning in assignments — and she knows why. The winner of three Virginia Tech awards over the past year, Shivers credits accessibility as the key to her successes. “I have implemented a flexible assignment submission policy,” said the assistant professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science. “I still have deadlines, but students can ask me for an extension for any reason — if they’re having a rough day, if they get sick, if they forget, if they’re overwhelmed. Since I’ve implemented that policy, my grandmother kill rate has gone down to zero and I’m very proud of that fact.”