Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification™ Fundamentals Training

Learn about universal design and how to improve accessibility for everyone.

Overview

This 4-week, online, self-paced course will provide you with the foundational knowledge to understand the needs of people with disabilities and how our physical spaces can be made more accessible. Enhance your knowledge and application of Universal Design and meaningful accessibility through video interviews of people with lived experience, leading subject matter experts and case studies. This course will take approximately 20 hours to complete.

What you will learn

Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification™ (RHFAC) Professional Training gives built environment professionals an understanding of the needs of people with disabilities and the skills to rate spaces for meaningful accessibility and a human-centered perspective. You will:

Understand the scope and prevalence of disability.
Describe how people with varying types of disabilities experience the social and physical environment.
Learn to apply Universal Design principles and a meaningful access lens to existing sites and pre-construction projects.
Discuss the legal landscape and frameworks affecting people with disabilities.
Learn about the RHFAC program, its benefits, methodology and the rating and certification process.
Rate existing sites and pre-construction projects for meaningful access using the RHFAC Rating Survey.
Communicate areas of success and improvements for an RHFAC rating.
Understand construction projects and how RHFAC Professionals can be involved.

Who is it for

Built environment professionals and students including architects, civil engineers and building and interior designers.
Facility and property managers looking to improve building accessibility.
Accessibility consultants and anyone involved in managing public and private spaces.

Program details

This is a fully online, self-paced course.
Learners will have 4 weeks to complete the course from the course start date.
On average, if you do all the readings and reflective work, this course will take approximately 20 hours.
The RHFAC Fundamentals Training consists of 3 modules and contains video interviews of people with lived experience and leading subject matter experts, and case studies. They are:
- Module 1: Understanding Disability
- Module 2: Understanding our Built Environment
- Module 3: Measuring Accessibility in the Built Environment
This course includes weekly 1-hour virtual sessions and online discussions facilitated by a coach to support peer learning. Sessions will be recorded but attendance is highly recommended for peer learning.
To successfully complete the course, learners will be required to take 3 module quizzes and earn a passing grade of 80% or higher on each.
Learners will be issued a certificate and a badge upon successful completion of the course.
Course materials will be available for “view-only” access 1 month after the end of the 4-week course.
Join learners from different partner institutions in one offering.

Fundamentals: VIRTUAL SESSIONS

Fall: 8 September 2026 – 30 September 2026

One-hour weekly sessions will run on Tuesdays from 12 PM (Mountain Time Zone). There are four (4) virtual sessions in total. Below are the Fall 2026 session dates and times in various time zones:

Date	Pacific Time (PT)	Mountain Time (MT)	Eastern Time (ET)
8 Sept, 2026	11:00 AM - 12:00 PM	12:00 PM - 1:00 PM	2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
15 Sept, 2026	11:00 AM - 12:00 PM	12:00 PM - 1:00 PM	2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
22 Sept, 2026	11:00 AM - 12:00 PM	12:00 PM - 1:00 PM	2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
28 Sept, 2026	11:00 AM - 12:00 PM	12:00 PM - 1:00 PM	2:00 PM - 3:00 PM

Qualifications

No prerequisites required. This course does not qualify learners to obtain their RHFAC Professional designation; anyone looking to do so must successfully complete RHFAC Professional Training.

Receiving your certificate

Upon successful completion, you will automatically receive a certificate.

Access and system requirements

System Requirements: This course is delivered on the Rick Hansen Foundation Training Portal. For more information about system requirements, go to Browser Support for Canvas to understand the system requirements for optimal performance.

Accessibility: To learn more about accessibility, please visit Canvas Accessibility. We strive to make our courses as accessible as possible, but if you have any concerns or questions, please contact .

Cost

$1,500 CAD