I have recently started a BA with the Open University and have been surprised to find that presentation slides are not made available in advance of tutorials or other sessions. I have been advised by my tutor that I should contact tutors directly in advance of each session should I want these. However, this is neither viable nor acting in the interests of accessibility. This places more pressure on individual tutors as well as students who may need them in advance, particularly in the case of those with disabilities and/or additional needs. While recognising that tutors are generally working part-time and may have other commitments, it would be more beneficial for all students to be able to access slides in advance. This would better support those who rely on screenreaders (I don't know the overall accessibility of Adobe Connect) or need to enlarge text to participate, as well as those who have cognitive processing issues which may or may not be related to neurodivergence. There needs to be a structure put in place where the slides can be distributed to all those who have signed up for a particular session and students can do what they need to so that they fit their needs.
I personally like to know what is coming up even if I don't understand the contents of the slides in context. Having them available in advance means that I can tune into what I am most struggling with and think about the types of questions that I may have ahead of the session. I also like to print them out so I can write notes around them - rather than trying to write down what is in the slides along with the explanations. Having slides available in advance would not deter students from attending sessions as they would have to attend in order to understand the wider information being discussed, but it would improve accessibility and help students work out how they can get the most out of sessions.