Building Capacity for a Welcoming and Accessible Postsecondary Institution

A team of professionals, representing postsecondary institutions from twenty states throughout the United States, gathered in collaborative meetings and online and telephone conferences to help develop and test the professional development content and strategies included in these materials. Their continuous involvement in the AccessCollege project assured that project products have applicability nationwide. AccessCollege is funded by the U.S. Department of Education (grant #P333A050064), through DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) at the University of Washington.

AccessCollege staff and team members:

• develop and deliver professional development and technical assistance using multiple delivery systems
• validate campus accessibility indicators and use pre-post checklists to document institutional changes in policies, procedures, and practices that lend to campuses that are more inclusive of students with disabilities
• prepare content to be published in a book on universal design in postsecondary education, as well as distribute training videos, publications, and web resources to train faculty and staff on applications of universal design
• improve the accessibility of activities and products of professional organizations

Project methods will result in postsecondary institutions and professional organizations that are more inclusive of people with disabilities. Ultimately, AccessCollege will increase the success of individuals with disabilities in postsecondary education and careers.

AccessCollege Staff

DO-IT staff members who work on the AccessCollege project include:

Sheryl Burgstahler, Director
Michael Richardson, Manager
Rebecca C. Cory, Evaluation/Research Coordinator
Marvin Crippen, Technology Specialist
Elizabeth Moore, External Evaluator
Rebekah Peterson, Publications Coordinator
Lisa Stewart, Project Coordinator
Linda Tofle, Editor

AccessCollege Team

AccessCollege team members are listed below.

Alice Anderson
Technology Access Program Coordinator
Division of Information Technology
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Madison, WI
Partner: Madison Area Technical College,
Madison, WI

Beatrice Awoniyi
Assistant Dean of Students
Director of Student Disability Resource Center
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL
Partner: Tallahassee Community College and Florida A&M University, Tallahassee, FL

Meryl Berstein
Director, The Center for Academic Support
Johnson and Wales University
Providence, RI
Partner: Community College of Rhode Island, Warwick, RI

Sharon Bittner
Director, Academic Support Services
Des Moines Area Community College
Ankeny, IA
Partner: Iowa State University, Ames, IA

Barbara Brown
Academic Counselor
Kodiak College
Kodiak, AK
Partner: University of Alaska, Anchorage

Deborah Casey-Powell
Assistant Dean of Student Services
Green River Community College
Auburn, WA

Adele Darr
Director, Disability Resource Center
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ
Partner: South Mountain Community College, Phoenix, AZ

Tim Dailey
Director of Disability Services for Students
Southwestern Oregon Community College
Coos Bay, OR
Partner: University of Oregon, Eugene, OR

Jim Gorske
Assistant Dean of Students/Director of Disability Resource Center
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL
Partner: Greenville Technical College,
Greenville, SC

Pam Griffin
General Disability Services Coordinator, Disability Services & Resources
University of Minnesota–Duluth
Duluth, MN
Partner: Fond Du Lac Tribal and Community College, Cloquet, MN

Grace T. Hanson
Director of Disabled Student Services
Mt. San Antonio College
Walnut, CA
Partner: California State University–Long Beach, Long Beach, CA

Dyane Haynes
Director of Disability Resources for Students
University of Washington
Seattle, WA
Partner: Seattle University, Seattle, WA

Elaine High
Learning Disabilities Specialist
Virginia Walker
Cognitive Disabilities and Brain Injury/ Student-Athlete Liaison
Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI
Partner: Kalamazoo Valley Community College, Kalamazoo, MI

Melissa Locher
Coordinator for Disability Services
Missouri Southern State University
Joplin, MO
Partner: Crowder Community College,
Neosho, MO

Rodney Pennamon
Director of Disability Services
The Margaret A. Staton Office of Disability Services
Georgia State University
Atlanta, GA
Partner: Georgia Perimeter College,
Clarkston, GA

Patricia Richter
Coordinator, Services for Americans with Disabilities
Office of Human Diversity
Kutztown University
Kutztown, PA
Partner: Lehigh Carbon Community College, Schnecksville, PA

Sharon Robertson
Assistant Director of Student Success Center
University of Tennessee at Martin
Martin, TN
Partner: Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN

Rosezelia Roy
Coordinator, Students with Disabilities Program
Virginia State University
Petersburg, VA
Partner: J. Sargeant Reynolds Community
College, Richmond, VA

Audrey Annette Smelser
Counselor/Disability Specialist
Student Support Services
National Park Community College
Hot Springs, AR
Partner: Henderson State University,
Arkadelphia, AR

Al Souma
Counselor, Disability Support Services
Seattle Central Community College
Seattle, WA
Partner: Seattle University, Seattle, WA

Suzanne Tucker
Coordinator, Disability Resource Office
Southern Connecticut State University
New Haven, CT
Partner: Gateway Community College,
New Haven, CT

Linda Walter
Director, Disability Support Services
Seton Hall University
South Orange, NJ
Partner: Raritan Valley Community College, Somerville, NJ

 

Federal legislation mandates that no otherwise qualified individuals with disabilities shall, solely by reason of their disabilities, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination in public programs and services in the United States, unless it would pose an undue burden to do so. This means that postsecondary courses, programs, and services must be accessible to qualified individuals.

Specifically, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 mandates such access within institutions that receive federal funds. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 reinforces and extends access requirements to covered entities, regardless of their funding sources. However, individuals with disabilities are underrepresented in the group of individuals who participate in postsecondary education, earn degrees, and transition to successful careers (Blackorby & Wagner, 1996; National Council on Disability of Social Security Administration, 2000; National Organization on Disability, 2004; Wagner, Newman, Cameo, & Levine, 2005).

Efforts toward making a postsecondary institution more welcoming and accessible to people with disabilities can be made by faculty, administrators of student service organizations, and other staff (DO-IT, 2007). But change for any institution can be difficult.

This section shares suggestions for conducting a CBI on your campus.

You can find the full text for Policy #188, information about waivers, and the minimum accessibility standard by visiting the following:

• Policy #188
• Standard #188.10 – Minimum Accessibility Standard
• Policy #103 – Technology Policy & Standards Waiver Request

The UW’s Accessible Technology website includes a variety of resources:

• the IT accessibility policy and guidelines for the UW
• legal issues and civil rights complaints and resolutions nationwide
• instructions and tips for making IT accessible
• more resources for creating and procuring accessible IT products

The DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) website contains the following:

• information about DO-IT projects
• evidence-based practices that support project goals and objectives
• resources for students with disabilities
• educational materials for teachers and administration

DO-IT maintains a searchable database of frequently asked questions, case studies, and promising practices related to how educators and employers can fully include students with disabilities. The Knowledge Base is an excellent resource for ideas that can be implemented in programs in order to better serve students with disabilities. In particular, the promising practices articles serve to spread the word about practices that show evidence of improving the participation of people with disabilities in postsecondary education.

Examples of Knowledge Base questions include the following:

• Are electronic whiteboards accessible to people with disabilities?
• Are peer review tools accessible?
• Are there computer keyboards designed to be used with only one hand?
• Are touch screens accessible?
• Do postsecondary institutions have to provide assistive technology (for example, screen enlargement or voice recognition software) to students with disabilities who enroll in distance learning courses?
• Does a postsecondary institution have to provide specific hardware or software (known as assistive technology) that an individual with a disability requests so that they can access information technology used on campus?
• Does making our school web content accessible mean I cannot use multimedia on my site?
• How can educational entities determine if their websites are accessible?

Individuals and organizations are encouraged to propose questions and answers, case studies, and promising practices for the Knowledge Base. Contributions and suggestions can be sent to doit@uw.edu.

For more information on making your campus technology accessible and to learn more about accessible learning or universal design, review the following websites and brochures:

• The University of Washington’s hub for information on accessible technology, featuring how to create and develop accessible documents, videos, and websites, can be found at Accessible Technology.
• WCAG 2.0 are the expected guidelines to be followed for all websites.
• The Access Technology Center’s website.
• A list of thirty different web accessibility tips, and how to implement those tips.
• Accessibility training and certification.
• More information about accessibility standards and procurement.
• Cheat sheets for making accessible documents and content, as well as a plethora of other resources for accessible websites, can be found at the NCDAE.
• The AccessDL website shares resources for making distance learning and online courses accessible.
• Accessible University’s website featuring common web accessibility principles and solutions.
• A brochure on universally designing distance-learning programs.
• A brochure on what accessible distance learning is and how it helps students.
• A brochure on the top tips for creating an accessible distance-learning course can be found at the 20 Tips website.
• A brochure on why accessible web design matters, and some resources to make your website accessible, can be found at Accessible Web Design.
• Blindmath is a listserv for those who want to learn more about all issues around accessible mathematics.
• More information on universal design in education can be found at the Center for Universal Design in Education.

Conferences can be a great way to share resources, collaborate, and come up with new ideas. Consider attending the following:

• ATHEN (Accessing Higher Ground)
• CSUN
• ATIA
• Closing the Gap
• Smaller, local IT conferences, like TechConnect
• NW E-Learn
• EDUCAUSE
• Building Bridges
• Faculty Accessibility Retreat for 2-year colleges

Full
 

About the Contributors

pages i-vii, includes

• Acknowledgments
• Table of Contents

Introduction to Capacity Building

pages 1-4

Conducting a CBI

pages 5-34

Resources

pages 35-90, includes:

• References
• Overhead Visuals

Videos and Publications

pages 91-94

The Washington State Accessible IT Capacity Building Institute on Policy #188 was funded by Access Technology Services at the University of Washington. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the CBI presenters, attendees, and publication authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the University of Washington.

Accessible Technology Services
University of Washington
Box 354842
Seattle, WA 98195-4842
www.washington.edu/accessibility/
doit.uw.edu/
206-685-3648 (voice/TTY)
888-972-3648 (toll free voice/TTY)
206-221-4171 (FAX)
509-328-9331 (voice/TTY) Spokane

© 2018 University of Washington. Permission is granted to copy this publication for educational, noncommercial purposes, provided the source is acknowledged.