Accessibility Training for Faculty at Wichita State University

Accessibility Training for Faculty Training Provided by the Instructional Design and Access office in cooperation with the Academic Accommodations and Accessibility office, the Office of Disability Services, Human Resources, and the Office of Equal Opportunity and Title IX. 2018-2019

Agenda The agreement, terms, policies, and the law Accessible materials What the University is doing to support accessibility Accessibility training for students

Notice of nondiscrimination Wichita State University does not discriminate in its employment practices, educational programs or activities on the basis of age, ancestry, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, national origin, political affiliation, pregnancy, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or status as a veteran

Agreement, terms, policies, & law

WSUs agreement with the NFB The agreement is public and can be accessed from the accessibility link at the bottom of all wichita.edu webpages.

Requirements of the agreement Train instructors in the requirements of the ADA, the agreement itself, available resources, grievance processes, and the creation of accessible materials. Adopt or revise and disseminate policies regarding accessibility, accommodations, and related grievances. Perform an accessibility audit of all digital content, student-facing computer programs, apps used for classes, library resources, computer interfaces, and any student-facing websites.

WSUs agreement continued Ensure all inaccessible technologies are accessible by 2020. Ensure that all instructional materials, co-curricular materials, and online courses used in connection with any WSU course offering are accessible by July 29, 2020. Provide print textbooks in alternate accessible formats as necessary. Ensure that WSU s public website is accessible in accordance with WCAG 2.0 level AA standards.

Wichita States faculty statement on accessibility The Faculty at Wichita State University are committed to providing the highest quality instruction for all students. As a part of that commitment, we make continual efforts to seek new information and methods to teach in our subject areas. Instructional content at WSU is the responsibility of the faculty teaching each individual course; the accessibility of that content is also the responsibility of that faculty, and as we do many other critical issues, we will take accessibility into account as we consider textbooks, resources, and tools for our classes (continued)

Faculty statement continued Accessibility is not the only consideration when choosing a text, but we understand its importance to our students, and we are committed to making accessible choices when they are available and the choice does not have a negative impact on the quality of the course in other ways. We will discuss the need for accessibility with publishers when we have the opportunity. We will learn what we can about accessible instruction both in general as it is being made available by the university, and from other leaders in our fields of study.

What is accessibility? Actions taken by the university, professors, and staff to benefit all learners, regardless of disability, before content is deployed Ideally done from the start and not remediated Guided by existing laws and regulations such as the ADA, Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Guided by standards of the industry for digital content such as the WCAG 2.0 AA guidelines Accessibility is everyone s job on the WSU campus

Academic accommodations Students are responsible for requesting accommodations They work through the Office of Disability Services Accommodation requests require documentation Accommodations must be reasonable as determined by ODS Accommodations are tailored to the individual, not the disability Necessary accommodations are paid for by the university. WSU instructors are notified when they have a student who is receiving accommodations.

Making accommodations Instructors receive assistance from: The Office of Disability Services Instructional Design and Access Other offices and services might be able to help: TRIO Disability Support services Vocational Rehabilitation Services KDADS Envision Independent Living Resource Center

High-impact accommodations Some course materials and some accommodations are very difficult and time-consuming These accommodations are supported with University resources Accessible design and practice sets accommodations up for success Choosing accessible textbooks (newer resources tend to be better) Texts that are one or two editions old are better than ones that are several editions old. Working with the Office of Disability Services early Plan as much time as possible for the work Be available to check the work

Accessibility and accommodation work together Accessibility and accommodations work together Accessible design is not enough Relying on accommodations without accessible design is also not enough Equally effective and timely are high standards Working to improve accessibility will improve accommodation response times and quality

Relevant policies 8.10, Students with Disabilities In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, Wichita State University shall adhere to all applicable federal and state laws, regulations, and guidelines with respect to providing effective communications and modifications as necessary to afford equal access to programs for qualified persons with disabilities and to ensure that no qualified individual shall be, by reason of disability, excluded from participation in, or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of WSU, or be subjected to discrimination by WSU (continued)

Policy 8.10 continued Wichita State University is committed to providing equal access to employment, educational programs, and activities for students with disabilities. The University recognizes that students with disabilities may need accommodations to have equally effective opportunities to participate in or benefit from University educational programs, services and activities. Conformance to this policy does not negate the responsibility of Wichita State University to ensure that accessible technology and course content complies with applicable accessibility standards

Relevant WSU policies 8.11, Accessible Content All University owned or contracted content, interfaces, and navigation elements to be used by WSU faculty, staff, students, or other WSU constituencies will be compliant with the Americans with Disability Act, as amended, and will be accessible to people with disabilities. All instructional materials, Electronic and Information Technology (EIT), LMS s and online courses created or used by a WSU department or instructional staff with any WSU academic course offering will be accessible to students with disabilities, and at the same time as they are available to any other student enrolled in that setting, to the best of WSU s ability.

What are Section 504 and the ADA? Section 504 is federal law that applies to institutions receiving federal assistance including accepting federal financial aid for students Title II of the ADA is federal law that protects people with disabilities and is broadly applied Generally the same

Who and what is covered by 504 and the ADA? Public colleges and universities and private institutions receiving federal dollars Academics Extracurricular activities Athletics Regardless of where activity occurs

Who is protected by 504 and the ADA? Students Employees Visitors

What disability-related services are required? Equal opportunity to participate Appropriate academic adjustments Auxiliary aids and services

What is disability harassment? Unwelcome conduct based on a disability From students, employees, or visitors Can take many forms: Verbal threats or slurs Physical threats or attacks Stereotypes Policy 3.47 addresses disability harassment and discrimination issues.

Examples of potential problems Advising a student not to take a particular course or enter a program on the basis of the student s disability alone. Teasing or otherwise marginalizing someone for receiving/using accommodations. Refusing to grant an accommodation deemed necessary by the Office of Disability Services. Refusing class-related opportunities on the grounds that accommodations would have to be given. Allowing other students to engage in harassing behaviors.

WSUs responsibility with alleged harassment To respond immediately To take prompt and effective steps to: end harassment eliminate hostile environment prevent recurrence remedy effects

What about the First Amendment? The University will: Respond to harassing speech Establish welcoming campus culture Be alert if direct threats are made The University will interpret and apply all policies consistent with the First Amendment.

In short NFB Agreement impacts all WSU content. The requirements in the agreement are based on federal law. Web and other digital content is a particular concern, but the agreement is not limited to it. Accessibility is everyone s job on campus Allow time for difficult accommodations Harassment on the basis of disability is never acceptable. First Amendment rights are protected.

Accessible Content

All content, digital and f2f WSU s agreement is an all content agreement with a same time standard Digital content Face-to-face content Content for enrichment

Making accessible choices going forward Create digital documents with accessibility in mind Use Microsoft products and tools Save in multiple formats (.docx and .pdf may be ideal) Search for accessible versions of legacy documents such as photocopied chapters Incorporate accessible decisions into face-to-face delivery Always use available microphones Consider making digital copies available to the class Consider putting materials on Blackboard Review WSU guidelines for accessible face-to-face instruction

Know what is inaccessible Paper documents available only on in paper Digital documents made from scans Untagged PDF documents Created or saved improperly or with tools that do not tag Photo images of articles/books from online databases Textbooks available only in paper with no digital option Highly enriched materials with interactivity Uncaptioned videos Audio with no transcript

Publishers accessibility statements All publishers have accessibility statements and policies, but their standards are not necessarily ours. The university must meet standards set forth by WCAG 2.0 A and AA, Section 504, and the ADA. These are high standards. Accessible to a publisher might not mean accessible at WSU.

Textbook adoption and accessibility WSU is working with the WSU Bookstore and its inventory system vendor to provide and gather accessibility information during the textbook adoption process. This will support faculty as they select textbooks It will still be important for faculty to make their own assessment of the accessibility of texts they select, based on WSU s standards Resources, including sample emails to send to publisher representatives are provided through MyTraining.

No publisher is fully accessible The most frequently-used publishers were audited. Some were better than others, but not one was fully accessible. Beware of content that uses Flash or seems to be focused more on being attractive and engaging than on content. Auditing of publishers is ongoing. If you have a question about the accessibility of a text or a publisher platform, please contact Michael Cole, Educational Accessibility Technologist.

Common publisher issues Textbook publishers have similar problems across the industry. Lack of keyboard navigation in their electronic products. Images of text rather than script that is selectable (can be highlighted with your cursor). Missing descriptions for images (alt tags).

What the University is doing to help Online and face-to-face training opportunities (like this) Text-size stickers Blackboard ally IDA lab times AAA support for high-impact accommodations Friendly audits of online and hybrid classes Voluntary accessibility certification program

Lecture text guides

Blackboard Ally Ally went online in spring 2018 It evaluates, and sometimes remediates, documents for accessibility Offers this content in different versions for students Its reach is expanding and will be able to evaluate more things soon WSU can run accessibility reports ranging from the course level to the college level Faculty can assess what is, and what is not, accessible in their Blackboard materials Students can download different types of file conversions

IDA labs 1:00-3:00pm every Tuesday and Wednesday C-Space in the library Blackboard and accessibility questions answered in real time More labs may be coming including possible lab time in Old Town Let us know what will be helpful to you: IDA@Wichita.edu

AAA and high-impact accommodations New office: Academic Accommodations and Accessibility Called in to assist with high-impact accommodations Works with the Office of Disability Services and Instructional Design and Access to ensure academic integrity and timely accommodations

Friendly Audit Program The Office of Online Learning sponsors the Friendly Audit program for all online and hybrid courses. Focuses on different topics Accessibility Design Availability of content Runs on a 3-year cycle and will begin again in spring, 2019 for classes that ran in fall, 2018

Get your class(es) certified as accessible WSU will soon offer a voluntary certification process to interested faculty. Two levels of self-audit Visual accessibility (level 1) General accessibility (level 2) Instructor works through a standardized rubric for accessibility Members of the IDA staff are available to answer questions and train Online, hybrid, and face-to-face rubrics available Instructor requests an access review from IDA Once course is certified, it is not subject to other review for 5 years

Accessibility Training for Students

Student content counts Instructors means all individuals who provide any course-related instruction to WSU students Assignment submissions have no special accessibility considerations Assignments that will be used as course-related instruction must meet University accessibility standards Trainings will soon be available for student use. Instructors do not have to create this training

Thank You, Questions?