EITA Proposed Policy, Procedures and Implementation Plan Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility

Why?

Education is our business Academic freedom for everyone Technology is frequently our educational medium It’s the law

When we wait to provide accessible materials and accommodations until students self- identify: There is almost always some lag time before the student gets the materials Other students who might benefit from digital accessibility aren’t receiving the benefit UM usually has to provide a higher level of accommodation than when a base level of accessibility is provided.

When all permanent and temporary disabilities (including cognitive and learning disabilities) are combined with foreign students and older non- traditional students, we approach 20% of the student body who benefits directly from accessible technology or tech products.

Refer to user experiences on

Update

Different model Base level of access “Universal design” Proactive vs. reactive

Draft UM Policy Web Instructional materials Documents Media Software Procurement (Purchasing)

Web Standards/Guidelines: – WCAG 2.0 AA Standards Deadline: 12/31/2014 (RA) Campus Resources: – IT’s Web Technology Services (WTS) – Accessible Technology Services (ATS)

Benefits Easiest, most ubiquitous access for everyone Accessible web content gets higher “ratings” and hits from search engines (SEO) Forms and surveys get compiled and analyzed automatically

Instructional Materials Standards/Guidelines: – UM’s Instructional Materials Checklist Deadlines: – Environment: past – Content: as listed in each area Campus Support: – UMOnline’s support for accessible online education – ATS’s support for accessible face-to-face / classroom education

Benefits Baseline accessibility: – Professors don’t have to scramble – Students don’t have to scramble The focus can be on fine-tuning Yet unknown benefits for: – Those who don’t know that they would learn better from additional options – Those of us with temporary issues

Documents Standards/Guidelines: – Guidance on Applying WCAG 2.0 to Non-Web Information and Communications Technologies Deadline: 12/31/2014 – non industry-specific notation Campus Support: – – UMOnline’s workshops on various forms of accessible documents – IT’s shortcourses on accessible technology & ATS’s support for document modification

Benefits Currently at least 400 students without vision issues need text-based documents Easier to create documents when software is used well Table of Contents and document map support Quick switch from one publisher to another

Media Standards/Guidelines: – Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) Guidelines Deadline: – 1/26/2014: Transcripts (audio) & captions (video) – Fall 2016: Audio descriptions (video) Campus Support: – Tammy Ravas, Mansfield Library, helps find captioned media – UMOnline captions their own productions and advises – IT’s Accessible Technology Services provides captioning, transcription and audio descriptions

Benefits Noisy environments Videos on YouTube can be searched by captions Combination of audio and visual beneficial for some learners including ESL

Software Standards/Guidelines: – United States Access Board Section 508 Standards (including the Software Applications and Operating Systems ( ) standards) Deadline: May 1, 2014 Campus Support: – Accessible Technology Services (IT) evaluates software and web pages for accessibility

Procurement 1.By May 1, 2014, the University shall develop and institute procedures that require the University to purchase or recommend only EITs that will provide the same programs, benefits, and services as they do to individuals without disabilities 2.2. By May 1, 2014, the University shall implement as part of its request for proposal process a requirement that bidders meet the accessibility standards of WCAG 2.0 Level AA for web-based technology (as set forth in Appendix A to this Agreement) and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act for other EITs

Refer to EIT Accessibility Study on

What’s the first step for faculty? Web - ask IT’s WTS/ATS to evaluate class-related web pages Instructional materials – refer to the checklist Documents – learn the benefits, multiple support options Media - send media to IT’s ATS Software / Procurement (Purchasing) - have software evaluated. It’s incorporated in the process

What’s the first step for faculty? Web - ask IT’s WTS/ATS to evaluate class-related web pages Instructional materials – refer to the checklist Documents – learn the benefits, multiple support options Media - send media to IT’s ATS Software / Procurement (Purchasing) - have software evaluated. It’s incorporated in the process

Refer to Start simple on

Resources

Many resources Montana Accessibility Interest Group Accesspartners-l listserv Shortcourses

Many people UMOnline: (406) Accessible Technology Services: (406) 243- HELP (4357) Departmental technical support EITA Working Group

Please join in

Fill out the self- study (web) forms before leaving for summer

Please join in Read through the website (umt.edu/accessibility) Attend shortcourses Ask questions Make the electronic and information technology and products that you are responsible for accessible

Watch for opportunities to learn and join the campus in creating accessibility over the summer, during the fall semester and into the future

accessibility 243-EITA (3482)