Accessible Technology Initiative at UTC 1 Everyone Achieves

Accessible Technology Initiative at UTC 1 Everyone Achieves at UTC Dr. Bryon Kluesner, Disability Resource Center

Nearly 20% of Americans have some kind of disability. ~ 56. 9 million people § Visual – blind, low vision, color-blind § Hearing – deafness § Motor – inability to use a mouse, slow response time, limited fine motor § Cognitive – includes learning disabilities, unable to focus The disability group is the only minority group that anyone can join at anytime… http: //www. missouristate. edu/assets/equity/disability. jpg And most people will… 2

Federal Government Requirements • Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) • Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (as amended in 1998) • Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (as amended in 2000) 3

Federal Government Requirements §Title II & Section 504 have essentially the same requirements: Institutions must be responsive to the needs of individual students and make programs and services accessible to them on request. 4

Federal Government Requirements §Section 508 is more proactive. • Rapidly becoming the requirement adopted by many institutions. • All educational technology purchased must be accessible whether it is initially intended for use by a disabled client or not. 5

Federal Government Enforcement §Regulations prohibiting discrimination in education are enforced by the Office of Civil Rights at the U. S. Department of Education. http: //www. leadingage. org/uploaded. Images/Government_Agency_Logos/HHS_Office_Civil_Ri ghts. jpg? n=4392 6

Federal Government Enforcement §Settlements have required institutions to make systemwide, proactive changes in their procurement and use of instructional materials to ensure that textbooks and educational technology are accessible http: //www. utsa. edu/today/images/graphics/textbooks. jpg 7

Lawsuits § 2009 Multiple Universities, e-readers need to be accessible. § 2009 Law School Admissions Council, web content, services, & test prep materials need to be accessible. § 2010 DCL FAQ clarifies institutional obligations and responsibilities § 2010 Penn State, all EIT needs to be accessible. § 2011 NY Univ, Google Apps need to be accessible. § 2011 Northwestern Univ, Google Apps need to be accessible. § 2012 Fla State Univ, make online courses accessible. § 2012 Univ Montana, make websites and online content/services accessible. § 2013 S Carolina Tech College Sys, make websites accessible. § 2013 Louisiana Tech, make course materials and websites accessible. § 2013 Univ California Berkeley, make course materials and library materials accessible in a timely manner. § 2014 Youngstown State Univ, make websites and online content accessible § 2015 Harvard & M. I. T. , provide closed captioning in: online lectures, courses, podcasts & other educational material. 2014 Youngstown State U, had policies and procedures but no education or enforcement. 8

Technology, Equality and Accessibility in College and Higher Education Act §“The TEACH Act” § 11/15/2013 – Introduced to the House of Representatives 9

The Teach Act The Access Board shall develop guidelines for the accessibility of electronic instructional materials and related information technologies in institutions of higher education. The guidelines shall § Include performance criteria to ensure that such materials and technologies are accessible to blind individuals and individuals with disabilities. § Be consistent with the standards for technical and functional performance criteria issued pursuant to section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. 10

The Teach Act Harbor Protections § Institutions of higher education that use electronic instructional materials and technologies that comply with the guidelines shall be deemed to be in compliance with section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. § Nothing in the TEACH Act shall require an institution to use electronic instructional materials or information technologies that conform to the guidelines if the institution provides such materials or technologies, or an accommodation or modification that would allow an individual with a disability to access the material or information. 11

The Teach Act In an equally effective and equally integrated manner as non-disabled or non-blind students; and § With substantially equivalent ease of use of such materials or technologies § 12

The Teach Act § Electronic Instructional Materials § Digital curricular content including course-assigned books, journals, articles, and web pages used by students, faculty, or administration to facilitate the teaching and learning process, including technologies used in distance education 13

Tennessee’s Response § Spring 2014 (TN Chapter) National Federation for the Blind contacted Senator Becky Duncan Massey about sponsoring the “Teach Tennessee Act” § Would require Higher Education Institutions to make all electronic course materials completely accessible to people with disabilities. § Great movement in theory, but would be difficult to meet the heightened requirements. immediately Adapted from “Accessible Tennessee” – Philip Voorhees & Michelle Rigler 14

Tennessee’s Response § TBR and UT System Office of Government Relations were able to get the legislation withdrawn and replaced with Public Chapter 712. § THEC developed an Accessibility Task Force to develop minimum criteria for accessibility & develop a set of recommendations to send to the Tennessee General Assembly by December, 2014. § Made up of 4 representatives from Higher Education and 4 individuals representing disability advocacy groups § From these recommendations, the UT System developed their own responses to these recommendations § It is the expectation that each campus/entity develop a guideline for insuring access § UTC was working on the development of these guidelines prior to the expectation being delivered Adapted from “Accessible Tennessee” – Philip Voorhees & Michelle Rigler 15

UTC’s Response § Accessible Technology Initiative Policy approved in 2014. § Chancellor appointed a campus ATI committee in 2014. § http: //www. utc. edu/academic-affairs/accessibletechnology-initiative/ 16

UTC’s Accessible Technology Initiative - timeline Target Date Category Goal Responsible Party Status Initiative (ATI) developed and approved Committee 2014 by Executive Team; posted on Policies and Procedures webpage Task Force members: DLAC, NFB of TN, Center for Dyslexia – MTSU, TBR, UT System, THEC Task Force created 9 recommendations UTC’s Planning Accessible Initiative - timeline Accessible Technology Associate Provost, ATI Completed, approved February Spring 2014 June 17, August 5, September 30, 2014 TN Higher Education Accessibility Task Force meetings Discuss & develop recommendations regarding accessibility of digital curricula for students with disabilities at state institutions of higher education September 17 & 18, 2014 Accessible Instructional Materials Summit Continue to move forward with developing recommendations to the TN General Assembly 17

Target Date Category Goal Responsible Party Status Fall 2014 Communication Announce ATI Chancellor Completed Fall 2014 Implementation *Join National Center on Disability and Access Education Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief Information Officer Completed *Gaining Online Accessible Learning through Self-Study (GOALS) Benchmarking ATI Audit sub-committee In progress Begin departmental/program audit Fall 2014 Training Develop faculty tips for Disability Resource Center compliance in instructional (DRC), Walker Center for materials Teaching and Learning (WCTL) Completed Tips sheets posted on DRC and WCTL web pages Fall 2014 Roll-out Develop logo, slogan Slogan “Everyone Achieves” mark selected in December 2014; approved by Chancellor January 2015 University Relations 18

Target Date Category Goal Responsible Party Status Spring 2015 Communication Communicate ATI standards to campus ATI Committee, Provost, Chancellor Completed Spring 2015 Roll-out ATI Technology Fair Loop the ATI PSA ATI Committee Communication Dept. Tech Fair – February 22, 2015 Spring 2015 Training Introduce accessible syllabus template Syllabus workshops/roadshows WCTL In progress Spring 2015 Implementation Policies in place for posting required resources in LMS in accessible format Provost, WCTL In progress Spring 2015 Implementation Policies in place to ensure that accessibility review is included in curricular review process Undergraduate curriculum committee, Graduate Council, College curriculum committees In progress 19

Target Date Category Goal Responsible Party Status Spring 2015 Implementation Policies & procedures in place to support faculty in selecting, authorizing, and delivering accessible instructional materials DRC, WCTL, Center for Academic and Innovative Technologies (CAIT) In progress Spring 2015 Training Develop ATI modules for professional development opportunities Human Resources, WCTL In progress Spring 2015 Procurement Develop Electronic and Information (EIT) procurement plan Communicate to campus new purchasing procedure ATI Committee, Purchasing In progress June 2015 Policies and Procedures Incorporate accessibility requirement into purchasing procedure; determine role of ATI committee; what will the review process look like? Purchasing In progress 20

Target Date Category Goal Responsible Party Status Spring 2015 Monitoring and Evaluation ATI Committee will provide periodic reports (quarterly) to the Executive Team ATI Committee In progress Summer 2015 Training Include ATI in new faculty and adjunct orientation, department head training Provost, WCTL In progress Fall 2015 Monitoring and Evaluation Units across campus routinely/periodically monitor accessibility Administrator of each unity In progress Fall 2015 Monitoring and Evaluation Verify that new websites, content, and instructional materials are accessible going forward IT. Academic department heads In progress July 2016 Monitoring and evaluation Create new position – Accessibility Coordinator /Analyst Provost Allocate permanent funding for the position, administrative support, and an operating budget 21

ATI Committee Collaborations § Cheryl Pruitt, Director, Accessible Technology Initiative, California State University Office of the Chancellor § Korey Singleton, ATI Manager, Accessible Technology Initiative, George Mason University § Mr. Christian Vinten-Johansen, Penn State’s Accessibility Team 22

§ Accessibility Policy – Effective October 16, 2015 http: //policy. tennessee. edu/it_policy/it 0126/ 23

UTC ATI Video https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Zfc. C_ e 3 yr. UM Everyone Achieves 24