WEBVTT 00:00:01.717 --> 00:00:04.313 (Michael Young) We are committed to the notion that everyone 00:00:04.313 --> 00:00:06.909 should have an opportunity to participate in higher education 00:00:06.909 --> 00:00:09.506 whether it be from the learning perspective, 00:00:09.506 --> 00:00:11.946 or the research perspective, 00:00:11.946 --> 00:00:14.386 or an opportunity to work here at this institution. 00:00:14.386 --> 00:00:16.826 We benefit from that because we get to enjoy the talents and the skills 00:00:16.826 --> 00:00:20.486 of those people who come in, and also their perspective, 00:00:20.535 --> 00:00:24.815 which in many cases will be different from the perspective of others on campus. 00:00:24.835 --> 00:00:28.835 So accessibility becomes a very important value at the university. 00:00:44.941 --> 00:00:48.265 (Tracy Mitrano) We're a leading university globally. 00:00:48.265 --> 00:00:51.589 We want the best talent in the world for our students, our staff, 00:00:51.589 --> 00:00:54.914 and our faculty. And we want to be sure if that talent has a disability 00:00:54.918 --> 00:00:57.958 that they know that we are a welcoming community. 00:00:58.427 --> 00:01:02.509 (Pablo Molino) We're competing with other prestigious 00:01:02.509 --> 00:01:06.591 and highly accomplished institutions. We want to make sure that we can target 00:01:06.591 --> 00:01:10.674 the right candidates to join our community regardless of their disability status. 00:01:12.837 --> 00:01:17.637 (Pete Siegel) We want to do everything we can to ensure that they have 00:01:17.695 --> 00:01:21.297 the same access to smart faculty, to fellow students, 00:01:21.297 --> 00:01:24.899 and to the resources at UC Davis. 00:01:24.899 --> 00:01:27.561 (Edward Ray) In fact, we genuinely believe that 00:01:27.561 --> 00:01:30.223 excellence is achieved through diversity 00:01:30.223 --> 00:01:32.887 and that a commitment to equity and inclusion 00:01:32.887 --> 00:01:37.048 really enriches each of our lives. 00:01:37.048 --> 00:01:41.210 (Linda Cahill) It would be inconceivable not to have a social conscience, at least, 00:01:41.372 --> 00:01:45.982 and be completely committed to making our resources at Barry University 00:01:46.089 --> 00:01:49.189 accessible to all students. 00:01:49.778 --> 00:01:53.970 (Edward Ray) We believe that the use of technology can be very powerful. 00:01:53.970 --> 00:01:58.162 It connects people to each other, 00:01:58.162 --> 00:02:01.776 but it also enhances their learning capabilities; 00:02:01.776 --> 00:02:05.390 it increases what they can do through their research and creative work; 00:02:05.390 --> 00:02:09.006 it really makes it possible for them to have a more powerful impact in the world 00:02:09.166 --> 00:02:14.551 and that's basically what we're all about. 00:02:14.666 --> 00:02:17.856 And we want that to be true for every member of our community 00:02:17.915 --> 00:02:25.985 regardless of limitations, of physical, spacial, time or other dimension. 00:02:26.767 --> 00:02:27.987 (Hernan Londono) As an IT professional, 00:02:28.020 --> 00:02:34.880 sometimes some of us concentrate in the technical side of the house only 00:02:34.902 --> 00:02:39.022 and we forget that finally the technology is to serve the people. 00:02:39.090 --> 00:02:42.312 (Michael Young) What the university offers and makes available 00:02:42.312 --> 00:02:45.534 has to be offered to everybody. 00:02:45.534 --> 00:02:48.756 We can't afford to waste the talents or the brilliance or the minds of anybody 00:02:48.794 --> 00:02:53.604 and making things accessible allows everybody to engage in the university. 00:02:53.645 --> 00:02:58.545 Equal opportunity is a part of our value system, but it's also required by law. 00:02:58.596 --> 00:03:02.336 (Pete Siegel) Compliance is extremely important. Compliance is the law. 00:03:03.000 --> 00:03:06.650 But that isn't the motivator for most of us at universities. 00:03:06.699 --> 00:03:12.659 Our motivation has always been to provide easily accessible tools, 00:03:12.712 --> 00:03:15.482 excellent experiences for our students 00:03:15.506 --> 00:03:19.366 and really to give them the sense that this is a place they want to be, 00:03:19.384 --> 00:03:21.924 a place they want to learn, a place where they can thrive. 00:03:31.122 --> 00:03:34.462 (Michael Young) Universal design is a very powerful concept because what it means is 00:03:34.492 --> 00:03:40.252 we look at the issue of accessibility at the outset rather than buying something 00:03:40.273 --> 00:03:44.003 or engaging something, or developing something that we have to retrofit. 00:03:44.020 --> 00:03:46.460 Which not only makes it cheaper and more efficient, 00:03:46.460 --> 00:03:48.900 it likely makes it much better in terms of both the quality of the product 00:03:48.900 --> 00:03:51.341 and the accessibility to those... 00:03:51.375 --> 00:03:54.325 all the people that we want to be able to use it. 00:03:54.367 --> 00:03:56.941 (Tracy Mitrano) I think the other direction that colleges 00:03:56.941 --> 00:03:59.515 and universities could and should take is 00:03:59.515 --> 00:04:02.366 to think about accommodation 00:04:02.366 --> 00:04:05.217 as really the beginning of the conversation about disability. 00:04:05.217 --> 00:04:08.068 It was the appropriate measure that was taken 00:04:08.068 --> 00:04:10.152 in the Americans with Disabilities Act 00:04:10.152 --> 00:04:12.238 that was passed in 1990 00:04:12.238 --> 00:04:15.366 and that's well over a generation ago. 00:04:15.401 --> 00:04:19.748 I think now we really have to think less about how we're going to measure 00:04:19.748 --> 00:04:24.095 specifically this accommodation or that accommodation 00:04:24.095 --> 00:04:28.444 and recognize that we can make accessibility open and available 00:04:28.474 --> 00:04:32.114 so that individual staff, faculty or students 00:04:32.114 --> 00:04:35.754 do not have to go to get an accommodation. 00:04:35.754 --> 00:04:39.411 It will be automatically available in the webpage that they visit, 00:04:39.411 --> 00:04:43.068 in the device that they use. 00:04:43.068 --> 00:04:45.292 (Brady Deaton) We envision a campus that has a concept of universal design 00:04:45.292 --> 00:04:47.516 in all aspects of information technology, that a student is not impeded in any way, 00:04:49.780 --> 00:04:54.542 but in fact, that technology is utilized not only directly by those who benefit 00:04:54.542 --> 00:04:59.304 because of certain challenges they may have, 00:04:59.304 --> 00:05:04.066 but also is illustrative to the broader student body 00:05:04.094 --> 00:05:06.434 and to the faculty and to alums . 00:05:06.434 --> 00:05:08.774 about what an inclusive learning environment is. 00:05:08.774 --> 00:05:11.074 (Pete Seigel) We have some things we have to learn 00:05:11.074 --> 00:05:13.374 in order to move into accessibility space, 00:05:13.374 --> 00:05:15.675 but the basic goals and the basic values are things we already know and love. 00:05:15.704 --> 00:05:18.094 Then we bring in things like universal design, 00:05:18.094 --> 00:05:21.488 the notion that if we design things well right from the start, 00:05:21.488 --> 00:05:24.882 they actually aren't more expensive. 00:05:24.882 --> 00:05:28.276 This is something that we can fit into even our very, very tight budgets. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Eileen McDonough) We make a great effort in our graduate 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and our undergraduate counsel to make sure that faculty and deans are aware that 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 in program design, in offering a new major, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that they take into account that 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 they might have to have specialized software available, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and they have to build that into their program development. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And then to certainly just be aware of all the different ways 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that students can learn, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to help faculty and deans understand the concept of universal design. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Gerry Hanley) The first step really needs to be an assessment 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 of where we are, so we can then inform our planning process, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 develop plans, implement a project, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and then really assess the results of it. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Pablo Molino) Key to our approach to making sure that 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 our campus and our technology is accessible to people with disabilities, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 is to ensure we do this by design. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 This is not an afterthought that we do after we have implemented a new classroom. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Instead, this is something that we do 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 from the initial conception of a new project or idea. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 The same way we do this for privacy and security, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 we do this for accessibility. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Bruce Maas) It is less costly, in the long run, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to be thinking through the issues of accessibility comprehensively. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Therefore, having a plan for accessibility insures that from the beginning 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 we think through our issues with regard to the delivery of our services. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Doing so in a strategic way means that we can hold down costs over the long haul 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and actually deliver better services in the bargain. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Brady Deaton) It is very important that a university follows 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 a policy and a process 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that is a can-do kind of process. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It assumes that we are going to undertake the investments that we need, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 we're going to demonstrate the values that we need, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that not only address the needs of students who may be challenged with vision 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 or hearing or other disabilities, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but also draw on the technology that is not only exciting 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 for those people who are developing the technology, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 it's intellectually exciting, it provides new jobs for that matter, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and it stimulates learning in so many parts of the university. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So that attitude of the university administration, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 as well as faculty and staff and students, becomes very, very important 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 because everyone gains from this. It's a win-win situation. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Tracy Mitrano) A policy really is an important way to go, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 because it will focus everyone's attention. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It's also probably the way that you have to go now 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that there are legal pressures on higher education in this area. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 The second thing I would say about policy is there are really two types in general. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 One is a policy that you have because you have a law, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 for example, the Family Education Rights Privacy Act Policy. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So you want to be clear and sure that 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 you're going to have compliance on your campus. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 There's another kind of policy that I would call aspirational policy 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and maybe accessibility fits a little bit in both 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but you most certainly can err on the aspirational side. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 An aspirational policy is something you establish for your institution 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 as a path moving towards something, moving forward. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 It does not have to have one hundred percent compliance 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 because it's really a direction that you're setting strategically 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 for your institution. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Gerry Hanley) I'd say another critical aspect around our strategy is 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 a shared governance strategy. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Because education is a shared responsibility 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 across faculty, staff, students, venders, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 all of us working together have to share in that responsibility. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Now, a shared governance process means if you are responsible in delivering 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the service, then you have an opportunity to share in governing how we're going to 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 manage the implementation of these services. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Brady Deaton) The administrators of the university must reflect the values 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that demonstrate the importance of this to the learning environment 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and it has to be built in then to every aspect of what we do. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Michael Young) Right now we have a number of projects and initiatives 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 underway at the UW in which we're testing new technologies. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Accessibility is an important consideration in these evaluations. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Many of the vendors we work with have completed 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates or VPATs, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 which offer a checklist of accessibility criteria and vendors' self-assessment 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 as to how well they meet those criteria. It's a good starting point, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 but we go beyond that to ask a vendor specific questions 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and to test their products with respect to accessibility. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Gerry Hanley) We begin with our vendors saying (a) this is not only important 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that this is required for working with the CSU. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 Every student who comes into our institution, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 we have to provide equally effective access to those services 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and you are a partner in delivering those services to us. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So we will tell you what we need and then we will help you inform your staff, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 educate your staff, provide them some consultation and guidance 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 in partnership with us, so you can deliver the successful 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 service for us. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Pat Burns) So we work with our vendors to try to put pressure on them 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to make things accessible. We actually have a purchasing 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 process where we work through and ask the issues about accessibility for software 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and hardware that we buy as well. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Bruce Maas) Individual efforts really need to be able to scale well. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 If we go about things in an ad hoc approach, one by one, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 we're not likely to get the same results as if we work together as a community 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 in higher education, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to work with vendors to improve accessibility for everyone 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 with regard to the products that are offered. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 That's a much more pragmatic approach rather than institution by institution. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Gerry Hanley) Making accessibility a priority in their development roadmap 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 is going to be driven by the market demand. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And if an institution never says a word, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the vendor isn't going to do anything about it. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 So if we begin to communicate our demands collectively, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 then the vendor will recognize the market value of accessibility. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Joel Hartman) As we acquire IT resources, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 we have to embed accessibility in our contracts. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 As we develop resources, we have to employ universal design in our thinking about how 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to make these resources available and we have to continue to monitor students 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to see if we're really delivering to them the resources in a form 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 that they can actually use. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Michael Young) Accessibility requires effort on the part of everyone 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 in the higher education community - faculty, staff, technology vendors. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 If we all do our part, our institutions can provide everyone 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 with an equal opportunity to participate. And we all benefit from the perspectives 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 of a diverse group. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Hernan Londonono) Having that peace of mind that we are doing all we can 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to provide an accessible campus is -- gives us a lot of pride 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 and we feel very happy about what, what we do. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Linda Cahill) Why wouldn't we make our campus accessible 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to students with disabilities and why wouldn't we do everything we could 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to see the technology is accessible to our students? 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Tracy Mitrano) The spirit of what has made higher education 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 the jewel in the crown of American society 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 is part and parcel of the message of accessibility. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Ed Ray) Every way in which we touch the lives of others, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 whether it's in the classroom, the laboratory, through live performances, 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 through events on campus, we want everyone 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 who comes here and creates those experiences 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 to be as fully engaged and as fully benefited 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 by the activity as possible. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 And that simply can't be done if people have artificial challenges 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 or barriers to try to overcome. 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 (Ed Ray) I would say to those out there who are just getting started 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 or maybe struggling to figure out how to use technology to advance 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 accessibility on their campuses that 99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999 there's no such thing as a bad time to start.