WEBVTT 00:00:01.048 --> 00:00:05.071 (Michael K. Young) We are committed to the notion that everyone should have an opportunity to 00:00:05.071 --> 00:00:10.030 participate in higher education, whether it be from the learning perspective or the research perspective 00:00:10.045 --> 00:00:13.550 or an opportunity to work here at this institution. 00:00:13.565 --> 00:00:20.356 We benefit from that because we get to enjoy the talents and the skills of those people who come in, 00:00:20.373 --> 00:00:25.639 and also their perspective, which in many cases will be different from the perspective of others on campus. 00:00:25.639 --> 00:00:29.095 So accessibility becomes a very important value at the university. 00:00:44.430 --> 00:00:48.536 (Tracy Mitrano) We're a leading university globally. We want the best talent in the world 00:00:48.536 --> 00:00:51.886 for our students, our staff, and our faculty. 00:00:51.886 --> 00:00:55.635 And we want to be sure if that talent has a disability 00:00:55.635 --> 00:00:58.663 that they know that we are a welcoming community. 00:00:58.663 --> 00:01:04.029 (Pablo Molino) We're competing with other prestigious and highly accomplished institutions. 00:01:04.060 --> 00:01:09.544 We want to make sure that we can target the right candidates to join our community 00:01:09.544 --> 00:01:13.075 regardless of their disability status. 00:01:13.075 --> 00:01:17.747 (Pete Siegel) We want to do everything we can to ensure that they have the same access 00:01:17.779 --> 00:01:22.747 to smart faculty, to fellow students, and to the resources at UC Davis. 00:01:22.747 --> 00:01:28.693 (Edward Ray) In fact, we genuinely believe that excellence is achieved through diversity 00:01:28.693 --> 00:01:34.837 and that a commitment to equity and inclusion really enriches each of our lives. 00:01:34.837 --> 00:01:41.757 (Linda Cahill) It would be inconceivable not to have a social conscience at least, 00:01:41.757 --> 00:01:49.994 and be completely committed to making our resources at Barry University accessible to all students. 00:01:50.055 --> 00:01:55.075 (Edward Ray) We believe that the use of technology can be very powerful. 00:01:55.075 --> 00:02:00.716 It connects people to each other, but it also enhances their learning capabilities; 00:02:00.716 --> 00:02:06.509 it increases what they can do through their research and creative work; 00:02:06.509 --> 00:02:10.540 it really makes it possible for them to have a more powerful impact 00:02:10.612 --> 00:02:15.171 in the world and that's basically what we're all about. 00:02:15.171 --> 00:02:18.022 And we want that to be true for every member of our community, 00:02:18.022 --> 00:02:26.520 regardless of limitations, of physical, spacial, time or other dimension. 00:02:26.526 --> 00:02:28.279 (Hernan Londono) As an IT professional, 00:02:28.279 --> 00:02:34.978 sometimes some of us concentrate in the technical side of the house only 00:02:34.978 --> 00:02:39.295 and we forget that finally the technology is to serve the people. 00:02:39.295 --> 00:02:43.728 (Michael K. Young) What the university offers and makes available has to be offered to everybody. 00:02:43.728 --> 00:02:48.712 We can't afford to waste the talents or the brilliance or the minds of anybody 00:02:48.712 --> 00:02:54.045 and making things accessible allows everybody to engage in the university. 00:02:54.045 --> 00:02:59.972 Equal opportunity is a part of our value system, but it's also required by law. 00:02:59.988 --> 00:03:03.234 (Pete Siegel) Compliance is extremely important. Compliance is the law. 00:03:03.296 --> 00:03:06.855 But that isn't the motivator for most of us at universities. 00:03:06.917 --> 00:03:12.860 Our motivation has always been to provide easily accessible tools, 00:03:12.860 --> 00:03:15.760 excellent experiences for our students, 00:03:15.760 --> 00:03:19.255 and really to give them the sense that this is a place they want to be, 00:03:19.255 --> 00:03:22.519 a place they want to learn, a place where they can thrive. 00:03:31.010 --> 00:03:34.455 (Michael K. Young) Universal design is a very powerful concept because what it means is 00:03:34.470 --> 00:03:38.331 we look at the issue of accessibility at the outset rather than 00:03:38.331 --> 00:03:43.087 buying something or engaging something or developing something that we have to retrofit 00:03:43.087 --> 00:03:48.064 which not only makes it cheaper and more efficient, it likely makes it much better 00:03:48.064 --> 00:03:51.735 in terms of both the quality of the product and the accessibility to those... 00:03:51.735 --> 00:03:55.394 all the people that we want to be able to use it. 00:03:55.409 --> 00:03:59.471 (Tracy Mitrano) I think the other direction that colleges and universities could and should take 00:03:59.507 --> 00:04:06.342 is to think about accommodation as really the beginning of the conversation about disability. 00:04:06.342 --> 00:04:12.992 It was the appropriate measure that was taken in the Americans with Disabilities Act that was passed in 1990 00:04:12.992 --> 00:04:16.007 and that's well over a generation ago. 00:04:16.007 --> 00:04:20.892 I think now we really have to think less about how we're going to measure 00:04:20.892 --> 00:04:24.159 specifically this accommodation or that accommodation 00:04:24.159 --> 00:04:28.708 and recognize that we can make accessibility open and available 00:04:28.708 --> 00:04:34.053 so that individual staff, faculty or students do not have to go to get an accommodation. 00:04:34.068 --> 00:04:39.742 It will be automatically available in the webpage that they visit, in the device that they use. 00:04:39.757 --> 00:04:47.454 (Brady Deaton) We envision a campus that has a concept of universal design in all aspects of information technology, 00:04:47.469 --> 00:04:50.054 that a student is not impeded in any way, 00:04:50.054 --> 00:04:54.147 but in fact, that technology is utilized not only directly by those who benefit 00:04:54.147 --> 00:04:58.280 because of certain challenges they may have, 00:04:58.280 --> 00:05:04.421 but also is illustrative to the broader student body and to the faculty and to alums 00:05:04.421 --> 00:05:07.478 about what an inclusive learning environment is. 00:05:07.501 --> 00:05:11.257 (Pete Seigel) We have some things we have to learn in order to move into accessibility space, 00:05:11.287 --> 00:05:15.549 but the basic goals and the basic values are things we already know and love. 00:05:15.549 --> 00:05:22.703 Then we bring in things like universal design, the notion that if we design things well right from the start, 00:05:22.703 --> 00:05:25.070 they actually aren't more expensive. 00:05:25.070 --> 00:05:29.569 This is something that we can fit into even our very, very tight budgets. 00:05:39.338 --> 00:05:44.249 (Eileen McDonough) We make a great effort in our graduate and our undergraduate counsel 00:05:44.249 --> 00:05:53.441 to make sure that faculty and deans are aware that in program design, in offering a new major, 00:05:53.471 --> 00:05:58.558 that they take into account that they might have to have specialized software available 00:05:58.558 --> 00:06:03.033 and they have to build that into their program development. 00:06:03.033 --> 00:06:10.650 And then to certainly just be aware of all the different ways that students can learn, 00:06:10.650 --> 00:06:16.400 to help faculty and deans understand the concept of universal design. 00:06:16.400 --> 00:06:22.066 (Gerry Hanley) The first step really needs to be an assessment of where we are 00:06:22.066 --> 00:06:28.513 so we can then inform our planning process, develop plans, implement a project, 00:06:28.513 --> 00:06:32.065 and then really assess the results of it. 00:06:32.065 --> 00:06:37.024 (Pablo Molino) Key to our approach to making sure that our campus and our technology is 00:06:37.024 --> 00:06:41.074 accessible to people with disabilities, is to ensure we do this by design. 00:06:41.074 --> 00:06:46.752 This is not an afterthought that we do after we have implemented a new classroom. 00:06:46.752 --> 00:06:52.903 Instead, this is something that we do from the initial conception of a new project or idea. 00:06:52.903 --> 00:06:58.233 The same way we do this for privacy and security, we do this for accessibility. 00:06:58.233 --> 00:07:06.048 (Bruce Maas) It is less costly, in the long run, to be thinking through the issues of accessibility comprehensively. 00:07:06.048 --> 00:07:11.010 Therefore, having a plan for accessibility ensures that from the beginning 00:07:11.010 --> 00:07:16.048 we think through our issues with regard to the delivery of our services. 00:07:16.048 --> 00:07:23.001 Doing so in a strategic way means that we can hold down costs over the long haul and 00:07:23.001 --> 00:07:27.617 actually deliver better services in the bargain. 00:07:27.617 --> 00:07:33.585 (Brady Deaton) It is very important that a university follows a policy and a process 00:07:33.585 --> 00:07:36.003 that is a can-do kind of process. 00:07:36.003 --> 00:07:39.535 It assumes that we are going to undertake the investments that we need, 00:07:39.535 --> 00:07:42.018 we're going to demonstrate the value that we need, 00:07:42.018 --> 00:07:47.849 that not only address the needs of students who may be challenged with vision or hearing or other disabilities, 00:07:47.849 --> 00:07:55.280 but also draw on the technology that is not only exciting for those people who are developing the technology, 00:07:55.280 --> 00:08:02.622 it's intellectually exciting, it provides new jobs for that matter and it stimulates learning in so many parts of the university. 00:08:02.622 --> 00:08:09.929 So that attitude of the university administration, as well as faculty and staff and students, 00:08:09.929 --> 00:08:14.744 becomes very, very important because everyone gains from this. It's a win-win situation. 00:08:14.744 --> 00:08:17.661 (Tracy Mitrano) A policy really is an important way to go 00:08:17.661 --> 00:08:23.448 because it will focus everyone's attention. It's also probably the way that you have to go 00:08:23.448 --> 00:08:27.081 now that there are legal pressures on higher education in this area. 00:08:27.081 --> 00:08:33.061 The second thing I would say about policy is there are really two types in general. 00:08:33.061 --> 00:08:40.420 One is a policy that you have because you have a law, for example the Family Education Rights Privacy Act Policy, 00:08:40.420 --> 00:08:45.029 so you want to be clear and sure that you're going to have compliance on your campus. 00:08:45.029 --> 00:08:52.360 There's another kind of policy that I would call aspirational policy and maybe accessibility fits a little bit in both 00:08:52.375 --> 00:08:56.642 but you most certainly can err on the aspirational side. 00:08:56.642 --> 00:09:03.944 An aspirational policy is something you establish for your institution as a path moving towards something, moving forward. 00:09:03.944 --> 00:09:07.434 It does not have to have one hundred percent compliance 00:09:07.434 --> 00:09:11.611 because it's really a direction that you're setting strategically for your institution. 00:09:11.611 --> 00:09:19.746 (Gerry Hanley) I'd say another critical aspect around our strategy is a shared governance strategy. 00:09:19.746 --> 00:09:30.615 Because education is a shared responsibility across faculty, staff, students, venders, 00:09:30.615 --> 00:09:36.496 all of us working together have to share in that responsibility. 00:09:36.496 --> 00:09:43.619 Now, a shared governance process means if you are responsible in delivering the service, 00:09:43.619 --> 00:09:51.100 then you have an opportunity to share in governing how we're going to manage the implementation of these services. 00:09:51.100 --> 00:09:56.159 (Brady Deaton) The administrators of the university must reflect the values that demonstrate the importance of this 00:09:56.159 --> 00:10:01.732 to the learning environment and it has to be built in then to every aspect of what we do. 00:10:01.732 --> 00:10:05.446 (Michael K. Young) Right now we have a number of projects and initiatives underway at the UW 00:10:05.446 --> 00:10:07.393 in which we're testing new technologies. 00:10:07.393 --> 00:10:11.043 Accessibility is an important consideration in these evaluations. 00:10:11.043 --> 00:10:16.693 Many of the vendors we work with have completed Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates or VPATs, 00:10:16.693 --> 00:10:23.443 which offer a checklist of accessibility criteria and vendors' self-assessment as to how well they meet those criteria. 00:10:23.473 --> 00:10:28.674 It's a good starting point, but we go beyond that to ask a vendor specific questions and to 00:10:28.674 --> 00:10:31.028 test their products with respect to accessibility. 00:10:31.028 --> 00:10:37.796 (Gerry Hanley) We begin with our vendors saying (a) this is not only important, 00:10:37.796 --> 00:10:41.928 that this is required for working with the CSU. 00:10:41.928 --> 00:10:50.591 Every student who comes into our institution, we have to provide equally effective access to those services 00:10:50.591 --> 00:10:54.175 and you are a partner in delivering those services to us. 00:10:54.175 --> 00:11:03.093 So we will tell you what we need and then we will help you inform your staff, educate your staff, 00:11:03.093 --> 00:11:08.290 provide them some consultation and guidance in partnership with us, 00:11:08.290 --> 00:11:11.757 so you can deliver the successful service for us. 00:11:11.757 --> 00:11:17.860 (Pat Burns) So we work with our vendors to try to put pressure on them to make things accessible. 00:11:17.860 --> 00:11:25.157 We actually have a purchasing process where we work through and ask the issues about accessibility 00:11:25.157 --> 00:11:29.324 for software and hardware that we buy as well. 00:11:29.324 --> 00:11:33.823 (Bruce Maas) Individual efforts really need to be able to scale well. 00:11:33.823 --> 00:11:39.923 If we go about things in an ad hoc approach, one by one, we're not likely to get the same results 00:11:39.923 --> 00:11:43.858 as if we work together as a community in higher education, 00:11:43.858 --> 00:11:49.929 to work with vendors to improve accessibility for everyone with regard to the products that are offered. 00:11:49.929 --> 00:11:55.269 That's a much more pragmatic approach rather than institution by institution. 00:11:55.269 --> 00:12:02.003 (Gerry Hanley) Making accessibility a priority in their development roadmap 00:12:02.003 --> 00:12:05.609 is going to be driven by the market demand. 00:12:05.609 --> 00:12:13.459 And if an institution never says a word, the vendor isn't going to do anything about it. 00:12:13.459 --> 00:12:21.760 So if we begin to communicate our demands collectively, then the vendor will recognize the market value of accessibility. 00:12:21.760 --> 00:12:26.897 (Joel Hartman) As we acquire IT resources, we have to embed accessibility in our contracts. 00:12:26.897 --> 00:12:31.590 As we develop resources, we have to employ universal design in our thinking about how 00:12:31.590 --> 00:12:36.831 to make these resources available and we have to continue to monitor students to see if 00:12:36.831 --> 00:12:41.678 we're really delivering to them the resources in a form that they can actually use. 00:12:50.293 --> 00:12:55.122 (Michael K. Young) Accessibility requires effort on the part of everyone in the higher education community... 00:12:55.122 --> 00:12:56.709 faculty, staff, technology vendors. 00:12:56.709 --> 00:13:00.475 If we all do our part, our institutions can provide everyone 00:13:00.475 --> 00:13:06.498 with an equal opportunity to participate. And we all benefit from the perspectives of a diverse group. 00:13:06.498 --> 00:13:11.985 (Hernan Londonono) Having that peace of mind that we are doing all we can to provide an accessible campus is... 00:13:11.985 --> 00:13:18.010 gives us a lot of pride and we feel very happy about what, what we do. 00:13:18.010 --> 00:13:23.060 (Linda Cahill) Why wouldn't we make our campus accessible to students with disabilities and 00:13:23.060 --> 00:13:28.315 why wouldn't we do everything we could to see the technology is accessible to our students? 00:13:28.315 --> 00:13:34.325 (Tracy Mitrano) The spirit of what has made higher education the jewel in the crown of American society 00:13:34.325 --> 00:13:38.123 is part and parcel of the message of accessibility. 00:13:38.123 --> 00:13:43.139 (Edward Ray) Every way in which we touch the lives of others, whether it's in the classroom, 00:13:43.139 --> 00:13:49.356 the laboratory, through live performances, through events on campus, 00:13:49.356 --> 00:13:56.279 we want everyone who comes here and creates those experiences to be as fully engaged 00:13:56.279 --> 00:14:02.680 and as fully benefited by the activity as possible. 00:14:02.680 --> 00:14:10.640 And that simply can't be done if people have artificial challenges or barriers to try to overcome. 00:14:10.640 --> 00:14:14.728 I would say to those out there who are just getting started 00:14:14.728 --> 00:14:22.594 or maybe struggling to figure out how to use technology to advance accessibility on their campuses 00:14:22.594 --> 00:14:26.592 that there's no such thing as a bad time to start.