Hello. My name is Dr. Carolyn Speer, and I’m the Manager of Instructional Design and technology at Wichita State University. I’m here to tell you about accessibility, a new reality in the world of higher education. When it comes, accessibility is a bright line that changes everything on a campus. We at Wichita State crossed that line in July of 2016, and every day since then we have been working to change our campus culture to one of access. The days of thinking about access purely in terms of disability and accommodation are behind us. Now we are learning to begin every design, every plan, and every conversation with universal access in mind. Our goal is that all people on our campus receive the same information and opportunities at the same time and with the same level of independence as anyone else.

Access is a rising tide, and it is lifting all of us Access is a rising tide, and it is lifting all of us. If it has not yet come to your campus, it will, and it is advancing the rights of all the people we touch: our students, our peers, and our communities. This is the tide of civil rights, and it is being fueled by the Office of Civil Rights, the Department of Justice, and private advocacy groups like the National Federation of the Blind and The National Association of the Deaf. Wichita State is currently working with the National Federation of the Blind with a comprehensive agreement that impacts all content we create, whether for credit or non-credit and whether online, hybrid, or face-to-face. Our agreement does not exist in isolation; it was based on an Office of Civil Rights resolution letter with Atlantic Cape Community College and has influenced an NFB agreement with Southern Oregon University. We are not alone. We are all being lifted together.

The biggest challenge that an access worldview brings is the need to balance equally-compelling interests. The right to learn and the right to academic freedom must be balanced against practical considerations like budgets, staffing, time, and training. And all this must be done on campuses that house competing paradigms, visions, and goals. At Wichita State we have faced many of these challenges already. How do we meet our agreement’s timeline and still consult everyone impacted by new policies and procedures? How do we communicate what is needed to get things done and while making it clear that none of these needs stands in isolation? How do we balance our ethical obligations to the whole of our community while meeting our legal obligations at the same time? Each of these balancing acts is difficult, and most of them are interrelated.

The access worldview needs leaders The access worldview needs leaders. It needs people to stand up and say they will do a job they didn’t sign up for and may not even have the authority to do. Finding those leaders is hard, because when accessibility arrives, it brings a new reality, one that isn’t necessarily defined by the goals and solutions from before. We got lucky at Wichita State. When the NFB came to our campus, representatives from across the university were pulled in from the start. This happened because of existing personal relationships that reached across silos. If I could leave you with one piece of advice about accessibility it is this: find those voices on your campus. Build your alliances now. Because accessibility is inevitable, and facing it will be easier if you do so as one team.

I can see into your future I can see into your future. Circumstances will soon require your campus to take on the myriad challenges of accessibility. And while all of this can seem scary and overwhelming, I’m here to tell you that you can do it. The work is challenging, and would be impossible if you were doing all on your own. But you are not alone. Wichita State, along with the many other colleges and universities who crossed accessibility’s bright line before you are working together already, and we will work with you too. What you can do right now is to prepare yourself. Find resources, build alliances, and familiarize yourself with the legal realities of this civil rights movement. And when the day comes that you are asked to create a fully accessible campus remember, you already have friends who will help you get there.