#7.5 Campus Partners Working Together to Create Accessible Online Learning Environments

Panelists: Steve Adams, Distributed Learning Support Services Lacy K. Ford, Senior Vice Provost Christy Friend, Center for Teaching Excellence Aisha Haynes, Center for Teaching Excellence Karen Pettus, Student Disability Services

Overview Vice-Provost’s Introduction (video) Quality Review Timeline Background (pre-2010) Groundwork ( ) Building a process ( ) Year 1 Successes Challenges and Next Steps

Introduction Senior Vice Provost Lacy K. Ford Commitment to Quality Accessible Online Courses Link to Senior Vice Provost Lacy K. Ford Video

Total Enrollment45,457 Undergraduate36,220 Graduate6,867 Professional1,470 Main and Senior Campuses Columbia Aiken Upstate Beaufort Regional Campuses Lancaster Salkehatchie Sumter Union University of South Carolina

Background Thirty-two graduate degree and certificate programs through DL Online (Blackboard, Adobe Connect), DVD & telepresence Enrollment Growth 10,365 (AY 09) 13,665 (AY 10) 15,582 (AY 11) 16,602 (AY 12) 17,883 (AY 13) 18,808 (AY 14)

Timeline 2010 Vice Provost assumes leadership of distributed learning CTE Instructional designers hired University subscribes to Quality Matters Sept OCR presentation on accessibility Provost announces DL quality review Accessibility guidelines created Course review process, Year 1

2010 Distributed Learning Move by Vice Provost Academic services leadership Closer involvement with academic units Course approval process revision Unified vision and blueprint Collaboration established

Instructional Designers hired University subscription to Quality Matters Program Training for Instructional Designers 7 Ways to Make Your Class Accessible

September 24 th, 2012: OCR presentation on accessibility of online material New online technologies and delivery modes Enterprise applications and opportunities

Dr. Ford’s assessment of online courses Adoption of Quality Matters rubric for best practices $1,500 course revision grant for faculty

Spring 2013 Provost’s Quality Review Process Created Process begins and ends with faculty Rubric addresses course quality and accessibility Collaborative units provide ongoing support Provost’s Office announces and provides incentives

Spring 2013 DL Course Review Flow Chart

Summer 2013 Getting the Word Out Documents sent to department chairs/deans CTE develops forms and resources Faculty DL committee consulted

Process Underway Designers worked with faculty to revise courses Weekly CTE meetings to discuss review process Designers review courses and make recommendations Faculty DL Quality Assurance committee reviewed materials/made recommendations

Getting Faculty Buy-In Campus partners streamline process for faculty Process begins and ends with departments/faculty Emphasis on flexibility and meeting faculty needs Incentives/recognition for successful course revisions

Results Year 1 (108 courses): 34 passed review 16 expected to pass by Fall retired by department 22 faculty received $ commendation letter

Success Story 1: Vera Polyakova-Norwood Director of Online Learning Nursing Challenge: Transcripts for frequent lecture updates Solutions: Faculty pooled grant funds Use Dragon Naturally Speaking and Student Assistants

Success Story 2: Maureen Petkewich Instructor Statistics Challenge: Captions for videos showing math calculations Solution: Supplemental grant funds to hire captioning service

Success Story 3: Rebecca Collier Adjunct Faculty Women & Gender Studies Challenge: Retrofitting existing voiceover PowerPoint lectures Solutions: Teaching assistant created transcripts Will create scripts for future lecture preparation “I like how the PowerPoint videos have a notes tab that puts in words exactly what you are saying in the videos, allows me to follow along and take good notes easily.”

Other Successes 11 faculty/8 staff receive award from Disability Services Invitations to present at conferences Faculty and student testimonials

Next Steps Quality Review for all DL graduate courses Goal: All DL courses undergo review every 3-5 years Goal: Work with technology services to create system-wide accessibility solutions

Questions?