#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 (2010-2013) Building a process (2013-2014) Year 1 Successes Challenges and Next Steps

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

University of South Carolina Total Enrollment Undergraduate Graduate Professional 46,672 38,627 6,520 1,525 Main and Senior Campuses Columbia Aiken Upstate Beaufort Regional Campuses Lancaster Salkehatchie Sumter Union

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

Timeline Vice Provost assumes leadership of distributed learning 2010 Vice Provost assumes leadership of distributed learning 2011-2012 CTE Instructional designers hired University subscribes to Quality Matters Sept. 2012 OCR presentation on accessibility 2012-2013 Provost announces DL quality review Accessibility guidelines created 2013-2014 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

2011-2012 Instructional Designers hired University subscription to Quality Matters Program Training for Instructional Designers

2011-2012 September 24th, 2012: OCR presentation on accessibility of online material New online technologies and delivery modes Enterprise applications and opportunities

2012-2013 Dr. Ford’s assessment of online courses Adoption of Quality Matters rubric for best practices Rubric addresses course quality and accessibility

QM Program (https://www.qualitymatters.org/) QM Rubric Standards Course Overview and Introduction Learning Objectives (Competencies) Assessment and Measurement Instructional Materials Learner Interaction and Engagement Course Technology Learner Support Accessibility QM Program (https://www.qualitymatters.org/)

USC Accessibility Standards Optical Character Recognition (OCR) has been performed on all PDF files before being posted. PDF files are accompanied by their Word document equivalent or a link to the HTML equivalent. All posted documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) are accessible and usable by screen readers. Videos are captioned or have a transcript in Word format that is made available simultaneously with the video (on the same date that the video is made available or assigned to be watched). All content is accessible via the computer’s keyboard, without the use of a mouse. USC Accessibility Guidelines (http://tinyurl.com/usc-accessible)

Provost’s Quality Review Process Created Spring 2013 Provost’s Quality Review Process Created Process begins and ends with faculty $1,500 course revision grant for faculty Collaborative units provide ongoing support Provost’s Office announces and provides incentives

DL Course Review Flow Chart Spring 2013 DL Course Review Flow Chart

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

2013-2014 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 2013-2014 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

Year 1 (108 courses): Results 34 passed review 16 expected to pass by Fall 2014 27 retired by department 22 faculty received $1500 + 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?