2011 NASPA Annual Conference  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  March 12–16, 2011 Ensuring Web Accessibility Through Collaboration and Innovation Presented Tuesday March 15, 2011 by Kaela Parks Director Disability Support Services University of Alaska Anchorage

Quick Rundown of Recent News Web Accessibility is a hot topic and has been for years - There are a lot of important questions Is Information Access a Civil Right? Are online spaces required to be accessible to the same degree as physical spaces?

Target Lawsuit – The National Federation of the Blind sued Target on behalf of a consumer under CA law – Settled for 6 Million (2008) – No wrong doing confirmed – agreement to fix site – No case law to clarify obligation under ADA….but 2010 – DOJ seeks input on ADA covering internet

Kindle Case Arizona State University sued by NFB – Had been one of several schools piloting kindle – Settled with agreement to only use accessible tech – Letter to College presidents from DOJ and DOE

Quick Review of Where we Stand Survey of 100 college webpages – Randomly selected pages – 97 had problems (multiple problems for most) Skip to content links, Form labels, Alt text, Headings Section 508 compliance used for evaluation WebAIM in partnership with the National Center on Disability and Access to Education

What about your Institution? Who are the Stakeholders – How are they involved Are there Policies/Plans – What do they include/cover – How are they implemented Training and Support Evaluation

WHAT ARE THE CORE COMPONENTS IN INSTITUTIONAL WEB ACCESSIBILITY

Brainstorming/Concept Map Concept Map generated during our session will be shared via the NASPA Disability KC Website

THE APPROACH TAKEN AT UAA

Clear Leadership and Guidance from Top Down Memo from Chancellor’s Cabinet – Established justification for changes – Notified community of expectations (timeline) – Promised training and support Accessibility is wrapped into look and feel – Web Pros includes DSS, IT, and Advancement – Evaluation - consistent positive user experience Tiered Compliance model

Adequate Training and Support from Ground Up Workshops and Training Sessions – Webpublishing for CMS authors – Accessible Content through HR for Staff – Accessible Content through Faculty Technology Individual hands-on sessions Innovative Technical Assistance Models – Accessibility Interns – Service Based Learning Coursework

Ongoing Evaluation from Multiple Perspectives Institutional capacity evaluation using GOALS tool through NCDAE Internal Web Accessibility Evaluations conducted weekly through WebPros Internal Web Accessibility Evaluations conducted annually by campus entities External Functional Task Assessments conducted annually by AK Center for the Blind

Innovative Technical Support Accessibility Interns/Student Learning Federal Work Study Interns – Pilot program started in Spring 2010 – Interns convert inaccessible content proactively Adobe PDF forms and documents Video captioning Site evaluations Service Learning Course – Students earn credit while doing real work – Course work is content from University and State

RESOURCES – RECENT ARTICLES

Reference Articles Web Accessibility: A longitudinal study of college and university home pages in the northwestern United States Civil Rights Comments on Access to Virtual Environments Dear Colleague Letter to College Presidents from DOE and DOJ speaking to the recent Kindle case and the need to refrain from requiring students to use inaccessible technologiesneed to refrain from requiring students to use inaccessible technologies Article titled "The Blinding Technology of Online Learning“"The Blinding Technology of Online Learning“

Reference Articles Continued The Chronicle of Higher Education ran several pieces lately including: – College Web Pages Are 'Widely Inaccessible' to People With Disabilities College Web Pages Are 'Widely Inaccessible' to People With Disabilities – Penn State Accused of Discriminating Against Blind Students Penn State Accused of Discriminating Against Blind Students – ADA is a Major Vulnerability for Online Programs ADA is a Major Vulnerability for Online Programs – Universal Design, Usability, and Accessibility Universal Design, Usability, and Accessibility

Reference Articles Continued The American Foundation for the Blind conducted a survey called Distance Learning: How Accessible are Online Educational Tools Distance Learning: How Accessible are Online Educational Tools WebAIM did a check of college sites against the 508 standards and 97% failed to meet basic requirements for accessibility. WebAIM did a check of college sites against the 508 standards

Reference Articles Continued The ATHEN E-Journal featured a four part issue focused on web accessibility. The topics covered include legal obligations, cultivation and maintenance of expertise, training for distance learning personnel, and case studies in training and professional development. The ATHEN E-Journal featured a four part issue focused on web accessibility. The Department of Justice is making Internet Accessibility a priority The Department of Justice is making Internet Accessibility a priority