1. The Culture Around Accessibility in Higher Education
Or, Why We Need to do It Differently Now

2. Legal and Ethical Environment
Laws and Settlements

3. Civil Rights Protection
Americans with Disabilities Act
Title I, access to employment
Title II, access to public sector programs, services, activities
Federal Rehabilitation Act
Federal government and contractors
Section 503, Employment
Section 504, Public Sector Programs, Services, Activities
Section 508, Technology Accessibility Standards

4. Changing Laws and Rules
Technology under the ADA
No specific Rules
Rulemaking fun!
Section 508 Refresh
Update federal standards to match newer international standards
Final Rule is complete, effective early 2018

5. Pushes Toward Accessibility
Inaccessible technology at center of Federal complaints
Higher education
Municipal government
Federal government
Common themes:
Purchase of inaccessible technology or technology platform
Asked to make technology accessible from the start
Increasingly include mobile apps, emerging technologies
Great list from Laura Carlson

6. Accessibility as Defined in One Settlement
“Accessible” means that individuals with disabilities are able to independently acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services within the same timeframe as individuals without disabilities, with substantially equivalent ease of use.
From Department of Education Office of Civil Rights settlement with University of Montana, March, 2014

7. Typical Settlement Scope
“…the University must implement a policy that requires the deployment of accessible technology and course content in the University setting. To that end, the University shall conduct a review of the accessibility of its technology and instructional materials and shall ensure that, from the effective date of and consistent with the Settlement Agreement, all technology, including websites, instructional materials and online courses, and other electronic and information technology for use by students or prospective students, is accessible.” (Paragraph 13(a))
From Department of Justice Settlement with Louisiana Tech University, July, 2013

8. Common Settlement Outcomes -or- Great Advice from OCR
Appoint someone to oversee accessibility effort
Look to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, AA at minimum as standard set
Form a plan that includes created, purchased and used technology
Train folks annually
Document progress

9. People and technology: where accessibility lives

10. How do these people interact with your campus through technology?
People and Technology
How do these people interact with your campus through technology?

11. Who owns the technology that they interact with?
Ownership
Who owns the technology that they interact with?

12. Prospective Student

13. Enrolled Student

14. Employee

15. Alumnus

16. Donor

17. Different, Different Interactions
What if the person cannot see, or see well?
What if the person cannot hear, or hear well?
What if the person cannot use their hands or have limited dexterity?
What if the person cannot tell red from green?
What if the person cannot speak clearly?
What if the person cannot process written language quickly?

18. Creating a Truly Open Web
Accessibility in Design and Function

19. Accessibility
Account for diverse consumers and their diverse device interactions

20. Lots of People Use the Web
Mixed tech savvy
Mixed devices
Mixed OS’s
Mixed browsers
Mixed goals
Mixed abilities
Accessibility as a mindset is familiar. Just accounting for different interactions.

21. Assistive technology
Diverse Interaction Tools

22. Keyboard

23. Screen Reading Software and Refreshable Braille Displays
By Eddau (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

24. Switch Interface
By vtsaran - CC BY 2.0,

25. Speech Control

26. Removing barriers
Some General Accessibility Techniques

27. Access Barriers are Often Environmental
Implications:
It’s not the disability that limits someone
Lots of opportunities for us to remove barriers
It is not up to someone with a disability to work harder to overcome barriers
IT is not up to us to determine whether someone can use our stuff based on the presence or absence of a disability

28. Accessibility is Rarely Taught?
This state probably isn’t your fault.

29. Accessibility: More than Skin Deep
Accessibility lives in the visible and invisible
HTML/web
Microsoft Office
Adobe PDF

30. Accessibility Foundation: POUR
Perceivable
Operable
Understandable
Robust

31. Provide Structure
Page Title
Page language
Headings
Lists
Table markup

32. Provide Good Color Contrast
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog is too hard to read.

33. Required fields are in red: First Name
Required fields are indicated with “Required” First Name (Required)
Use Color Wisely

34. Only Color Conveying Meaning
Color Use is critical. This chart has three lines on it, one red, one blue, and one green. They are labelled in the chart’s key to the right as Series 1, Series 2, and Series 3. 1 is blue, 2 is red, and 3 is green. But if I cannot distinguish between some or all of the colors, then the meaning is lost.

35. Color Only in Black and White
In greyscale, you can see that they all basically look the same. Especially 1 and 3.

36. Color and Shape Together
With markers added, there is something in addition to color that distinguishes one line from the others: a simple shape. Now 1 is blue with triangles on it, 2 is red with diamonds, and three is green with squares.

37. Color and Shape in Black and White
In greyscale, I can still tell which line is which because the shapes also help to distinguish one from the other. It’s not that we should not use color to convey meaning. It is that we need to use something in addition to color to convey meaning.

38. Be Predictable and Consistent
Limit
confusion.
Be Predictable and Consistent

39. Make Tables Make Sense to Everyone
Make header cells actual headers
Don’t merge cells
Simpler is usually better

40. Example Table

41. Text Equivalents for Visual Elements
Text representation of an image
Answer: What meaning does the image convey?
Or, “How would you describe the image to someone on the telephone?”

42. Text Equivalent Homes Alternative text attribute Captions
Longer descriptions
Add into body of document
Add as separate page or appendix with reference in alt attribute and link

43. Dolovis, Scissortail flycatcher, Creative Commons
Context is Key
Dolovis, Scissortail flycatcher, Creative Commons

44. Links and Context Link text should make sense in context at a minimum
Ideal: make it make sense on its own.
Rule of thumb: avoid “Click here” and “Read more”

45. Confusing Link Text
This website address is incredibly long and it doesn’t do anything to tell someone what happens if they dare to click on the link.

46. Fill out our webinar evaluation form here.
More Helpful Link Text
Fill out our webinar evaluation form here.
This link takes the person to the same website as on the slide before, but I’ve used text to tell someone what will happen when they follow the link.

47. Plain Language: Before
When the process of freeing a vehicle that has been stuck results in ruts or holes, the operator will fill the rut or hole created by such activity before removing the vehicle from the immediate area.

48. Plain Language: After
If you make a hole while freeing a stuck vehicle, you must fill the hole before you drive away.
From

49. Multimedia Transcribe audio Caption video
Provide audio description for video
Ensure access to embedded players

50. Accessibility and accommodations
A Thought Exercise

51. Integrated Ramp
By Xnatedawgx (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 ( via Wikimedia Commons

52. Temporary Ramp
By Desiree Walsh (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 ( via Wikimedia Commons

53. Department of Ramps
Employ people to provide assistance in built environment
Doesn’t exist. Why?
Substantially equivalent access?
Same time? Same experience?
Should not be an individual accommodation, but an accessible environment

54. Accessible vs. Accommodation
Accessible: Widely usable, with or without accommodations.
General, done in advance
Accommodation: Modification or adjustment to make sure that a qualified person with a disability can participate
Individualized, after the fact

55. Accessibility in organizational Roles
A Few Possibilities (Your Mileage May Vary)

56. Quality Assurance is the Place! Right?
Eggs in One Basket, John Unsworth, Creative Commons

57. Themes
Integration
Sustainability
Scalability

58. My Big Picture Approach (YMMV)
Help institution to think through all technology that it puts in front of people
Help institution to identify who owns those tools
Product ownership vs. development/implementation/acquisition ownership
Align accessibility with those people
Think about how a11y integrates going in
Set scope and priority
Train and support accordingly

59. Rules of the Game Discuss your office and where it fits
Discuss Roles that make your web (in your office, or outside of it)
ID where accessibility fits into the Roles and Jobs

60. Volunteer Today!

61. Jobs, Roles and Accessibility
Accessibility Fit

62. More roles to consider

63. Leadership President/Chancellor Managers and administrators VP’s
Provost
Bursar
Chairs
Directors

64. Accessibility Around Campus
Disability Services
Purchasing decision makers
Content authors
Multimedia producers
Librarians

65. Technical Staff UX/UI/Web designers Web developers
Technical Project Managers
Business Analysts
Information Architects
Product owners
Quality assurance and testing

66. Designers
Print designers
Graphic designers

67. Legal and Policy Equal Opportunity Officers ADA Coordinators
Legal Counsel

68. HR and Related Human Relations
Professional development creators and approvers
Managers and administrators

69. A few specifics
Higher Ed Roles and Accessibility

70. Project Managers and Accessibility
Assign responsibility for accessibility
Tools, limitations and workarounds
Time allocation and scheduling
Process integration
Documentation specific to accessibility, standards

71. Web Designers and Accessibility
Color use and contrast
Reading order
Page structure
Headings
Lists
Tables
Interactive elements
Third-party features

72. Content Creators and Accessibility
Structure
Headings
Lists
Tables
Text equivalents
Color use and contrast

73. Librarians and Accessibility
Digital archiving
Tool selection and configuration
Process definition
Procurement and use

74. Print Designers and Accessibility
Tool configuration
Visuals
Color use and contrast
Font size, justification, style
Layout
PDF accessibility!

75. Human Relations Professional development
Budget
Direct training
Job descriptions that include accessibility
Performance evaluation guidance
Hiring technology infrastructure

76. Procurement and Purchasing
Get documentation from vendors
Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT)
Vetting process
Paper
Demo
Documentation
Weighing

77. Management and Leadership
By Evan-Amos (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

78. Framing the Conversation
Program, not project
Integrated into diversity efforts
Recognize culture shift
Be constructive and provide guidance

79. Additional Reading
World Wide Web Consortium Accessibility Responsibility Breakdown
Deque Blog: Accessibility for UX Designers
Deque Blog: Accessibility for IA, Part 1

80. Resources ABLE Tech IT Accessibility Resources page
World Wide Web Consortium Web Accessibility Initiative
WebAIM
webaim.org
Association of Technology Act Programs Webcasts

81. Contact Rob Carr, Accessibility Coordinator rgcarr@okstate.edu
Oklahoma ABLE Tech
Oklahoma State University
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