1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:05,685 We are committed to the notion that everyone should have an opportunity to participate in higher education, 2 00:00:05,785 --> 00:00:10,700 whether it be from the learning perspective, or the research perspective, or an opportunity to work here 3 00:00:10,700 --> 00:00:17,202 at this institution. We benefit from that because we get to enjoy the talents and the 4 00:00:17,202 --> 00:00:21,801 skills of those people who come in, and also their perspective, which in many cases will 5 00:00:21,801 --> 00:00:25,152 be different from the perspective of others on campus. 6 00:00:25,152 --> 00:00:27,887 So accessibility becomes a very important value at the university. 7 00:00:43,733 --> 00:00:47,909 We're a leading university globally. We want the best talent in the world 8 00:00:47,909 --> 00:00:50,961 for our students, our staff, and our faculty. And we want to be sure if that talent has 9 00:00:50,961 --> 00:00:57,348 a disability that they know that we are a welcoming community. 10 00:00:57,348 --> 00:01:02,549 We're competing with other prestigious and highly accomplished institutions. 11 00:01:02,549 --> 00:01:08,345 We want to make sure that we can target the right candidates to join our community 12 00:01:08,345 --> 00:01:11,761 regardless of their disability status. 13 00:01:11,761 --> 00:01:20,028 We want to do everything we can to insure that they have the same access to smart faculty, to fellow students, and 14 00:01:20,028 --> 00:01:22,195 to the resources at UC Davis. 15 00:01:22,195 --> 00:01:30,579 In fact, we genuinely believe that excellence is achieved through diversity and that a commitment to equity and inclusion 16 00:01:30,579 --> 00:01:33,895 really enriches each of our lives. 17 00:01:33,895 --> 00:01:43,462 It would be inconceivable not to have a social conscience, at least, and be completely committed to 18 00:01:43,462 --> 00:01:48,894 making our resources at Barry University accessible to all students. 19 00:01:48,894 --> 00:01:53,360 We believe that the use of technology can be very powerful. 20 00:01:53,360 --> 00:01:58,996 It connects people to each other, but it also enhances their learning capabilities; 21 00:01:58,996 --> 00:02:05,023 it increases what they can do through their research and creative work; 22 00:02:05,023 --> 00:02:13,773 it really makes it possible for them to have a more powerful impact in the world and that's basically what we're all about. 23 00:02:13,773 --> 00:02:16,941 And we want that to be true for every member of our community 24 00:02:16,941 --> 00:02:25,406 regardless of limitations of physical, spacial, time or other dimension. 25 00:02:25,406 --> 00:02:33,821 As an IT professional, sometimes some of us concentrate in the technical side of the house only 26 00:02:33,821 --> 00:02:38,155 and we forget that finally the technology is to serve the people. 27 00:02:38,155 --> 00:02:42,520 What the university offers and makes available has to be offered to everybody. 28 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:48,186 We can’t afford to waste the talents or the brilliance or the minds of anybody 29 00:02:48,186 --> 00:02:53,111 and making things accessible allows everybody to engage in the university. 30 00:02:53,111 --> 00:02:57,795 Equal opportunity is a part of our value system, but it’s also required by law. 31 00:02:57,795 --> 00:03:05,777 Compliance is extremely important. And compliance is the law. But that isn't the motivator for most of us at universities. 32 00:03:05,777 --> 00:03:13,361 Our motivation has always been to provide easily accessible tools, excellent experiences 33 00:03:13,361 --> 00:03:18,144 for our students and really to give them the sense that this is a place they want to be, 34 00:03:18,144 --> 00:03:21,362 a place they want to learn, a place where they can thrive. 35 00:03:31,070 --> 00:03:33,395 Universal design is a very powerful concept because what it means is 36 00:03:33,395 --> 00:03:39,111 we look at the issue of accessibility at the outset rather than buying something or engaging 37 00:03:39,111 --> 00:03:42,822 something, or developing something that we have to retrofit. Which not only makes it 38 00:03:42,822 --> 00:03:48,654 cheaper and more efficient, it likely makes it much better in terms of both the quality 39 00:03:48,654 --> 00:03:53,287 of the product and the accessibility to those – all the people that we want to be able to use it. 40 00:03:53,287 --> 00:03:58,021 I think the other direction that colleges and universities could and should take 41 00:03:58,021 --> 00:04:05,273 is to think about accommodation as really the beginning of the conversation about disability. 42 00:04:05,273 --> 00:04:11,842 It was the appropriate measure that was taken in the Americans with Disabilities Act that was passed in 1990 43 00:04:11,842 --> 00:04:14,843 and that's well over a generation ago. 44 00:04:14,843 --> 00:04:22,808 I think now we really have to think less about how we're going to measure specifically this accommodation or that accommodation 45 00:04:22,808 --> 00:04:29,759 and recognize that we can make accessibility open and available so that individual staff, faculty or students 46 00:04:29,759 --> 00:04:32,842 do not have to go to get an accommodation. 47 00:04:32,842 --> 00:04:38,410 It will be automatically available in the webpage that they visit, in the device that they use. 48 00:04:38,410 --> 00:04:45,827 We envision a campus that has a concept of universal design in all aspects of information technology, 49 00:04:45,827 --> 00:04:51,726 that a student is not impeded in any way, but in fact, that technology is utilized not only directly by 50 00:04:51,726 --> 00:04:57,159 those who benefit because of certain challenges they may have, but also is illustrative to 51 00:04:57,159 --> 00:05:03,427 the broader student body and to the faculty and to alums 52 00:05:03,427 --> 00:05:05,993 about what an inclusive learning environment is. 53 00:05:05,993 --> 00:05:10,008 We have some things we have to learn in order to move into accessibility space, 54 00:05:10,008 --> 00:05:14,592 but the basic goals and the basic values are things we already know and love. 55 00:05:14,592 --> 00:05:21,143 Then we bring in things like universal design: the notion that if we design things well right from the start, 56 00:05:21,143 --> 00:05:23,926 they actually aren't more expensive. 57 00:05:23,926 --> 00:05:28,226 This is something that we can fit into even our very, very tight budgets. 58 00:05:38,503 --> 00:05:43,120 We make a great effort in our graduate and our undergraduate counsel 59 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:52,070 to make sure that faculty and deans are aware that in program design, in offering a new major, 60 00:05:52,070 --> 00:05:57,552 that they take into account that they might have to have specialized software available, 61 00:05:57,552 --> 00:06:05,569 and they have to build that into their program development. And then to certainly just be aware 62 00:06:05,569 --> 00:06:12,702 of all the different ways that students can learn, to help faculty and deans understand 63 00:06:12,702 --> 00:06:15,521 the concept of universal design. 64 00:06:15,521 --> 00:06:23,719 The first step really needs to be an assessment of where we are, so we can then inform our planning process, 65 00:06:23,719 --> 00:06:30,087 develop plans, implement a project, and then really assess the results of it. 66 00:06:30,087 --> 00:06:35,132 Key to our approach to making sure that our campus and our technology is 67 00:06:35,132 --> 00:06:40,032 accessible to people with disabilities, is to ensure we do this by design. 68 00:06:40,032 --> 00:06:45,365 This is not an afterthought that we do after we have implemented a new classroom. 69 00:06:45,365 --> 00:06:51,216 Instead, this is something that we do from the initial conception of new project or idea. 70 00:06:51,216 --> 00:06:56,816 The same we would do this for privacy and security, we do this for accessibility. 71 00:06:56,816 --> 00:07:04,616 It is less costly, in the long run, to be thinking through the issues of accessibility comprehensively. 72 00:07:04,616 --> 00:07:08,549 Therefore, having a plan for accessibility insures that 73 00:07:08,549 --> 00:07:14,849 from the beginning we think through our issues with regard to the delivery of our services. 74 00:07:14,849 --> 00:07:21,799 Doing so in a strategic way means that we can hold down costs over the long haul and 75 00:07:21,799 --> 00:07:26,333 actually deliver better services in the bargain. 76 00:07:26,333 --> 00:07:34,382 It is very important that a university follows a policy and a process that is a can-do kind of process. 77 00:07:34,382 --> 00:07:38,015 It assumes that we are going to undertake the investments that we need, 78 00:07:38,015 --> 00:07:43,782 we're going to demonstrate the values that we need - that not only address the needs of students who may be challenged 79 00:07:43,782 --> 00:07:51,083 with vision or hearing or other disabilities, but also draw on the technology that is not 80 00:07:51,083 --> 00:07:55,466 only exciting for those people who are developing the technology, it's intellectually exciting, 81 00:07:55,466 --> 00:08:00,449 it provides new jobs for that matter and it stimulates learning in so many parts of the 82 00:08:00,449 --> 00:08:08,316 university. So that attitude of the university administration, as well as faculty and staff and students, 83 00:08:08,316 --> 00:08:13,549 becomes very, very important because everyone gains from this. It's a win-win situation. 84 00:08:13,549 --> 00:08:19,649 A policy really is an important way to go, because it will focus everyone’s attention. 85 00:08:19,649 --> 00:08:25,482 It's also probably the way that you have to go now that there are legal pressures on higher education in this area. 86 00:08:25,482 --> 00:08:31,365 The second thing I would say about policy is there are really two types in general. 87 00:08:31,365 --> 00:08:34,782 One is a policy that you have because you have a law, 88 00:08:34,782 --> 00:08:39,182 for example, the Family Education Rights Privacy Act Policy, 89 00:08:39,182 --> 00:08:43,865 so you want to be clear and sure that you're going to have compliance on your campus. 90 00:08:43,865 --> 00:08:51,532 There's another kind of policy that I would call aspirational policy and maybe accessibility fits a little bit in both 91 00:08:51,532 --> 00:08:55,566 but you most certainly can err on the aspirational side. 92 00:08:55,566 --> 00:09:03,016 An aspirational policy is something you establish for your institution as a path moving towards something, moving forward. 93 00:09:03,016 --> 00:09:10,200 It does not have to have one hundred percent compliance because it's really a direction that you're setting strategically for your institution. 94 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:17,932 I’d say another critical aspect around our strategy is a shared governance strategy. 95 00:09:17,932 --> 00:09:29,683 Because education is a shared responsibility across faculty, staff, students, vendors, 96 00:09:29,683 --> 00:09:35,921 all of us working together have to share in that responsibility. 97 00:09:36,383 --> 00:09:48,370 Now, a shared governance process means if you are responsible in delivering the service, then you have an opportunity to share in governing how we’re going to 98 00:09:48,416 --> 00:09:50,988 manage the implementation of these services. 99 00:09:51,018 --> 00:09:56,606 The administrators of the university must reflect the values that demonstrate the importance of this to the learning environment 100 00:09:56,606 --> 00:09:59,990 and it has to be built in then to every aspect of what we do. 101 00:09:59,990 --> 00:10:03,755 Right now we have a number of projects and initiatives underway at the UW 102 00:10:03,755 --> 00:10:06,823 in which we're testing new technologies. 103 00:10:06,823 --> 00:10:10,189 Accessibility is an important consideration in these evaluations. 104 00:10:10,189 --> 00:10:15,439 Many of the vendors we work with have completed Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates or VPATs, 105 00:10:15,439 --> 00:10:22,273 which offer a checklist of accessibility criteria and vendors' self-assessment as to how well they meet those criteria. 106 00:10:22,273 --> 00:10:26,606 It's a good starting point, but we go beyond that to ask a vendor specific questions 107 00:10:26,606 --> 00:10:30,206 and to test their products with respect to accessibility. 108 00:10:30,206 --> 00:10:40,523 We begin with our vendors saying (a) this is not only important, that this is required for working with the CSU. 109 00:10:40,523 --> 00:10:48,006 Every student who comes into our institution, we have to provide equally effective access to 110 00:10:48,006 --> 00:10:53,155 those services and you are a partner in delivering those services to us. 111 00:10:53,155 --> 00:11:02,740 So we will tell you what we need and then we will help you inform your staff, educate your staff, provide them 112 00:11:02,740 --> 00:11:07,190 some consultation and guidance in partnership with us, 113 00:11:07,190 --> 00:11:10,923 so you can deliver the successful service for us. 114 00:11:10,923 --> 00:11:16,773 So we work with our vendors to try to put pressure on them to make things accessible. 115 00:11:16,773 --> 00:11:24,156 We actually have a purchasing process where we work through and ask the issues about accessibility 116 00:11:24,156 --> 00:11:28,706 for software and hardware that we buy as well. 117 00:11:28,706 --> 00:11:33,006 Individual efforts really need to be able to scale well. 118 00:11:33,006 --> 00:11:38,339 If we go about things in an ad hoc approach, one by one, we're not likely to get the same results 119 00:11:38,339 --> 00:11:42,856 as if we work together as a community in higher education, 120 00:11:42,856 --> 00:11:46,772 to work with vendors to improve accessibility for everyone 121 00:11:46,772 --> 00:11:49,173 with regard to the products that are offered. 122 00:11:49,173 --> 00:11:55,273 That's a much more pragmatic approach rather than institution by institution. 123 00:11:55,273 --> 00:12:04,557 Making accessibility a priority in their development roadmap is going to be driven by the market demand. 124 00:12:04,557 --> 00:12:12,240 And if an institution never says a word, the vendor isn’t going to do anything about it. 125 00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:16,106 So if we begin to communicate our demands collectively, 126 00:12:16,106 --> 00:12:20,406 then the vendor will recognize the market value of accessibility. 127 00:12:20,406 --> 00:12:25,590 As we acquire IT resources, we have to embed accessibility in our contracts. 128 00:12:25,590 --> 00:12:30,057 As we develop resources, we have to employ universal design in our thinking about how 129 00:12:30,057 --> 00:12:35,006 to make these resources available and we have to continue to monitor students to see if 130 00:12:35,006 --> 00:12:39,096 we're really delivering to them the resources in a form that they can actually use. 131 00:12:49,435 --> 00:12:53,348 Accessibility requires effort on the part of everyone in the higher education community - 132 00:12:53,348 --> 00:12:59,481 faculty, staff, technology vendors. If we all do our part, our institutions can provide everyone with 133 00:12:59,481 --> 00:13:05,181 an equal opportunity to participate. And we all benefit from the perspectives of a diverse group. 134 00:13:05,181 --> 00:13:12,298 Having that peace of mind that we are doing all we can to provide an accessible campus is -- gives us a lot of pride 135 00:13:12,298 --> 00:13:16,865 and we feel very happy about what, what we do. 136 00:13:16,865 --> 00:13:21,198 Why wouldn't we make our campus accessible to students with disabilities and 137 00:13:21,198 --> 00:13:26,731 why wouldn't we do everything we could to see the technology is accessible to our students? 138 00:13:26,731 --> 00:13:32,832 The spirit of what has made higher education the jewel in the crown of American society 139 00:13:32,832 --> 00:13:36,332 is part and parcel of the message of accessibility. 140 00:13:36,332 --> 00:13:43,181 Every way in which we touch the lives of others, whether it's in the classroom, the laboratory, 141 00:13:43,181 --> 00:13:48,215 through live performances, through events on campus, 142 00:13:48,215 --> 00:13:55,249 we want everyone who comes here and creates those experiences to be as fully engaged 143 00:13:55,249 --> 00:14:01,798 and as fully benefited by the activity as possible. 144 00:14:01,798 --> 00:14:09,416 And that simply can't be done if people have artificial challenges or barriers to try to overcome. 145 00:14:09,416 --> 00:14:15,181 I would say to those out there who are just getting started or maybe struggling 146 00:14:15,181 --> 00:14:21,648 to figure out how to use technology to advance accessibility on their campuses that 147 00:14:21,648 --> 00:14:24,681 there's no such thing as a bad time to start.