0:00:01.048,0:00:05.071
(Michael K. Young) We are committed to the notion[br]that everyone should have an opportunity to

0:00:05.071,0:00:10.030
participate in higher education, whether it[br]be from the learning perspective or the research perspective

0:00:10.045,0:00:13.550
or an opportunity to work here at this institution.

0:00:13.565,0:00:20.356
We benefit from that because we get to enjoy the talents and the skills of those people who come in,

0:00:20.373,0:00:26.582
and also their perspective, which in many cases will[br]be different from the perspective of others on campus.

0:00:26.890,0:00:26.890
So accessibility becomes a very important value at the university.

0:00:26.890,0:00:27.828
(Tracy Mitrano) We're a leading university[br]globally. We want the best talent in the world

0:00:27.828,0:00:54.008
for our students, our staff, and our faculty.[br]

0:00:54.008,0:00:55.943
And we want to be sure if that talent has a disability

0:00:55.943,0:00:57.879
that they know that we are a welcoming community.

0:00:57.879,0:01:03.076
(Pablo Molino) We're competing with other[br]prestigious and highly accomplished institutions.

0:01:03.076,0:01:10.091
We want to make sure that we can target the[br]right candidates to join our community

0:01:10.091,0:01:13.075
regardless of their disability status.[br]

0:01:13.075,0:01:17.042
(Pete Siegel) We want to do everything we can to ensure that they have the same access

0:01:17.042,0:01:21.009
[br]to smart faculty, to fellow students, and to the resources at UC Davis.

0:01:21.009,0:01:25.063
[br](Edward Ray) In fact, we genuinely believe that excellence is achieved through diversity

0:01:25.063,0:01:32.007
and that a commitment to equity and inclusion really enriches each of our lives.

0:01:32.007,0:01:38.004
(Linda Cahill) It would be inconceivable not to have a social conscience at least,

0:01:38.004,0:01:45.088
and be completely committed to making our resources at Barry University accessible to all students.

0:01:49.025,0:01:55.075
(Edward Ray) We believe that the use of technology[br]can be very powerful.

0:01:55.075,0:02:02.017
It connects people to each other, but it also enhances their learning capabilities;

0:02:02.017,0:02:05.448
it increases what they can do through their research and creative work;

0:02:05.448,0:02:08.879
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.

0:02:15.043,0:02:23.489
And we want that to be true for every member of our community,

0:02:23.489,0:02:30.659
regardless of limitations, of physical, spacial, time or other dimension.

0:02:30.659,0:02:37.239
(Hernan Londono) As an IT professional, sometimes some of us concentrate in the technical side[br]of the house only

0:02:37.239,0:02:41.159
and we forget that finally the technology is to serve the people.

0:02:41.159,0:02:46.039
(Michael K. Young) What the university offers and makes available has to be offered to everybody.

0:02:46.039,0:02:52.014
We can't afford to waste the talents or the brilliance or the minds of anybody

0:02:52.014,0:02:54.616
and making things accessible allows everybody to engage in the university.

0:02:54.616,0:02:57.219
Equal opportunity is a part of our value system, but it's also required by law.

0:02:57.219,0:03:00.889
(Pete Siegel) Compliance is extremely important. Compliance is the law.

0:03:00.889,0:03:06.959
But that isn't the motivator for most of us at universities.

0:03:06.959,0:03:14.499
Our motivation has always been to provide[br]easily accessible tools, excellent experiences for our students

0:03:14.499,0:03:19.189
and really to give them the sense that this is a place they want to be,

0:03:19.189,0:03:24.659
a place they want to learn, a place where[br]they can thrive.

0:03:24.659,0:03:34.379
(Michael K. Young) Universal design is a very[br]powerful concept because what it means is

0:03:34.379,0:03:40.439
we look at the issue of accessibility at the[br]outset rather than

0:03:40.439,0:03:43.087
buying something or engaging something or developing something that we have to retrofit

0:03:43.087,0:03:49.639
which not only makes it cheaper and more efficient, it likely makes it much better

0:03:49.639,0:03:53.579
in terms of both the quality of the product and the accessibility to those -- all the people that we want to be able to use it.

0:03:53.579,0:03:56.299
(Tracy Mitrano) I think the other direction that colleges and universities could and should take

0:03:56.299,0:04:02.999
is to think about accommodation as really the beginning of the conversation about disability.

0:04:08.359,0:04:13.939
It was the appropriate measure that was taken in the Americans with Disabilities Act that was passed in 1990

0:04:13.939,0:04:20.084
and that's well over a generation ago.

0:04:20.084,0:04:23.546
I think now we really have to think less about how we're going to measure

0:04:23.546,0:04:27.009
specifically this accommodation or that accommodation

0:04:27.009,0:04:29.508
and recognize that we can make accessibility open and available

0:04:29.508,0:04:32.007
so that individual staff, faculty or students do not have to go to get an accommodation.

0:04:32.007,0:04:38.004
It will be automatically available in the webpage that they visit, in the device that they use.

0:04:38.004,0:04:42.039
(Brady Deaton) We envision a campus that has a concept of universal design in all aspects of information technology,

0:04:42.039,0:04:48.014
that a student is not impeded in any way,

0:04:48.014,0:04:52.091
but in fact, that technology is utilized not only directly by those who benefit because of certain challenges[br]they may have,

0:04:52.091,0:04:59.095
but also is illustrative to the broader student body and to the faculty and to alums

0:04:59.095,0:05:05.009
about what an inclusive learning environment is.

0:05:05.009,0:05:08.027
(Pete Seigel) We have some things we have to learn in order to move into accessibility space,

0:05:08.027,0:05:13.074
but the basic goals and the basic values are things we already know and love.

0:05:13.074,0:05:18.037
Then we bring in things like universal design, the notion that if we design things well right from the start,

0:05:18.037,0:05:24.028
they actually aren't more expensive.

0:05:24.028,0:05:31.093
This is something that we can fit into even our very, very tight budgets.

0:05:31.093,0:05:43.096
(Eileen McDonough) We make a great effort[br]in our graduate and our undergraduate counsel

0:05:43.096,0:05:52.041
to make sure that faculty and deans are aware[br]that in program design, in offering a new major,

0:05:52.041,0:05:58.059
that they take into account that they might have to have specialized software available,

0:05:58.059,0:06:06.025
and they have to build that into their program[br]development.

0:06:06.025,0:06:13.075
And then to certainly just be aware of all the different ways that students can learn,

0:06:13.075,0:06:17.072
to help faculty and deans understand the concept of universal design.

0:06:17.072,0:06:26.008
(Gerry Hanley) The first step really needs to be an assessment of where we are

0:06:26.008,0:06:28.513
so we can then inform our planning process, develop plans, implement a project,

0:06:28.513,0:06:31.019
and then really assess the results of it.

0:06:31.019,0:06:36.041
(Pablo Molino) Key to our approach to making[br]sure that our campus and our technology is

0:06:36.041,0:06:41.074
accessible to people with disabilities, is[br]to ensure we do this by design.

0:06:41.074,0:06:48.000
This is not an afterthought that we do after we have implemented a new classroom.

0:06:48.000,0:06:54.002
Instead, this is something that we do from the initial conception of a new project or idea.

0:06:54.002,0:06:57.004
The same way we do this for privacy and security, we do this for accessibility.

0:06:57.004,0:07:02.095
(Bruce Maas) It is less costly, in the long[br]run, to be thinking through the issues of accessibility comprehensively.

0:07:02.095,0:07:09.057
Therefore, having a plan for accessibility insures that from the beginning

0:07:09.057,0:07:16.048
we think through our issues with regard to the delivery of our services.

0:07:16.048,0:07:23.001
Doing so in a strategic way means that we[br]can hold down costs over the long haul and

0:07:23.001,0:07:28.006
actually deliver better services in the bargain.

0:07:28.006,0:07:36.024
(Brady Deaton) It is very important that a university follows a policy and a process[br]

0:07:36.024,0:07:40.002
that is a can-do kind of process.

0:07:40.002,0:07:42.502
It assumes that we are going to undertake the investments that we need,

0:07:42.502,0:07:43.752
we're going to demonstrate the value that we need,

0:07:43.752,0:07:45.003
that not only address the needs of students who may be challenged with vision or hearing or other disabilities,

0:07:45.003,0:07:52.036
but also draw on the technology that is not only exciting for those people who are developing[br]the technology,

0:07:56.059,0:08:01.069
it's intellectually exciting, it provides new jobs for that matter and it stimulates learning in so many parts of the university.

0:08:01.069,0:08:08.037
So that attitude of the university administration, as well as faculty and staff and students,

0:08:08.037,0:08:13.068
becomes very, very important because everyone gains from this. It's a win-win situation.

0:08:13.068,0:08:16.041
(Tracy Mitrano) A policy really is an important way to go

0:08:16.041,0:08:22.027
because it will focus everyone's attention. It's also probably the way that you have to go

0:08:22.027,0:08:27.081
now that there are legal pressures on higher education in this area.

0:08:27.081,0:08:33.061
The second thing I would say about policy is there are[br]really two types in general.

0:08:33.061,0:08:38.759
One is a policy that you have because you have a law, for example the Family Education Rights Privacy Act Policy,

0:08:38.759,0:08:45.029
so you want to be clear and sure that you're going to have compliance on your campus.

0:08:45.029,0:08:49.899
There's another kind of policy that I would call aspirational policy and maybe accessibility fits a little bit in both

0:08:49.899,0:08:55.689
but you most certainly can err on the aspirational side.

0:08:55.689,0:09:01.329
An aspirational policy is something you establish for your institution as a path moving towards something, moving forward.

0:09:01.329,0:09:06.004
It does not have to have one hundred percent compliance

0:09:06.004,0:09:10.319
because it's really a direction that you're setting strategically for your institution.

0:09:10.319,0:09:12.779
(Gerry Hanley) I'd say another critical aspect around our strategy is a shared governance strategy.

0:09:12.779,0:09:25.098
Because education is a shared responsibility across faculty, staff, students, venders,

0:09:25.098,0:09:34.389
all of us working together have to share in that responsibility.

0:09:34.389,0:09:42.189
Now, a shared governance process means if you are responsible in delivering the service,

0:09:42.189,0:09:48.024
then you have an opportunity to share in governing how we're going to manage the implementation of these services.

0:09:48.024,0:09:52.629
[br](Brady Deaton) The administrators of the university must reflect the values that demonstrate the importance of this

0:09:57.949,0:10:00.779
to the learning environment and it has to be built in then to every aspect of what we do.

0:10:00.779,0:10:04.139
(Michael K. Young) Right now we have a number[br]of projects and initiatives underway at the UW

0:10:04.139,0:10:09.269
in which we're testing new technologies.

0:10:09.269,0:10:13.079
Accessibility is an important consideration in these evaluations.

0:10:13.079,0:10:18.569
Many of the vendors we work with have completed Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates[br]or VPATs,

0:10:18.569,0:10:23.649
which offer a checklist of accessibility criteria and vendors' self-assessment as to how well they meet those criteria.

0:10:23.649,0:10:28.269
It's a good starting point, but we go beyond that[br]to ask a vendor specific questions and to

0:10:28.269,0:10:33.569
test their products with respect to accessibility.

0:10:33.569,0:10:42.309
(Gerry Hanley) We begin with our vendors saying (a) this is not only important, that this is required for working with the CSU.

0:10:42.309,0:10:48.099
Every student who comes into our institution, we[br]have to provide equally effective access to those services

0:10:48.099,0:10:55.086
and you are a partner in delivering those services to us.

0:10:55.086,0:11:03.093
So we will tell you what we need and then we will help you inform your staff, educate your staff,

0:11:03.093,0:11:10.699
provide them some consultation and guidance in partnership with us,

0:11:10.699,0:11:13.037
so you can deliver the successful service for us.

0:11:13.037,0:11:19.018
(Pat Burns) So we work with our vendors to try to put pressure on them to make things accessible.

0:11:19.018,0:11:26.049
We actually have a purchasing process where we work through and ask the issues about accessibility

0:11:26.049,0:11:31.529
for software and hardware that we buy as well.

0:11:31.529,0:11:37.879
(Bruce Maas) Individual efforts really need to be able to scale well.

0:11:37.879,0:11:43.091
If we go about things in an ad hoc approach, one by one, we're not likely to get the same results

0:11:43.091,0:11:45.595
as if we work together as a community in higher education,

0:11:45.595,0:11:48.099
to work with vendors to improve accessibility[br]for everyone with regard to the products that are offered.

0:11:48.099,0:11:55.269
That's a much more pragmatic approach rather than institution by institution.

0:11:55.269,0:12:02.003
(Gerry Hanley) Making accessibility a priority[br]in their development roadmap

0:12:02.003,0:12:11.059
is going to be driven by the market demand.

0:12:11.059,0:12:14.164
And if an institution never says a word, the vendor isn't going to do anything about it.

0:12:14.164,0:12:17.269
So if we begin to communicate our demands collectively, then the vendor will recognize the market value of accessibility.

0:12:20.049,0:12:26.067
(Joel Hartman) As we acquire IT resources, we have to embed accessibility in our contracts.

0:12:26.067,0:12:31.019
As we develop resources, we have to employ[br]universal design in our thinking about how

0:12:31.019,0:12:35.093
to make these resources available and we have[br]to continue to monitor students to see if

0:12:35.093,0:12:43.309
we're really delivering to them the resources[br]in a form that they can actually use.

0:12:43.309,0:12:53.061
(Michael K. Young) Accessibility requires effort[br]on the part of everyone in the higher education community...

0:12:53.061,0:12:59.209
faculty, staff, technology vendors. If we all do our part, our institutions can provide everyone

0:12:59.209,0:13:04.529
with an equal opportunity to participate. And we all benefit from the perspectives of a diverse group.

0:13:04.529,0:13:07.709
(Hernan Londonono) Having that peace of mind that we are doing all we can to provide an accessible campus is...

0:13:07.709,0:13:12.959
gives us a lot of pride and we feel very happy about what, what we do.

0:13:17.067,0:13:22.199
(Linda Cahill) Why wouldn't we make our campus[br]accessible to students with disabilities and

0:13:22.199,0:13:27.439
why wouldn't we do everything we could to[br]see the technology is accessible to our students?

0:13:27.439,0:13:32.049
(Tracy Mitrano) The spirit of what has made[br]higher education the jewel in the crown of

0:13:32.049,0:13:36.939
American society is part and parcel of the[br]message of accessibility.

0:13:36.939,0:13:43.139
(Edward Ray) Every way in which we touch the lives[br]of others, whether it's in the classroom,

0:13:43.139,0:13:50.017
the laboratory, through live performances,[br]through events on campus,

0:13:50.017,0:14:00.029
we want everyone who comes here and creates those experiences to be as fully engaged and as fully benefited by the activity as possible.

0:14:00.029,0:14:08.179
And that simply can't be done if people have artificial challenges or barriers to try to overcome.

0:14:09.889,0:14:16.319
I would say to those out there who are just getting started or maybe struggling to figure out how to use technology

0:14:16.319,0:14:23.629
to advance accessibility on their campuses that there's no such thing as a bad time to start.