(Michael Young) we are committed to the notion 
that everyone should have an opportunity

to participate in higher education

whether it be from the learning perspective
or the research perspective

or an opportunity to work here 
at this institution.

We benefit from that because we get
to enjoy the talents and the skills

of those people who come in 
and also their perspective

which in many cases will be different 
from the perspective of others on campus

so accessibility becomes a very
important value at the university.

(Tracy Mitrano) We're a 
leading university globally.

We want the best talent 
in the world

for our students, our staff, 
and our faculty

and we want to be sure 
if that talent has a disability

that they know that we 
are a welcoming community.

(Pablo Molina) We are competing with other 
prestigious and highly accomplished institutions.

We want to make sure that we 
can target the right candidates

to join our community regardless 
of their disability status.

(Edward Ray) In fact we genuinely believe that 
excellence is achieved through diversity

and that a commitment 
to equity and inclusion

really enriches each of our lives.

(Michael Young) What the university 
offers and makes available

has to be offered to everybody.

We can't afford to waste the talents or the brilliance 
or the minds of anybody

and making things accessible

allows everybody to engage in the university.

(Tracy Mitrano) Think about accommodation as really 
the beginning of the conversation about disability.

It was the appropriate measure that was
taken in the Americans with Disabilities Act

that was passed in 1990 
and that's well over a generation ago.

I think now we really 
have to think less about

how we're going to measure

specifically this accommodation and
that accommodation

and recognize that we can make accessibility 
open and available

so that individual staff, 
faculty, or students

do not have to go 
to get an accommodation.

It will be automatically available

in the web page that they visit, 
in the device that they use.

(Gerry Hanley) The first
step really needs to be

an assessment of where we are

so we can then inform our planning
process,

develop plans, 
implement a project,

and then really assess 
the results of it.

(Pablo Molinda) Key to our approach 
to making sure that our campus

and our technology is accessible 
to people with disabilities

is to ensure we do this by design.

This is not an afterthought that we do 
after we have implemented a new classroom.

Instead this is something that we do from the 
initial conception of a new project or idea.

The same way we do this for
privacy and security

we do this for accessibility.

(Tracy Mitrano) A policy
really is an important way to go

because it will focus everyone's
attention.

It's also probably the way that you have
to go now that there are legal pressures

on higher education in this area.

The second thing I would say about policy is

there really are two types in general.

One is a policy that you have 
because you have a law.

For example, the Family Education Rights
Privacy Act policy.

So you want to be clear and sure

that you're going to have 
compliance on your campus.

There's another kind of policy 
that I would call aspirational policy.

And maybe accessibility 
fits a little bit in both.

But you most certainly can err 
on the aspirational side.

An aspirational policy is something 
you establish for your institution

as a path moving toward something, 
moving forward.

It does not have to have 
100 percent compliance

because it's really a direction that you're 
setting strategically for your institution.

(Gerry Hanley) We begin with our vendors saying 
(a) this is not only important,

that this is required 
for working with the CSU.

Every student who comes 
into our institution

we have to provide equally effective 
access to those service

and you are a partner 
in delivering those services to us.

So we will tell you 
what we need

and then we will help you 
inform your staff, educate your staff,

provide them some consultation and guidance 
in partnership with us

so you can deliver 
the successful service for us.

(Bruce Maas) If we go about things 
in an ad hoc approach, one by one,

we're not likely 
to get the same results

as if we work together as a community 
in higher education

to work with vendors 
to improve accessibility for everyone

with regard to the products 
that are offered.

That's a much more pragmatic approach, 
rather than institution by institution.

(Gerry Hanley) Making accessibility a priority 
in their development roadmap

is going to be driven 
by the market demand

and if an institution 
never says a word,

the vendor isn't gonna 
do anything about it.

So if we begin to communicate 
our demands collectively,

then the vendor will recognize 
the market value of accessibility.

(Michael Young) Accessibility requires effort 
on the part of everyone

in the higher education community 
- faculty, staff, technology vendors.

If we all do our part, 
our institutions can provide everyone

with an equal opportunity 
to participate

and we all benefit from the 
perspectives of a diverse group.

(Edward Ray) I would say to those out there 
who are just getting started

or may be struggling to figure out 
how to use technology

to advance accessibility 
on their campuses that

there's no such thing 
as a bad time to start.