WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:01.560 --> 00:00:03.740 We are committed to the notion that everyone 00:00:03.740 --> 00:00:06.600 should have an opportunity to participate in higher education 00:00:06.600 --> 00:00:10.000 whether it be from the learning perspective or the research perspective 00:00:10.030 --> 00:00:13.550 or an opportunity to work here at this institution. 00:00:13.550 --> 00:00:18.970 We benefit from that because we get to enjoy the talents and the skills 00:00:18.970 --> 00:00:21.230 of those people who come in and also their perspective 00:00:21.230 --> 00:00:25.600 which in many cases will be different from the perspective of others on campus. 00:00:25.639 --> 00:00:29.095 So accessibility becomes a very important value at the university. 00:00:44.430 --> 00:00:47.070 We're a leading university globally. 00:00:47.070 --> 00:00:51.400 We want the best talent in the world for our students, our staff, and our faculty. 00:00:51.400 --> 00:00:55.600 And we want to be sure if that talent has a disability 00:00:55.635 --> 00:00:58.315 that they know that we are a welcoming community. 00:00:58.315 --> 00:01:04.000 We're competing with other prestigious and highly accomplished institutions. 00:01:04.060 --> 00:01:08.540 We want to make sure that we can target the right candidates 00:01:08.540 --> 00:01:12.500 to join our community regardless of their disability status. 00:01:12.500 --> 00:01:17.700 We want to do everything we can to ensure that they have the same access 00:01:17.779 --> 00:01:22.747 to smart faculty, to fellow students, and to the resources at UC Davis. 00:01:22.747 --> 00:01:28.693 In fact, we genuinely believe that excellence is achieved through diversity 00:01:28.693 --> 00:01:32.053 and that a commitment to equity and inclusion 00:01:32.053 --> 00:01:34.800 really enriches each of our lives. 00:01:34.837 --> 00:01:41.757 It would be inconceivable not to have a social conscience at least, 00:01:41.757 --> 00:01:44.857 and be completely committed 00:01:44.857 --> 00:01:50.000 to making our resources at Barry University accessible to all students. 00:01:50.055 --> 00:01:55.075 We believe that the use of technology can be very powerful. 00:01:55.075 --> 00:02:00.716 It connects people to each other, but it also enhances their learning capabilities; 00:02:00.716 --> 00:02:06.509 it increases what they can do through their research and creative work; 00:02:06.509 --> 00:02:10.540 it really makes it possible for them to have a more powerful impact 00:02:10.540 --> 00:02:15.100 in the world and that's basically what we're all about. 00:02:15.171 --> 00:02:18.022 And we want that to be true for every member of our community, 00:02:18.022 --> 00:02:26.520 regardless of limitations, of physical, spatial, time or other dimension. 00:02:26.526 --> 00:02:28.279 As an IT professional... 00:02:28.279 --> 00:02:34.978 sometimes some of us concentrate in the technical side of the house only 00:02:34.978 --> 00:02:39.295 and we forget that finally the technology is to serve the people. 00:02:39.295 --> 00:02:42.195 What the university offers and makes available 00:02:42.195 --> 00:02:44.100 has to be offered to everybody. 00:02:44.100 --> 00:02:48.700 We can't afford to waste the talents or the brilliance or the minds of anybody 00:02:48.712 --> 00:02:51.252 and making things accessible 00:02:51.260 --> 00:02:54.040 allows everybody to engage in the university. 00:02:54.040 --> 00:02:56.900 Equal opportunity is a part of our value system, 00:02:56.900 --> 00:02:59.400 but it's also required by law. 00:02:59.400 --> 00:03:01.440 Compliance is extremely important. 00:03:01.440 --> 00:03:03.200 Compliance is the law. 00:03:03.296 --> 00:03:06.855 But that isn't the motivator for most of us at universities. 00:03:06.855 --> 00:03:12.800 Our motivation has always been to provide easily accessible tools, 00:03:12.860 --> 00:03:15.760 excellent experiences for our students, 00:03:15.760 --> 00:03:19.255 and really to give them the sense that this is a place they want to be, 00:03:19.255 --> 00:03:22.519 a place they want to learn, a place where they can thrive. 00:03:31.010 --> 00:03:33.590 Universal design is a very powerful concept 00:03:33.590 --> 00:03:37.800 because what it means is we look at the issue of accessibility at the outset 00:03:37.800 --> 00:03:41.300 rather than buying something or engaging something or developing something 00:03:41.300 --> 00:03:43.000 that we have to retrofit 00:03:43.087 --> 00:03:46.247 which not only makes it cheaper and more efficient, 00:03:46.247 --> 00:03:48.000 it likely makes it much better 00:03:48.064 --> 00:03:51.735 in terms of both the quality of the product and the accessibility to those... 00:03:51.735 --> 00:03:54.394 all the people that we want to be able to use it. 00:03:54.394 --> 00:03:56.600 I think the other direction 00:03:56.600 --> 00:03:59.500 that colleges and universities could and should take 00:03:59.507 --> 00:04:06.342 is to think about accommodation as really the beginning of the conversation about disability. 00:04:06.342 --> 00:04:10.842 It was the appropriate measure that was taken in the Americans with Disabilities Act 00:04:10.842 --> 00:04:16.000 that was passed in 1990 and that's well over a generation ago. 00:04:16.007 --> 00:04:20.892 I think now we really have to think less about how we're going to measure 00:04:20.892 --> 00:04:24.159 specifically this accommodation or that accommodation 00:04:24.159 --> 00:04:28.708 and recognize that we can make accessibility open and available 00:04:28.708 --> 00:04:31.528 so that individual staff, faculty or students 00:04:31.528 --> 00:04:34.000 do not have to go to get an accommodation. 00:04:34.068 --> 00:04:36.188 It will be automatically available 00:04:36.188 --> 00:04:39.700 in the webpage that they visit, in the device that they use. 00:04:39.757 --> 00:04:45.217 We envision a campus that has a concept of universal design 00:04:45.217 --> 00:04:47.400 in all aspects of information technology, 00:04:47.469 --> 00:04:50.054 that a student is not impeded in any way, 00:04:50.054 --> 00:04:54.147 but in fact, that technology is utilized not only directly by those who benefit 00:04:54.147 --> 00:04:58.280 because of certain challenges they may have, 00:04:58.280 --> 00:05:02.640 but also is illustrative to the broader student body 00:05:02.640 --> 00:05:04.400 and to the faculty and to alums 00:05:04.421 --> 00:05:07.121 about what an inclusive learning environment is. 00:05:07.121 --> 00:05:09.800 We have some things we have to learn 00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:11.200 in order to move into accessibility space, 00:05:11.287 --> 00:05:15.549 but the basic goals and the basic values are things we already know and love. 00:05:15.549 --> 00:05:18.489 Then we bring in things like universal design, 00:05:18.489 --> 00:05:22.700 the notion that if we design things well right from the start, 00:05:22.703 --> 00:05:25.070 they actually aren't more expensive. 00:05:25.070 --> 00:05:29.569 This is something that we can fit into even our very, very tight budgets. 00:05:39.338 --> 00:05:41.338 We make a great effort 00:05:41.338 --> 00:05:44.200 in our graduate and our undergraduate counsel 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:50.660 to make sure that faculty and deans are aware that in program design, 00:05:50.660 --> 00:05:53.400 in offering a new major, that they take into account 00:05:53.441 --> 00:05:58.558 that they might have to have specialized software available 00:05:58.558 --> 00:06:03.033 and they have to build that into their program development. 00:06:03.033 --> 00:06:10.650 And then to certainly just be aware of all the different ways that students can learn, 00:06:10.650 --> 00:06:16.400 to help faculty and deans understand the concept of universal design. 00:06:16.400 --> 00:06:22.066 The first step really needs to be an assessment of where we are 00:06:22.066 --> 00:06:28.513 so we can then inform our planning process, 00:06:28.513 --> 00:06:31.065 develop plans, implement a project, 00:06:31.065 --> 00:06:33.225 Key to our approach to making sure that our campus and our technology is 00:06:33.225 --> 00:06:37.000 to making sure that our campus and our technology 00:06:37.024 --> 00:06:39.664 is accessible to people with disabilities 00:06:39.664 --> 00:06:41.000 is to ensure we do this by design. 00:06:41.074 --> 00:06:46.752 This is not an afterthought that we do after we have implemented a new classroom. 00:06:46.752 --> 00:06:52.903 Instead, this is something that we do from the initial conception of a new project or idea. 00:06:52.903 --> 00:06:58.233 The same way we do this for privacy and security, we do this for accessibility. 00:06:58.233 --> 00:07:00.933 It is less costly, in the long run 00:07:00.933 --> 00:07:06.000 to be thinking through the issues of accessibility comprehensively. 00:07:06.048 --> 00:07:11.010 Therefore, having a plan for accessibility ensures that from the beginning 00:07:11.010 --> 00:07:16.048 we think through our issues with regard to the delivery of our services. 00:07:16.048 --> 00:07:23.001 Doing so in a strategic way means that we can hold down costs over the long haul 00:07:23.001 --> 00:07:27.617 and actually deliver better services in the bargain. 00:07:27.617 --> 00:07:33.585 It is very important that a university follows a policy and a process 00:07:33.585 --> 00:07:36.003 that is a can-do kind of process. 00:07:36.003 --> 00:07:39.535 It assumes that we are going to undertake the investments that we need, 00:07:39.535 --> 00:07:42.018 we're going to demonstrate the value that we need, 00:07:42.018 --> 00:07:45.338 that not only address the needs of students 00:07:45.338 --> 00:07:47.800 who may be challenged with vision or hearing or other disabilities, 00:07:47.849 --> 00:07:52.049 but also draw on the technology 00:07:52.049 --> 00:07:55.200 that is not only exciting for those people who are developing the technology, 00:07:55.280 --> 00:07:58.000 it's intellectually exciting. It provides new jobs for that matter 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:02.622 and it stimulates learning in so many parts of the university. 00:08:02.622 --> 00:08:07.102 So that attitude of the university administration, 00:08:07.102 --> 00:08:09.900 as well as faculty and staff and students, 00:08:09.929 --> 00:08:12.829 becomes very, very important because everyone gains from this. 00:08:12.829 --> 00:08:14.700 It's a win-win situation. 00:08:14.744 --> 00:08:17.661 A policy really is an important way to go 00:08:17.661 --> 00:08:20.901 because it will focus everyone's attention. 00:08:20.901 --> 00:08:23.381 It's also probably the way that you have to go now that 00:08:23.560 --> 00:08:27.080 there are legal pressures on higher education in this area. 00:08:27.081 --> 00:08:29.681 The second thing I would say about policy 00:08:29.681 --> 00:08:33.000 is there are really two types in general. 00:08:33.061 --> 00:08:35.420 One is a policy that you have because you have a law 00:08:35.420 --> 00:08:40.420 for example the Family Education Rights Privacy Act Policy 00:08:40.420 --> 00:08:42.400 so you want to be clear and sure 00:08:42.400 --> 00:08:45.000 that you're going to have compliance on your campus. 00:08:45.029 --> 00:08:49.529 There's another kind of policy that I would call aspirational policy 00:08:49.529 --> 00:08:52.300 and maybe accessibility fits a little bit in both 00:08:52.375 --> 00:08:56.642 but you most certainly can err on the aspirational side. 00:08:56.642 --> 00:09:01.000 An aspirational policy is something you establish for your institution 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:03.944 as a path moving towards something, moving forward. 00:09:03.944 --> 00:09:07.434 It does not have to have one hundred percent compliance 00:09:07.434 --> 00:09:11.611 because it's really a direction that you're setting strategically for your institution. 00:09:11.611 --> 00:09:17.291 I'd say another critical aspect around our strategy 00:09:17.291 --> 00:09:19.700 is a shared governance strategy. 00:09:19.746 --> 00:09:25.586 Because education is a shared responsibility 00:09:25.586 --> 00:09:30.600 across faculty, staff, students, vendors, 00:09:30.615 --> 00:09:36.496 all of us working together have to share in that responsibility. 00:09:36.496 --> 00:09:43.116 Now, a shared governance process means if you are responsible in delivering the service, 00:09:43.116 --> 00:09:45.200 then you have an opportunity 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:49.100 to share in governing how we're going to manage 00:09:49.100 --> 00:09:51.100 the implementation of these services. 00:09:51.100 --> 00:09:54.460 The administrators of the university must reflect the values 00:09:54.460 --> 00:09:56.100 that demonstrate the importance of this to the learning environment 00:09:56.159 --> 00:10:01.059 and it has to be built in then to every aspect of what we do. 00:10:01.059 --> 00:10:05.400 Right now we have a number of projects and initiatives underway at the UW 00:10:05.446 --> 00:10:07.393 in which we're testing new technologies. 00:10:07.393 --> 00:10:11.043 Accessibility is an important consideration in these evaluations. 00:10:11.043 --> 00:10:16.693 Many of the vendors we work with have completed Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates or VPATs 00:10:16.693 --> 00:10:19.110 which offer a checklist of accessibility criteria 00:10:19.110 --> 00:10:23.443 and vendors' self-assessment as to how well they meet those criteria. 00:10:23.473 --> 00:10:26.553 It's a good starting point, but we go beyond that 00:10:26.553 --> 00:10:28.600 to ask a vendor specific questions and to test their products 00:10:28.674 --> 00:10:31.028 with respect to accessibility. 00:10:31.028 --> 00:10:37.796 We begin with our vendors saying (a) this is not only important, 00:10:37.796 --> 00:10:41.928 that this is required for working with the CSU. 00:10:41.928 --> 00:10:46.148 Every student who comes into our institution 00:10:46.148 --> 00:10:50.500 we have to provide equally effective access to those services 00:10:50.591 --> 00:10:54.175 and you are a partner in delivering those services to us. 00:10:54.175 --> 00:11:03.093 So we will tell you what we need and then we will help you inform your staff, educate your staff, 00:11:03.093 --> 00:11:08.290 provide them some consultation and guidance in partnership with us, 00:11:08.290 --> 00:11:11.757 so you can deliver the successful service for us. 00:11:11.757 --> 00:11:15.777 So we work with our vendors to try to put pressure on them 00:11:15.777 --> 00:11:17.800 to make things accessible. 00:11:17.860 --> 00:11:22.860 We actually have a purchasing process where we work through 00:11:22.860 --> 00:11:25.100 and ask the issues about accessibility 00:11:25.157 --> 00:11:29.324 for software and hardware that we buy as well. 00:11:29.324 --> 00:11:33.823 Individual efforts really need to be able to scale well. 00:11:33.823 --> 00:11:38.083 If we go about things in an ad hoc approach, one by one, 00:11:38.083 --> 00:11:39.900 we're not likely to get the same results 00:11:39.923 --> 00:11:43.858 as if we work together as a community in higher education 00:11:43.858 --> 00:11:48.318 to work with vendors to improve accessibility for everyone 00:11:48.318 --> 00:11:49.900 with regard to the products that are offered. 00:11:49.929 --> 00:11:55.269 That's a much more pragmatic approach rather than institution by institution. 00:11:55.269 --> 00:12:02.003 Making accessibility a priority in their development roadmap 00:12:02.003 --> 00:12:05.609 is going to be driven by the market demand. 00:12:05.609 --> 00:12:13.459 And if an institution never says a word, the vendor isn't going to do anything about it. 00:12:13.459 --> 00:12:17.299 So if we begin to communicate our demands collectively 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:21.760 then the vendor will recognize the market value of accessibility. 00:12:21.760 --> 00:12:23.660 As we acquire IT resources, 00:12:23.660 --> 00:12:26.800 we have to embed accessibility in our contracts. 00:12:26.800 --> 00:12:30.400 As we develop resources, we have to employ universal design 00:12:30.400 --> 00:12:33.100 in our thinking about how to make these resources available 00:12:33.160 --> 00:12:36.800 and we have to continue to monitor students to see if we're really delivering to them 00:12:36.831 --> 00:12:40.000 we're really delivering to them the resources in a form that they can actually use. 00:12:50.000 --> 00:12:53.020 Accessibility requires effort on the part of everyone 00:12:53.020 --> 00:12:55.100 in the higher education community... 00:12:55.122 --> 00:12:56.709 faculty, staff, technology vendors. 00:12:56.709 --> 00:13:00.475 If we all do our part, our institutions can provide everyone 00:13:00.475 --> 00:13:02.935 with an equal opportunity to participate. 00:13:02.935 --> 00:13:06.400 And we all benefit from the perspectives of a diverse group. 00:13:06.498 --> 00:13:10.458 Having that peace of mind that we are doing all we can 00:13:10.458 --> 00:13:13.778 to provide an accessible campus is - gives us a lot of pride 00:13:13.778 --> 00:13:18.000 and we feel very happy about what, what we do. 00:13:18.010 --> 00:13:22.610 Why wouldn't we make our campus accessible to students with disabilities 00:13:22.610 --> 00:13:25.100 and why wouldn't we do everything we could 00:13:25.140 --> 00:13:28.300 to see the technology is accessible to our students? 00:13:28.315 --> 00:13:31.635 The spirit of what has made higher education 00:13:31.635 --> 00:13:34.300 the jewel in the crown of American society 00:13:34.325 --> 00:13:38.123 is part and parcel of the message of accessibility. 00:13:38.123 --> 00:13:41.100 Every way in which we touch the lives of others, 00:13:41.100 --> 00:13:44.460 whether it's in the classroom, the laboratory, 00:13:44.460 --> 00:13:49.300 through live performances, through events on campus, 00:13:49.356 --> 00:13:54.876 we want everyone who comes here and creates those experiences 00:13:54.876 --> 00:14:02.600 to be as fully engaged and as fully benefited by the activity as possible. 00:14:02.680 --> 00:14:10.640 And that simply can't be done if people have artificial challenges or barriers to try to overcome. 00:14:10.640 --> 00:14:14.728 I would say to those out there who are just getting started 00:14:14.728 --> 00:14:17.208 or maybe struggling to figure out 00:14:17.208 --> 00:14:22.500 how to use technology to advance accessibility on their campuses 00:14:22.594 --> 00:14:26.592 that there's no such thing as a bad time to start.