1 A Journey to AccessibilityTemple University's University-Wide Accessible Information and Technology Initiative Implementation Paul Paire Executive Director

2 About Temple UniversityBased in Philadelphia, one of Pennsylvania’s state-related research Universities, along with the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State 37,000 students and 5,700 employees 17 schools and colleges including 8 professional schools (including Dentistry, Law, Medicine, Pharmacy and Podiatry) 140 bachelor’s degree programs 126 master’s degree programs International campuses in Tokyo, Rome, and London with programs in China, Korea, Greece, Israel and more 1400 students registered with Disability Resources and Services [additional professional degrees: DOT (Doctorate of Occupational Therapy) , DPT (Doctorate of Physical Therapy) , DNP (Doctorate of Nursing Practice) ]

3 Technology accessibility and the ADA“Colleges and universities have specific legal obligations to provide students, faculty, and staff with disabilities the same benefits, programs, and services.” - Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights U.S. Department of Education For the Dept. of Justice and the Dept. of Education, their major compliance interest and enforcement interest for the foreseeable future is access to technology. College and Universities need to get a good handle on this issue and their role in providing accessible technology. The problem is here now, and it is not going away.

4 Why Now? Greater reliance on technology in education.Course management systems (Blackboard, Moodle, ANGEL.) Smart classrooms with advanced audio visual technology. On-line administrative processes. Dramatic increase in on-line learning. Growing adoption of electronic textbooks and eReaders in classrooms. Proliferation of iPad’s. Growing use of Google Apps. As technology gets more complex compliance is becoming critical. Proliferation of lawsuits.

5 How to change an organization

6 Get people motivated

7 Motivation for ExecutivesDesire to be fair & equitable in delivering services 30 complaints or settlements (and one statement of interest) involving institutions of Higher Education

8 Current litigation in Higher Ed# of complaints brought by: # types & of ADA issues raised: 10 National Federation of the Blind 6 Department of Education 5 Department of Justice 4 American Council of the Blind 4 Student Lawsuit 2 Employee Lawsuit 2 Reading Rights Coalition 1 Disability Rights Advocate 1 Texas Civil Rights Project 8 Accommodations 6 eReaders 6 Physical Spaces (Standards for Design) 4 Clickers 4 Policy 4 Websites 3 Library 2 application process 2 Course Management System 2 Course Registration 2 Google Apps 2 Instructional Materials 2 Instructor’s Behavior 2 Online course content 2 Procurement 1 ATMs 1 Electronic Textbook 1 Food Service Information culled from: https://sites.temple.edu/a11ylawsuits/

9 Self Audit Hired outside consultant to review:Websites & Web applications (sample size=15) Classrooms / Learning Spaces Computer Labs Results: we were on par with other institutions that hadn’t addressed accessibility

10 Our Discovery Temple University found out we need to address:Overall accessibility policy for information and technology Computer labs (128 computer labs & 3,648 workstations) Instructional materials Learning spaces/classrooms (~700 including labs/studios) Library Procurement of technology Web based content Web based systems

11 Pull together a guiding team

12 Accessible Tech Compliance CommitteeChair (CIO) 1 Staff (Executive director) 4 Faculty representatives 1 School / College technical (Director of Information Tech) 2 Computer Services (Associate Vice President & Exec Director of Academic Support) 1 Creative Services (Director of Electronic Communications) 2 Disability Resources and Services (Associate Vice President & Associate Director) 1 Human Resources (Associate Vice President) 1 Provost Office (Vice Provost) 1 Library (Senior Associate University Librarian) 1 University Counsel (Associate University Counsel) 1 Facilities (Director of Architectural Services)

13 Project/Working groupsAccessible Tech Compliance Committee Project co-chairs Accessibility Liaisons Project Director Instructional Materials & Captioning Training & Accessibility Web Site Web Review & Audit Assistive Technology Online Learning Library Administrative Systems Procurement Only Web Liaisons University -Wide

14 Accessibility LiaisonsAn individual within each school or college, responsible for coordinating the accessibility remediation and compliance efforts for their respective area: Establishes priorities of remediation Evaluates accessibility during the procurement process Works with budget unit head for funding accessibility initiatives Attends accessibility meetings and training Provides annual reports on the individual school or, colleges, progress towards remediation

15 Develop a vision and strategy

16 Vision = University policyWe will be accessible The person responsible for providing the technology or information is responsible for making it accessible If it can’t be made accessible we should consider removing it Accessible Technology Compliance Committee which is empowered to effectuate change and is responsible for: Setting standards & guidelines Setting Timetables Enforcement Granting exceptions

17 Scope & Budget PlanningInitial assessment Hire a consultant Instructional materials Tools for DIYers Farming out remediation Learning spaces & Computer Labs Software Hardware Remediation of physical spaces Library and it’s components Online catalog Journals Alt Format for Course reserves Multimedia Captioning/Transcripts Audio Descriptions/Transcripts Captioning of live & live streaming of events Web Web auditing solution web based systems (replace/fix?) Tools for testing Accessibility Q&A staff as part of the software development lifecycle

18 Survey other institutionsJoin Athen & EDUCAUSE’s “ITACCESS” listservs Attend conferences to learn from other institutions Conference call with Cal State about how they launched their initiative Talk with San Francisco State about their procurement process

19 Working groups develop standardsWeb group Developed standards for web content WCAG 2.0 AA for internally developed/sponsored sites Section 508 for vendor controlled content Established deadlines for compliance Issued an RFP for a web auditing tool Assistive Technology group Developed standards for Computer labs Developed standards for Classrooms (evolved into Learning Spaces) Instructional Materials group* Started working on standards (abandoned in favor of how-tos) Developing checklists *Need to get faculty involved in Instructional Materials workgroup

20 Learning space standardsWorked with Disability Resources & Services to develop standards Standards address: 2010 Standards for Accessible Design specifications (i.e. reach distances & kick space for podiums) Software Hardware (including control panels for lights & AV equipment) Smart carts Types of spaces Auditorium/Theater space Classrooms Lecture hall Seminar room Studio space Developed a checklist based on the standards

21 Computer lab standardsStandards address: 2010 Standards for Accessible Design specifications Reach distances (counter/workstation heights, peripherals) Route to workstation Kick space for workstations # of accessible workstations Signs & documentation Assistive Hardware (e.g. keyboards, trackballs, etc.) Assistive Software Pay to Print stations Training student workers Deadline for compliance Developed a checklist based on the standards

22 Purchasing Added language to purchasing policies requiring procurement (purchase or otherwise) of accessible information and technology Added language to RFP and contracts for accessibility & remediation Developed an Exceptions Request form and process workflow

23 Exceptions Request formName & description of the product or resource Who is the audience? (and indicate approximately how many of each type) What is the cost? (single year and/or recurring) Accessibility Roadmap? (and if so what's the timeline for compliance?) Describe how it is used. Is it currently in use? Which of the 508 category(ies) is relevant to the product? Is it required for coursework or job function? What exception category (specified in section 508) are you requesting? Explain why it meets the exception. Describe the reasonable accommodation you will provide.

24 Exception Request work flowInitial Request ATCC Review Accessibility Liaison (or individual if there is no Accessibility Liaison) submits request to Proof to make sure everything’s OK (may request clarification on some items or revision to request if it is incomplete) Write up an executive summary of the request Request form and executive summary sent to ATCC for review and decision (decision is requested within 6 business days) ATCC may request clarification on some items Decision is sent to Accessibility Liaison (or initial requestor)

25 Library Workflows are in place render video course reserves accessible (mixture of purchase and captioning in Ensemble.) Conducting an year-long review of all 500 database platforms and alerting vendors to compliance issues. Remediated primary website (library.temple.edu) and several secondary sites.  Engaged vendors of several major systems (e.g., Innovative for OPAC, OCLC for CONTENTdm) to press with other universities for improvements in their platforms. Library programmers working with vendors to make products accessible: Springshare’s LibChat. Contributed to Omeka (open source software for online exhibition.) Joined HathiTrust  and set up proxy system for print disabled  so they can have full-text access to the 13 million books, journals, etc. Adopted Ares as new  course reserve platform to improve accessibility of textual course reserves scanned in the library. (Accessible content still challenging.)

26 Instructional MaterialsSurveyed file types on Learning Management System (Blackboard) Prioritized creation of checklists for the top four types of content first: Word PowerPoint Excel PDF Incorporating Universal Design aspects in checklists

27 Launching the initiativeCommunicate for buy in: CIO went on a road show presenting to: Council of Deans Faculty Senate Business Managers Collegial assemblies Presentation consisted of: Overview of policy & project Who is responsible (content creator is responsible) We’re here to help & what we’ve done so far

28 Empower others to act

29 http://accessibility.temple.edu Launched WebsiteWebsite launched to act as a clearinghouse for: Policies Guidelines How-to materials Quick tips Link to community

30 Empowerment – in many formsHad Deans appoint “Accessibility Liaisons” in each school or college & formed committee Purchased a tool to allow users to audit their own web content/sites/systems Distributed guidelines for computer labs and learning spaces Bi-weekly meetings with Accessibility Liaison committee

31 Make it easy in the beginning

32 Quick wins Survey and remediate Computer Services’ centrally owned/managed learning spaces & computer labs first: Largest and most heavily used labs were remediated first Received feedback on the standards and checklists to improve and clarify requirements Early remediation allowed us to determine average remediation costs Update all control panels in smart classrooms owned by Computer Services so they ‘talk’ Launched new web accessibility standards at university wide web designers meeting Creative Services works with contractors to make sure new websites are accessible Hired a visually impaired student worker to assist with testing new web based applications developed in-house

33 Stay with it

34 Sometimes things take timeInstructional materials guidelines 12 months and they still weren’t finished Reboot after 5 months Switched from policy to checklists with How-To’s Engaged larger group of faculty to assist with determining how to tweak them for better adoption Web auditing software Slow adoption rate from web masters/designers Used a university wide broken links initiative to introduce staff to the software

35 Annual Reports Understand how each school/college is progressing via annual report. Addresses: How well we communicated the initiative Web sites Instructional materials Learning spaces Computer labs

36 Budget – how much was spent?Central funding covered $600,000 to date for: Remediating computer labs (central and schools/colleges) Remediating learning spaces Software to audit websites Consulting and training Individual Schools/Colleges and Administrative Units spent $83,000 the first year for: Remediating computer labs Captioning Note: figures do not include personnel costs

37 Lessons learned Sometimes it takes a while to get a workable solutionDeadlines are good, but be flexible Communication is key (particularly top down) Spread out the work (form working groups) People want to help, make it easy for them Don’t come with all the answers, let people be a part of the process Include representatives from facilities Be flexible (i.e. exceptions request form)

38 On your journey Enjoy the good Don’t let the bad drag you downAccessibility, like penguins, isn’t always black and white

39 Questions?

40 Photo credits “Penguin” by cnystrom © 2005 and made available under a Attribution-NoDerivs Generic 2.0 license “Penguin Group Small”, “Trekking across the Antarctic Ice and Snow” and “JV ” by Antarctica Bound © 2010 and made available under a Attribution-NoDerivs Generic 2.0 license “Adelie Penguin Dive on Paulet Island, Antarctica” by nick_russill © 2007 and made available under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs Generic 2.0 license “Ice cased Adelie penguins after a blizzard at Cape Denison” photograph by Frank Hurley provided by State Library of New South Wales “King Penguin Chick at Salisbury Plain” by Liam Quinn © 2011 under a Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license