Making Career Services More Equitable and Inclusive through Accessibility and Usability

Handouts Media

Presented at 9:15am in Waverly on Thursday, November 21, 2019.

Speaker(s)

• Rebecca Hall, University of Minnesota
• Raquel Anderson, , University of Minnesota

Session Details

• Length of Session: 1-hr
• Format: Lecture
• Expertise Level: All Levels
• Type of session: General Conference

Summary

The University of Minnesota's Career Services works hard to assure equitable access to opportunities for its students. This work includes looking with a critical eye at the online resources we provide, and engaging key campus partners from Purchasing, to IT, and Disability Resources in efforts to make these resources accessible and user-friendly.

Abstract

The University of Minnesota's Career Services works hard to assure equitable access to opportunities for its students.

Career Services' two key stakeholder audiences are students and employers. When evaluating the utility of resources with an equity lens, it is critical to look at access as essential. This presentation focuses on intentional efforts to meet audience accessibility needs through multiple means including successfully incorporating accessibility requirements and usability testing into a Career Services Management software platform RFP process. In employer educational and outreach webinars, closed-captioning is provided. Migration from a legacy html website to Drupal-lite is also addressed as a means of improving usability.

This work has included looking with a critical eye at the online resources we provide, and has engaged key campus partners from Purchasing, to IT, and Disability Resources in efforts to make these resources more accessible and user-friendly.

Keypoints

1. Learn from a successful example of how to incorporate accessibility into a software provider RFP process
2. Explore ways to implement Universal Design principles like naming conventions and structure to a website
3. Engage in a conversation about determining key constituencies and how to best accommodate their needs

Disability Areas

Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Vision

Topic Areas

Uncategorized, Web/Media/App Access

Speaker Bio(s)

Rebecca Hall

Becky provides project management and leadership for coordinated career initiatives at the University of Minnesota, including project management, vendor resource selection and contract processing, graduate outcomes measurement, and program development. She partners with colleagues across the University of Minnesota system, including Institutional Research, Office for Equity & Diversity, and Global Programs. Becky has an MA in Counseling and Student Personnel Psychology, and a BAS in Psychology and Gerontology.

Raquel Anderson

Raquel earned her bachelor's degree from Metropolitan State University in Human Services and Criminal Justice. She spent some time working in the nonprofit sector before returning to graduate school. She is currently pursuing her master's degree in Human Resource Development and Integrative Leadership at the University of Minnesota. Her area of focus is workforce development and adult education. She's dedicated to helping students find work they are passionate about. She says, "we spend a great deal of our life working, so we should be able to love what we do."

Handout(s)

• AHG Slide Deck Nov 1 (pptx)

  Making Career Services Accessible