Presented at 10:30am in Gov Square 11 on Friday, November 19, 2021.
#34101Speaker(s)
- Michele Bromley, Manager, Digital Accessibility and Content, Portland State University
- Jerrod Thomas, Senior Director of Academic and Technology Services, Portland State University
Session Details
- Length of Session: 1-hr
- Format: Lecture
- Expertise Level: Beginner
- Type of session: General Conference
Summary
Portland State University put a great deal of effort into planning, building, and piloting a resource rich, risk and impact based approach to accessibility review for technology procurement. This presentation will detail our accessibility change efforts in this area and lessons we learned while generating associated workflows and resources.
Abstract
With an IT Accessibility team of one, responsible for the accessibility of PSU’s public-facing digital spaces, we assembled a cross-institutional project team and worked together to develop an accessible procurement workflow for all technology purchases. This involved extensive collaboration with key stakeholders on campus, which allowed us to incorporate critical feedback and ensure high-level buy-in at the onset. We chose to scale our accessible procurement workflows based on expected user impact level, offering tiered levels of accessibility documentation review and functional accessibility testing. By aligning with existing IT Security workflows, we were able to expedite adoption by Contracting Services. The new IT Risk and Accessibility Review has become a cornerstone for nearly all technology procurement on campus. This presentation will detail our accessibility change efforts in technology procurement and lessons we learned while generating associated workflows and resources.
Keypoints
- Strategic partnerships with campus stakeholders and comparator institutions are key to accessibility change.
- Resource-rich, risk and impact based approaches to accessible procurement reviews are more sustainable.
- Modifying existing workflows to include accessibility is more efficient than creating entirely new processes.
Disability Areas
All Areas
Topic Areas
Administrative/Campus Policy, Procurement, Uncategorized
Speaker Bio(s)
Michele Bromley
Michele Joy Bromley, MA, ADS, CPWA, is a digital accessibility and inclusivity specialist, currently supporting the Office of Information Technology (OIT) at Portland State University (PSU) as the manager of the Digital Accessibility and Content team. Michele is a Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA) and Accessible Document Specialist (ADS) through the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP). Her primary areas of expertise are project and change management, enterprise service management, and accessible digital procurement, design, validation, remediation, and incident response. She has presented on these topics for the Postsecondary Disability Training Institute, the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD), AHEAD’s Accessible Media, Web and Technology Conference (Accessing Higher Ground), and EDUCAUSE.
Jerrod Thomas
Jerrod Thomas, M.S., is the Senior Director of Academic and Technology Services, providing information technology services to a diverse campus community by working closely with campus senior leadership to plan, design, and deliver the best technology experiences to the Portland State community. Academic & Technology Services facilitates the use and understanding of technology to connect the campus’ needs with the best IT solutions. This work is coordinated through functional units including Service Desk Operations, Academic and Business Application Services, Technology Learning Spaces, AV Events Management, and IT Accessibility.