Caps for Sale: Partners in Accessibility

Handouts Media

Presented at 3:00 pm in Mattie Silks on Wednesday, November 13, 2024.

Speaker(s)

• Christa Miller, Independent Consultant
• Danielle Smith, Assistive Technology Coordinator, Disability Resources, University of Mary Washington

Session Details

• Length of Session: 1-hr
• Format: Interactive/Discussion
• Expertise Level: Intermediate
• Type of session: General Conference

Summary

Increasing accessibility by design ebbs and flows. One reason being campus champions come and go. Much like the cap peddler in the children's book "Caps for Sale" sometimes we have a lot of energy, time, and resources to give. Then some days no one seems to want to have an accessibility cap. Later you may have more partners than you can support! Join us for a comparative exploration of approaches to partnerships.

Abstract

Higher education runs on relationships. It's noticeable that as employees come and go university initiatives often changes. This can be a particular challenge for accessibility where there is a wide variety of methods to creating and maintaining institutional support. When support is high it may seem like there are plenty of "caps" for your champions to "buy". Other days it can seem like you number of partners has dried up and even your own "cap" is looking pretty worn.

In this comparative discussion, we'll consider some different methods used by two public universities to maintain accessibility partnerships. As institutions with significant differences in enrollment and initiatives, the goal has been the same and the methods widely different. We'll consider grassroots efforts such as awareness events, thank-an-ally acknowledgements, and leveraging student employees. We'll also consider middle out approaches like lunch-and-learns and communities of practice. Finally, we'll consider top down initiatives such as alignment with strategic plans, enrollment growth, or retention.

This session will be an interactive discussion of lessons learned on how to maintain partners in accessibility regardless of the ebbs and flows of your institution.

Keypoints

1. Refesh your accessibility partnerships when students and employees turnover
2. Leverage disruptive changes to reevaluate what's essential
3. Identify resources outside your office to preserve institutional knowledge

Disability Areas

All Areas

Topic Areas

Faculty Development & Support, Uncategorized

Speaker Bio(s)

Christa Miller

Christa is a longtime accessibility advocate and has experience in many roles including assistive technology, Braille, professional development, disability accommodations, and web accessibility.

Danielle Smith

Danielle Smith is the Assistive Technology Coordinator at the University of Mary Washington. Danielle obtained a BS in Business Administration from Oswego State (2014) and a M.Ed in Cultural Foundations of Education from Syracuse University (2020). She has been working in Disability Services for 9 years mostly concentrated on Assistive Technology and Digital Accessibility.

Handout(s)

• Caps For Sale (gDrive)