Presented at 12:45pm in Cotton Creek I on Friday, November 22, 2019.
#29770Speaker(s)
- Jennifer Pedersen, ETT Lead, University of Alaska Anchorage, Kenai Peninsula College
- Alasha Brito, Communication Specialist, University of Alaska Anchorage, Kenai Peninsula College
Session Details
- Length of Session: 1-hr
- Format: Lecture
- Expertise Level: Beginner
- Type of session: General Conference
Summary
Our institution faced an Office of Civil Rights complaint and the Voluntary Resolution Agreement required all public facing websites to be fully accessible by November 2019. With the mindset of “different role, same goal”, faculty and staff took ownership of creating and distributing accessible digital content.
Abstract
Faced with an Office of Civil Rights complaint and a Voluntary Resolution Agreement to have all public facing websites fully acceptable by November 2019, accessible digital content quickly became a priority at our campus. In order to quickly and efficiently meet the VRA, faculty and staff needed to understand both the urgency and need to make changes to the status quo of document creation. In order to create a culture that embraces accessibility, we organized an accessibility committee comprised of representatives from each department and focused on three main areas: cultural change, digital content, and training. During this session, we will share our campus initiative: Different Role, Same Goal. This kitschy slogan served as a reminder that each of us play a unique and important role in improving the student experience. Additionally we will outline the steps we took to create a campus culture that embraces accessibility.
Keypoints
- Changing a culture: from an accommodations mindset to one of ensuring accessibility for all students
- Embracing the need for accessibility: all positions impact student success- we work together to meet one goal
- Design and delivery accessibility training: ensure that all faculty and staff have Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSA) to achieve one goal
Disability Areas
Cognitive/Learning, Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Psychological, Vision
Topic Areas
Uncategorized
Speaker Bio(s)
Jennifer Pedersen
Dr. Jennifer Pedersen is an Educational Psychologist with more than 15 years in higher education. She has extensive training and experience in all aspects of face-to-face and online course design and delivery. Dr. Pedersen has a passion for student success; she specializes in helping faculty incorporate Universal Design principles when developing course material and delivering content in a manner that attracts all learning styles. In her current position, Dr. Pedersen assumed responsibility for campus wide accessibility training, and leads her team in piloting new technology to assist in helping faculty and staff create an inclusive and accessible educational experience where all students can achieve their educational dreams.