Many DSS providers have the misunderstanding that alternate format production requirements depend on available resources. However, in the absence of an effective, efficient alternate format production system, the institution is at risk of under serving or mis-serving students and violating Office of Civil Rights and Department of Justice requirements This presentation is a comprehensive discussion of alt format production requirements, including legal requirements and necessary skills and tools.
Abstract
Every institution is responsible for providing access to college and course materials for students with disabilities. In order to satisfy individual access preferences and the requirements of the Office of Civil Rights, DSS offices must be able to produce alternate formats of a variety of institutional and course materials in an effective, accurate, and timely manner, taking into account the primary preference of the student with a disability. In this session, we will take an in-depth look at legal requirements, at a variety of alternate formats, at some of the most prevalent alt format production tools, and at the alt format processes used at Valencia College. We will also discuss sustainability challenges and Universal Design principles that enhance the preservation of alt format resources.
Kepoints
Legal requirements for accessibility in general and alternate format in particular
Overview of alternate format production skills and tools
Incorporation of these considerations into the design of an alternate format process
Speaker Bio(s)
Julie Balassa
Julie K. Balassa earned her BA degree in Psychology from McGill University and MA degree in Education of the Deaf from Columbia University. She started her career in New York City as a teacher of the deaf and subsequently as a nationally certified interpreter for the deaf. She initiated a pilot program to teach deaf children with autism, schizophrenia, and brain injury and served as a consultant regarding the education of this population. She sat on the board of New York Metro Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID). She subsequently became a staff interpreter for the Connecticut Commission on the Deaf and Hearing Impaired, after which she relocated to Florida and worked as a freelance interpreter and desktop publisher. She joined the staff of Valencia College in 2003 as a counselor for a TRIO grant program serving students with disabilities, where in addition to her responsibilities as the grant's academic advisor she was responsible for supervising the grant’s assistive technology services, data collection systems, and tutoring program. She became college-wide coordinator of Valencia's Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services, Assistive Technology Services, and Alternate Format Services in 2005 and has continued oversight of these areas since her reclassification in 2007 as college-wide Assistant Director of the college's Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD). She is the college's point of contact with publishers regarding accessibility, serves as a technical and educational resource for the OSD and for disability service providers throughout the country, and is a frequent presenter on alternate format production, assistive technologies, and on issues impacting access for students who are deaf, hard of hearing, or legally blind. She continues to hold national RID CI and CT certification and sits on the Advisory Committee of the Access Text Network.