Accessing Higher Ground webinar to take on improving digital access on campuses

A Google or Yahoo search on “campus accessibility policy” reveals that the number of campuses implementing (or at least posting) a systemwide access policy for Web pages and digital media seems to be rapidly growing. Is this an effective way to improve accessibility at a university or college? Are there other strategies for increasing the accessibility of a campus’ electronic resources?

The Aug. 25 webinar “Strategies and Case Studies for Improving Digital Access on the College and University Campus” will attempt to answer these questions.

Highlighted speakers include Jon Gunderson, whose accessibility survey of university websites was published in the December issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education. He will talk about the strategies undertaken to encourage and ensure accessibility by universities that ranked in the top tier for Web accessibility. He also will discuss what his own university – the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – does to address the issue of digital access. Susan Cullen will talk in a similar vein about her campus, California State University at Northridge, which rated second out of 183 in Gunderson’s survey.

John Whiting of WebAIM will talk about the organization’s ongoing grant-funded project to help institutions in systemwide web accessibility efforts, addressing such issues as:

• Gaining top-level support for institutional web accessibility.
• Creating a campuswide accessibility committee.
• Benchmarking institutional web accessibility with an eye toward continuous improvement.
• Gaining buy-in from faculty and staff.
• Understanding how web accessibility may tie into regional accreditation.

Teresa Haven from Arizona State University will discuss recent statements by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Justice regarding technology accessibility compliance and how to work with institutions to enact necessary changes. Haven also will discuss recent legal updates, ideas for building alliances, and strategies for engaging key stakeholders in dialogue.

Other topics covered in the webcast will include: building collaboration on campus, selling accessibility to resistant faculty, and best practices for digital access.

The webinar, from 10 a.m. to 1:35 p.m., is split into three segments. Cost of the event is $150 for an individual watching via computer, or $390 for group viewing. CU campuses receive a 10 percent discount.

For more information, contact Howard Kramer at ahg@colorado.edu or 303-492-8672. Online registration is available at http://www.cvent.com/d/1cq7gw/4W