Deadlines for submitting long-term plans have been met, and HSU has emerged as one of the lead campuses in the 23-campus CSU system, according to Kevin O’Brien, Co-Executive Sponsor for the ATI project. Administrative web pages have been scanned and repaired for compliance with required standards and instructional media are being reviewed to meet ATI guidelines. The Office of Contracts and Procurement has submitted its plan for approval and will be fine tuning its procedures for product compliance reviews.
O’Brien said training will be in the forefront of each of the three categories in the new academic year. “We are looking into the integration of ‘training of trainers,” ‘web casts’ and ‘face-to-face’ models in a comprehensive training package for the campus community."
The ATI’s strategic objective is to ensure that everyone has access to HSU web sites, course content and electronic media and equipment. Instructional materials are considered to be forms of communication and therefore must be accessible in a manner that is equally effective for persons with disabilities. Contractors who win CSU procurement (purchasing) contracts must certify that relevant goods and services are compliant with accessibility statutes.
As President Richmond has said, “The vision of ATI is to expand our culture of an inclusive learning and working environment.”
Underpinning the ATI is the principle of Universal Design in higher education—providing multiple approaches to meet the needs of diverse learners. The design of web sites and course content accommodates everyone, marking a shift away from separate systems and multiple accommodations. Accessibility standards are integrated during design, providing for built-in accessibility and averting costly retrofits or alternative approaches each time an individual uses the curriculum or a web site. Ease of access can be curricular (take-home tests, notes posted on web sites), technological (web sites with alt tags on all graphic images) or physical (curb cuts for wheel chairs and baby strollers).
HSU administrators and faculty receive support for ATI-related professional development training under a three-year, $1 million federal project named EnACT (Ensuring Access through Collaboration and Technology), which is managed by Sonoma State University. HSU was a first-year grant partner and for 2007 and beyond, nine HSU faculty are involved in the EnACT Project, from the College of Professional Studies and the College of Natural Resources and Sciences.
For more information, contact Kevin O’Brien at 707/826-4678.