The American Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that public entities make goods and services accessible for all individuals. While institutions have long recognized the need to create accessible physical spaces, accessibility within virtual environments has not achieved the same level of focus, particularly in higher education. The 2011 NCES report investigating questions of access found that 53% of institutions surveyed did not have websites following established accessibility guidelines, (Raue & Lewis, 2011). In 2016, the Department of Justice found UC Berkeley in violation of Title II of ADA because of lack of captioning on their videos (U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, 2016). In the current environment, it is incumbent upon all individuals who create digital materials to understand and employ the principles of accessibility.

In 2015, North Hennepin Community College (NHCC) hired Accessibility Partners to assist the college with developing a roadmap to increase accessibility of the college’s digital materials. According to the report produced for the college, faculty at the college are not fully prepared to develop accessible courses for blended and online learning. Based on data obtained from a survey of the faculty indicating that the vast majority did not know how to make accessible course materials, Accessibility Partners recommended that NHCC devise a strategy to provide training for faculty on basic principles of accessibility and how to incorporate accessibility into online materials. In the survey, lack of knowledge was the most often cited barrier to incorporating accessibility principles into online learning.

To date, NHCC has not fully implemented a systematic training solution on accessibility for all employees, and it is more typical that digital materials are produced and disseminated that do not meet basic accessibility standards. While most employees recognize the importance of creating accessible materials for the college website and online instruction, they do not recognize the equal importance to ensure accessibility in all digital materials, such as the college newsletter and internal forms. NHCC currently employs individuals who experience both hearing and visual impairments. ADA requires that we provide accessible materials for our current employees as well as the general public and our students.

In order to ensure that all employees recognize the importance of creating accesible digital materials, we need to develop meaningful instructional materials that can be incorporated into employee onboarding and regular employee development.

Works Cited

Raue, K., & Lewis, L. (2011). Students with disabilities at degree-granting postsecondary institutions. (NCES 2011–018). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2011/2011018.pdf

U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. (2016). The United States’ findings and conclusions based on its investiagtion under Title II of the American with Disabilities Act of the University of California at Berkeley, DJ No. 204-11-309. Retrieved from https://www.ada.gov/briefs/uc_berkley_lof.pdf