I served on the University of Minnesota Morris Technology, Access and Instruction (TAI) Working Group from November 2013 through May 2014. This working group was tasked with achieving a set of outcomes to address concerns that were raised by an informal working group (of which I was also a member) in October 2013, which primarily provided recommendations towards accessibility of course and classroom materials, technology, and digital content to benefit all users with disabilities.
The TAI working group submitted its report, including recommendations for the University of Minnesota Morris campus, in May 2014. The report included the following expected outcomes:
1. To identify barriers to student access to instructional material, prioritized by first identifying the non-accessible hardware and/or software to impact the greatest number of students.
2. To generate a list of achievable goals to reduce these barriers over the next 12, 234, and 36 months.
3. To create a plan for realizing these goals that includes a sequence number of necessary steps to be taken and recommendation regarding the academic service provider whom should take lead responsibility and a cost estimate.
Upcoming posts in this blog will address specific actions that each of us can take to provide accessible materials.
