Accessibility Survival Guide for Instructors

This document contains the results of a Subject Area Study on accessibility issues in the curricula of Computer Applications and Office Systems (CAS), Computer Science (CS), and Computer Information Systems (CIS). The study was conducted during Winter Term, 2014, and included the participation of the following people:

• Supada Amornchat - Alternate Media Formats Technician, Distance Learning
• Lisa Brandt - Alternate Media Formats Technician, Disability Services
• Angel Chisemet - Assistive Technician
• Marc Goodman - Adjunct Instructor and Subject Matter Expert, CIS
• Haris Gunadi - Alternate Media Specialist, Disability Services
• Gayathri Iyer - Instructor and Subject Matter Expert, CS
• Kaela Parks - Disability Services Director
• Phyllis Petteys - Accessibility Specialist, Disability Services
• Karen Sorensen - Accessibility Advocate, Distance Learning
• Susan Watson - Instructor and Subject Matter Expert, CAS

The overall purpose of the study was to identify accessibility issues that are specific to the teaching of CAS, CS, and CIS. Within that purpose, we identified the following goals:

• To provide instructors with guidance on how to develop new course materials that were accessible to their diverse students.
• To provide instructors with basic information about accessibility requirements and the accommodation process for students with disabilities.
• To provide Disability Services staff with information on creating accessible alternatives to existing course content.
• To provide Distance Learning staff with information that could be used to evaluate whether online course shells are accessible.
• To provide background information for the ongoing discussion around our plans for making our instructional materials accessible, so that the full requirements and costs are well understood.

It is written from the perspective of an "accessibility survival guide for instructors," i.e., the practical information an instructor should know when designing new materials, or when a student with an accommodation signs up for their class. It is organized into the following sections:

1. Introduction - Provides background on accessibility issues and the report. Discusses why instructors should be aware of accessibility issues. Explains what the report covers.
2. Computing for the Blind - Discusses the differences between a blind student using the computer and a sighted student using the computer. Describes assistive technologies that are available to our students.
3. Making Programming Labs Accessible - Presents a rubric for evaluating programming labs for their accessibility. Gives several examples of accessible and inaccessible content, and guidelines for creating accessible content.
4. General Recommendations - Provides general recommendations not covered in the section on the programming lab accessibility rubric. Includes information on the accessibility of publisher content for frequently used publishers in our subject areas.
5. Glossary - Gives definitions for "jargon" terms used throughout the report.
6. References - Provides links to several sources used in compiling this report.

This document may be viewed as a single consolidated report, or as a collection of browsable, hyperlinked web pages.