[CTCAccess] Good examples of accessibility-related messages from senior administrators?

Tue May 15 22:36:05 PDT 2018

Dr. Jim Richardson, president of Wenatchee Valley College, shared this email with his fellow presidents.

From: Richardson, Jim
Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2018 3:50 PM
To: All District
Subject: Making accessibility a priority

Hello all,

As part of its mission to serve the educational needs of students of diverse backgrounds, Wenatchee Valley College is making accessibility a priority.

Electronic and information technology resources that are created accessibly, following universal design standards<https://www.wvc.edu/accessibility/resources.html#Understanding%20disability>, are usable by everyone on our campus, including those with disabilities. Here’s everything you should know about the accessibility work being done at WVC and how you can help.

What we’re doing
Work is underway. We already have:
·        a committee dedicated to this work. The Access 360 Committee is a made up of 12 WVC employees who are working to make campus more accessible. Learn more about the committee and WVC's accessibility team<https://www.wvc.edu/accessibility/contact.html>.
·        many staff and faculty who have completed accessibility trainings and are incorporating it into their materials.
·        resources and tools available to everyone. Visit our accessibility homepage<https://www.wvc.edu/accessibility> for resources, tools and more.
·        begun remedial work on pages and materials on the website.
·        started work on a reporting tool<https://www.wvc.edu/accessibility/reporting.html> so that users can report accessibility issues on the website. It will be available soon.
What you can do
You are a part of the solution! There’s a lot you can do to begin incorporating accessibility into your work. You can:
·        educate yourself about accessibility on the resources page on our website<https://www.wvc.edu/accessibility/resources.html>.
·        get free training! The state offers a thorough online training that is perfect for beginners. View the course<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__sbctc.instructure.com_courses_1578604_&d=DwMFAg&c=9iW6DFLB94AlSNX4kZa4dlhb9A5zDnA8WQ2OrFlvw0k&r=NGUfcgBbwwtHLb-K-OmjIvpY1x87DnGtbHesarHDZ_g&m=TNfsgxcCaGd7-AVe3jk5O8wWIK2UEMZSbWyKGKe_EMY&s=I7i2Wlu8wz96MQlcm8PYp_r-McRboyo24Thn95xb0SA&e=> and check back here to register<https://www.sbctc.edu/colleges-staff/programs-services/elearning-open-education/training-registration.aspx> for the next available course.
·        attend info sessions on campus to ask questions and learn more. Info sessions will be held April 11 and April 18 with ITV to Omak. View thetimes and locations<https://www.wvc.edu/accessibility/>. A session in Omak will be scheduled soon.
·        give us feedback. Tell us what trainings you’d like or what resources you’d like to see on the website. Contact Jeannie Henkle at (509) 682-6718 or at jhenkle at wvc.edu<mailto:jhenkle at wvc.edu>.
Learn more
Here’s what you should know about accessibility:
·        accessible materials work better for everyone – not just those with disabilities. Read more about the benefits of universal design<https://www.wvc.edu/accessibility/resources.html#Understanding%20disability>.
·        accessibility is a legal requirement. Federal law and state policy both require public colleges and universities to make online materials accessible. Failure to comply with these laws is an issue of discrimination. Read about the legal reasons for accessibility on our website<https://www.wvc.edu/accessibility/resources.html#Understanding%20disability>.
·        making things accessible isn’t as scary as it might sound. Here are 3 things you can start doing now to make your stuff more accessible<https://www.wvc.edu/accessibility/blog.html>. (By the way, this e-mail is an example of accessible formatting!)
Thank you for your continued dedication to making Wenatchee Valley College a place for all students to learn.

Sincerely,

Jim Richardson, Ph.D.
WVC President
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Jan Yoshiwara sent this email:

From: Jan Yoshiwara
Sent: Friday, February 23, 2018 12:50 PM
To: SBCTC All Staff <SBCTCAllStaff at sbctc.edu<mailto:SBCTCAllStaff at sbctc.edu>>
Subject: Accessibility at SBCTC

Dear SBCTC staff:

It goes without saying that community and technical colleges are “Democracy’s colleges.” We are proud that our colleges are open-access institutions that take people from where they are, to where they want to be. You demonstrate that mission in your work every day.

With that in mind, I’d like to express my commitment to making our SBCTC presence more accessible to people who have disabilities. Accessibility is a civil rights issue recognized by the Department of Justice, the State of Washington and our own system. Without it, people with disabilities are excluded from fully participating with our agency and our colleges.

Every state agency in Washington, including SBCTC, is expected to work toward accessibility. This means that we all have a shared responsibility to make documents and videos accessible. Our goal is not to be perfect; it’s to make progress.

Fortunately, Jess Thompson has put together an excellent training course to help make this process less daunting. All of us are registered for the training. It should take about 2 to 4 hours to complete and will save everyone a lot of time in the long run.  Please watch for an email with information on how to access the training. An accessibility issue brief<https://www.sbctc.edu/resources/documents/about/task-forces-work-groups/cato/accessibility-issue-brief.pdf>, and the StaffNet accessibility page<https://portal.sbctc.edu/sites/Intranet/accessibility/Pages/default.aspx> (see resource links), also include great information and tips.

Accessibility is ultimately about people and our values as a system – it’s about opening our doors even wider. I appreciate all the hard work that is already underway, and all the progress to come.

Sincerely,
Jan

[Compass]Laura McDowell
Director of Communications
Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
lmcdowell at sbctc.edu<mailto:lmcdowell at sbctc.edu> • o: 360-704-4310 • f: 360-704-4415 • c: 360-280-0670
sbctc.edu<https://www.sbctc.edu/> • Twitter: @SBCTCWashington<https://twitter.com/SBCTCWashington> • Facebook: @WASBCTC<https://www.facebook.com/wasbctc/>

From: CTCAccess <ctcaccess-bounces at lists.ctc.edu> On Behalf Of John Melson
Sent: Tuesday, May 15, 2018 9:24 AM
To: ctcaccess at lists.ctc.edu
Subject: [CTCAccess] Good examples of accessibility-related messages from senior administrators?

At the spring Access 360 convening a couple weeks ago, representatives from several colleges mentioned their presidents and/or vice presidents had sent all-campus messages about accessibility efforts.

Would any of you be willing to share examples of such messages from your colleges, either privately or on this list? I'm trying to collect a variety of examples that I can share with the senior administrators on my campus.

Thanks in advance, and best wishes,
John

--
John Melson
Director of Educational Technology
Everett Community College
2000 Tower Street
Everett, WA 98201

425-388-9585

Visit the Center for Transformative Teaching's blog<https://ctt.evccblogs.com> to read about digital pedagogy and innovative teaching practices at EvCC and beyond.
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