York Technical College and Accessibility: The How and the Why of It

AccessibilityThe How and Why of it at York Tech

Why Did We Do It?

•OCR Mandate•508/WCAG 2.0 AA Regulations

Why Did We Do It? continued

•Increase enrollment/retention•Simply the right thing to do

Keys for Faculty

•Understanding the why•Understanding how•Time Management•Rethinking ROI•Learning about/gathering VPATS

Keys for Faculty continued

•Revising/rethinking rather than eliminating•Finding high-quality, already accessible materials

How Did We Get There?

•OCR mandate - no one does optional•Trainings – regular, repeated, and often•Accessibility labs – a chance to focus solely on accessibility

How Did We Get There? continued

•Strong support from instructional designers•Regular check points/time lines•Final checks – deadlines•Staggered requirements – online, hybrid, all

classes

Tools

•Accessibility Checkers (Browser, PDF, Office)•Third party partners (e.g. 3Play Media,

ReadSpeaker)•Readers and Transcriptionists (in-house)•Color Checkers

Tools continued

•YouTube•Dragon•Audacity•Patience

Questions?