Meeting Date
- Guests: Accessibility Team -Phil Deaton & Kurt Murmers
- Guest Bios
- Phil works on ADA team doing Electronic Information Technology accessibility work
- Kurt is a digital accessibility analyst at ITS
- Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility SPG Rollout
- What is the SPG?
- Provides direction in making technology accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities
- Includes websites, software, digital textbooks, mobile apps
- UM-wide policy, can be used in all departments
- 3 parts
- Procurement - external suppliers must be giving us accessible EIT
- In-House Development - framework for ensuring internally developed EIT is accessible
- Assistive Tech - better understand use of assistive technology around campus and ensure access to assistive technology
- What SPG is NOT
- A centralized prescription for UM to follow to be “accessible”
- Understand that this is not a one size fits all,
- A responsibility exclusively for IT departments
- A destination that we have already reached
- Hopeful that this can be a process and a journey to improve accessibility
- A centralized prescription for UM to follow to be “accessible”
- What are the goals?
- Rollout was later than originally planned, but gave opportunity to compare against other schools/policies and receive additional feedback
- Wanted to balance policy implementation and outcomes for disabled people
- Policy is both proactive in addressing existing concerns and responses from current users
- Stated goals
- Promote a common set of guidelines around EIT accessibility
- Improve overall useability of EIT by establishing common processes, protocols, and guidance
- Establish UM as a leader in complying with federal law, state regulations, and implementing accessibility best practices to meet DEI values
- How to get involved?
- Units
- Responsible for understanding their technology ecosystems
- Begin/continue to consider accessibility of the technology your unit is using, acquiring, or creating
- Provide feedback
- Especially from disabled people, advocates, and units that are using assistive technology
- Already speaking with unit IT directors
- Can reach out to Phil ([email protected]) or Kurt ([email protected]) directly
- Attend information sessions throughout the summer/fall
- Fill out the form at the bottom of the IT Accessibility Website
- Units
- Timeline
- Early June - share approach with president, executive officers, deans, department heads
- June 20, 2022 - official university announcement!
- July 2022 - developing programming
- October/November 2022 - meetings with schools, colleges, and units
- December 2022/January 2023 - planning and strategizing for next phases of implementation
- Common concerns and responses
- It will take too much time
- Efforts can be leveraged over time
- It will cost too much
- Inclusion is worth it; also lawsuits are expensive
- It’s too complex
- Policy includes practical steps to follow
- Implementation team has practical resources
- No one will follow it
- Units are already successfully following the policy
- What’s the point?
- Inclusion and accessibility are important! Ethically and legally required
- It will take too much time
- Questions
- If we wanted folks to join us from an advocacy perspective, for a team or department meeting, to whom and how to make the request?
- Are social media platforms included in the EIT platform?
- Yes! UM has a social media strategy page already, and it will be continually updated overtime
- Also see the color and design page
- Guest Bios
- Disability Resources Website Updates
- Phil Deaton and Winter McLeod
- History
- Current Disability Resources Website
- Winter’s suggested revisions
- Resources for disabled people and non-disabled people are integrated now. Winter suggests moving to pages specifically for disabled people and a separate page for supporting disabled individuals
- Resources for Support and Advocacy page is somewhat hard to find, and some of those resources may not be up to date anymore
- Phil has a document to keep things up to date going forward
- Additional resources in the CfDC slides (slides 8-11)
- Based on Student IDEA Board suggestions
- Disability.umich site feedback
- Reach out to Winter: [email protected]; Phil: [email protected]
- Join the working group!
- Don’t need to have web experience to join
- Consider alternating use of identity and person first language
- Reference for identity first language
- Announcements and matters arising
- Safety & Security Survey - still open for responses
- Neubacher Award Committee update
- Still looking for more members!
- Disability Pride events
- Virtual event, date August 3rd, 6:30-8 pm (DDP Reflective Photography Workshop)
- In-person event, August 23rd, 10am-3pm, Eastern Market
- Fall 2022 Anti-Ableist conference
- It’s happening! Planning with ODEI
- Request for proposals happening soon, look for more information in the coming weeks