[Athen] 2008 Survey on Accessible Technology in Higher Ed

[Terry Thompson]

Please help to spread the word! 

The Access Technology Higher Education Network (ATHEN) is conducting a
survey regarding higher education institutions' practices, procedures, and
policies for addressing information technology accessibility needs of
students. The last survey of its kind was conducted in 2004. 

Since accessibility is often the responsibility of many groups and
individuals across campus, this survey has been divided into the following
six sections: 

1. Assistive Technology Products
 - to be completed by the person most knowledgeable of assistive
technologies that are available to students at your institution. 

2. Information Technology Accessibility 
- to be completed by the person most knowledgeable of procurement policies
and/or procedures related to accessibility of information technology at your
institution. 

3. Web Accessibility 
- to be completed by the person most knowledgeable of web accessibility
efforts at your institution. 

4. Multimedia Accessibility 
- to be completed by the person most knowledgeable of efforts to ensure
multimedia (video, podcasts, etc.) is accessible at your institution. 

5. Alternative Format Production 
- to be completed by the person most knowledgeable of practices and
procedures for providing print materials in alternate formats for students
at your institution. 

6. Staffing and Salaries 
- to be completed by the person most knowledgeable of position descriptions,
salaries, qualifications, etc. for all positions whose primary focus is
assistive technology or IT accessibility at your institution. Alternatively
this section can be completed by individual staff members regarding their
own positions. Please coordinate completion of this section with others from
your institution. 

With the exception of Section 1 (Assistive Technology Products), each
section of the survey is brief, and is expected to require approximately 10
minutes to complete. Section 1 is expected to require approximately 30
minutes to complete. 

Please help us by (a) completing any sections that are applicable to your
position, and/or (b) recruiting the best people at your institution to
complete the sections that apply to them. 

All survey participants will need to create an individual account in order
to participate. 

The survey is located here: 
http://www.athenpro.org/survey/ 

The deadline for participating in the survey is Friday, May 16. 

Results will be published in the upcoming ATHEN e-Journal, and will be
announced first in my pre-conference session at the AHEAD Conference, Monday
July 14 in Reno. My session, co-facilitated with Lyla Crawford of the
University of Washington, is titled "Creating Intersections that Connect
Students with Disabilities and High-Tech Careers". This is an all-day
Capacity Building Institute, and there will be plenty of opportunities to
discuss the implications of the survey results. There's more information
here: 
http://www.ahead.org/training/conference/2008/precon.php

If you have questions, please let me know. 

Thanks to all for your help! 

Terry

Terry Thompson
Technology Accessibility Specialist
DO-IT, Accessible Technology
UW Technology Services
University of Washington
tft at u.washington.edu
206/221-4168