CADSPPE Focus Group Outcome

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CADSPPE Focus Group Outcome

• Access to Information for Students With Print
  Disabilities
• Gladys Loewen, November 2004

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Goal of Focus Group

• To establish a clear picture of the issues facing
  disability service providers in supporting
  students with print disabilities
• To identify strategies to guide CADSPPE in
  promoting full access to print information

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Participants 22

• CADSPPE members who provide direct support to
  students with print disabilities in higher
  education
• Members of the NEADS Steering Committee on Access
  to Information
• 1 student
• Producers of alternate format

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Vision Statement

• To ensure equal and timely access to academic
  information in post-secondary educational
  environments.

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Discussion Topics

• Identify signs of success in the provision of
  alternate format materials in campus learning
  environments
• In other words I will know that we have been
  successful in achieving our vision of offering
  alternate format materials in all campus
  environments when

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Topics Cont.

• Identify barriers to achieving the signs of
  successes in the provision of alternate format
  materials in learning environments
• Identify goals/tasks that can be implemented in
  moving CADSPPE towards the vision statement

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Topics Cont.

• Identify strategies for achieving the goals
  previously identified
• Determine who should be responsible
• Identify key recommendations for CADSPPE

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Signs of Success

• Students have information at the right time and
  place
• Students can purchase or receive resources in the
  appropriate format at the same price in the same
  place at the same time
• When Disability Service Centres and self
  identification are no longer necessary

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Signs of Success Cont.

• Courses are not offered unless UD is practiced
  and course delivery is flexible
• When Universal Design (UD) principles are infused
  in post-secondary environments
• When everyone is happy (student satisfaction)

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Barriers to Achieving the Signs of Success

• Attitudes within and around the post-sec
  environment (faculty, administration, publishers,
  etc)
• Systemic barriers that we cannot control, yet we
  are subjected to and affected by them (legal,
  institutional, federal, etc)

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Barriers cont.

• Students who have to produce their own materials
  lose critical study time
• Priority of time , funding and resources for
  production, retro-fitting, and sharing nationally

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Goals That Can Be Implemented

• Downloading responsibility to students to produce
  their alternate format is not acceptable.
  Students are there to learn, not to produce
• Develop universal standards for production across
  institutions so materials can be shared

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Goals Cont.

• Use existing networks and services (national
  databases, library loans, etc)
• Require publishers to provide an accessible
  electronic file for all textbooks sold in
  post-secondary bookstores
• Train CADSPPE members to take responsibility for
  sharing, maintaining standards

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Goals Cont.

• Expect CADSPPE members to shift to the paradigm
  of UD as their philosophical framework
• Offer training for faculty on inclusive teaching
  strategies

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Recommendations to Achieve Goals

• Use national library system work to make it
  better and usable for post-secondary i.e. AMICUS,
  CWIP (Canadian works in progress)
• CADSPPE to develop a plan for action (5 year
  plan) to promote action
• Establish a listserv to share transcription
  ideas, successes, experiences

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Recommendations Cont.

• Develop a national best practice guide
• Promote UD to CADSPPE members to change the
  approach to service delivery.
• Showcase successes and initiatives
• Create national guide of resources and procedures
  for production, sharing, accessing resources

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Who Is Responsible?

• CADSPPE Board
• NEADS
• CAER
• Individual students and disability service
  providers

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Responsibility Cont.

• Institutional Administrators, faculty
• Publishers
• Legal environment
• Federal Government
• Library and Archives Canada
• Council on Access to Information for Print
  Disabled Canadians

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Key Recommendations for CADSPPE

• Establish action plan as part of a 5 year plan
• Implement the actions
• Explore how UD can make a difference in the way
  disability service providers approach their jobs
• Focus on changes to the environment, not
  individual accommodations

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Next Steps

• Circulate the proceedings of the Focus Group
• Provide NEADS with copy of proceedings for its
  Access to Information Project
• CADSPPE Board of Directors and members will
  discuss and establish future actions

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We are embracing a systemic change and plan to
continue promoting universal access.