Universal Design, Universal Access

1
Universal Design, Universal Access

• Framing the Conversation
• Todd K. Herriott
• Simmons College

2
An Overview

• Demographic Changes in Campus Populations
• Access and The Law
• Federal Legislation
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• ADA of 1990
• Telecommunications Act of 1996
• Section 508 amendment of 1998
• Recent Court Cases

3
An Overview, continued

• Introduce Universal Design (UD)
• Assistive Technology
• On-line Learning
• Web Accessibility
• Campus Computing
• Assessing Your Own Campus the UD Process
• Setting Goals and Establishing Initiatives
• Q A

4
Changing Demographics

• Current US statistics indicate that nearly 11.3
  of all students enrolled at colleges and
  universities within the US have a disability.
  That is approximately 2.2 million students.
  (NPSAS, National Post-Secondary Student Aid
  Study, 2004)
• Since 1972, the number of students enrolled in US
  colleges with disabilities has increased by
  nearly 600, a faster rate than any other
  minority-status population.
• National projections indicate that by 2010
  approximately 14.8 of undergraduates and 10.1
  of graduates in the US will qualify as having a
  disability

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Frequently Seen Diagnoses

• Physical Disabilities
• Health or Systemic Disorders
• Sensory Disabilities
• Psychiatric Disabilities
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Learning Disabilities
• ADD/ADHD
• Pervasive Developmental Disabilities/Aspergers

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Challenges

• Wide range of disabilities, each with unique
  challenges
• Apparent disabilities often result in others
  automatically assuming what a person can or cant
  do
• Non-apparent disabilities often mean that a
  person has to prove that they need assistance
• Most commonly, people with disabilities are faced
  with stereotypes and ignorance
• On average, students with disabilities are 9
  times LESS likely to engage in extracurricular
  activities, including work related or resume
  building activities
• Technology needs vary greatly yet more than 90
  of students with disabilities could benefit from
  increased access to technology

7
Access and the Law

• Section 504
• Provided first language explicitly prohibiting
  discrimination against persons with disabilities
• No otherwise qualified individual with a
  disability in the United States... shall, solely
  by reason of her or his handicap, be excluded
  from participation in, be denied the benefits of,
  or be subjected to discrimination under any
  program or activity receiving Federal financial
  assistance or under any program or activity
  conducted by any Executive agency or by the
  United States Postal Service....  29 U.S.C.
   794(a) (1973).

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Access and the Law, cont.

• Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
• First comprehensive civil rights legislation
  passed to protect persons with disabilities
• Title I Employment
• Title II State and Local Governments
• Title III Public Accommodation
• Title IV Telecommunications
• Title V Miscellaneous

9
Access and the Law, cont.

• Telecommunications Act of 1996
• First overhaul of American Telecommunications in
  62 years
• Section 255 of the Act requires all manufacturers
  of telecommunications equipment and providers of
  telecommunications services to ensure that such
  equipment and services are designed and developed
  to be accessible to and usable by individuals
  with disabilities, if readily achievable.

10
Access and the Law, cont.

• Section 508 amendment of 1998
• Section 508 is a Federal civil rights
  procurement law that requires electronic and
  information technology to be accessible to people
  with disabilities, including Federal employees
  and members of the public accessing government
  information and services. Federal agencies are
  prohibited, with limited exceptions, from
  developing, purchasing, using or maintaining
  electronic and information technology that are
  inaccessible to people with disabilities. -
  Cynthia D. Waddell, J.D.

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Access and the Law, cont.

• 508 continued
• Original application was seen only within the
  realm of Federal agencies
• Section 508 has been adopted by a number of
  States through State Statute, State Executive
  Orders/Policies or adopted by higher education
  institutions.
• For example, the State of California amended
  existing Government Code 11135 to incorporate
  Section 508. The result is that all higher
  education institutions in the State of California
  must procure accessible electronic and
  information technology and services if they
  receive any State funding.

12
Access and the Law, cont.

• Recent court cases
• OCR letter to CSU, Long Beach, 1999
• OCR letter to NC State University 2000-
  Equivalent Access to Campus Computing and Library
  Materials
• US Dept. of Justice vs. LSAC, 2002
• Jeffrey La Marca v. Capella University, 2005

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Universal Design

• What is it?
• Universal Design is a framework for the design
  of places, things, information, communication and
  policy to be usable by the widest range of people
  operating in the widest range of situations
  without special or separate design. Most simply,
  Universal Design is human-centered design of
  everything with everyone in mind. Adaptive
  Environments, 2006

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Universal Design, cont.

• Universal vs. Accessible Design
• Universal Design is different than accessible
  design.  Accessible design means products and
  buildings that are accessible and usable by
  people with disabilities. Universal design means
  products and buildings that are accessible and
  usable by everyone--older people as well as
  young, women as well as men, left handed persons
  as well as right handed persons. 
• Accessible design has a tendency to lead to
  separate facilitiesfor example, a ramp set off
  to the side of a stairway at an entrance or a
  wheelchair accessible toilet stall. Universal
  design, on the other hand, provides one solution
  that can accommodate all people. 

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Universal Design, cont.

• Where did it start?
• The Principles of Universal Design were authored
  through the initiatives of the Center for
  Universal Design at North Carolina State
  University and funded through a grant by the
  National Institute on Disability and
  Rehabilitation Research.
• Ron Mace, coined the term in the 1970s. In
  1989, Mace established the federally-funded
  Center for Accessible Housing, currently known as
  the Center for Universal Design, at the NC State
  University College of Design.

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UD in Architecture

• Original application was to physical environments
  with the goal of creating the widest usability
  possible
• Automatic door openers, multiple height service
  counters, curb cuts, etc.
• Led to the first building code for accessibility
  in the nation (North Carolina in 1973) and was
  instrumental in the passage of the Fair Housing
  Amendment Act of 1988 and the Americans with
  Disabilities Act of 1990

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UD in Instruction

• By the mid 1990s educators began to look at not
  just the physical environment but also the
  instructional design to better address access
• Inspired by the concept put forth in Brown vs.
  Board of Education which clearly found that
  separate but equal is inherently unequal.
• Sought to reach out to as many learners as
  possible without attempting to simply
  accommodate those learners with disabilities.
• Called for multi-modal teaching styles as well as
  a reassessment of the specific goals of
  instruction

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UD in Technology

• Amazing growth in technology over the last 15
  years has meant new opportunities and challenges,
  especially in education
• The vast amount of information available via the
  web and through media sources has required that
  we reconsider how information is provided and the
  range of needs of the audience of that
  information
• Assistive technology application has increased
  dramatically on campuses over the last 10 years
• UD applied to technology requires a rethinking of
  the hardware, software, physical environment and
  the content involved.

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Assistive Technology

• Compatibility with current hardware/software on
  campus
• Network deployment when possible
• Appropriate peripherals available to users
• Technology staff members trained in basic use and
  support

20
On-line Learning

• Know the limitations of the software (if using a
  LMS such as WebCT Vista or Black Board
• Develop adaptable templates that minimize common
  complaints
• Test on multiple platforms to determine
  performance
• Minimize use of new technology for technologys
  sake

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Web Accessibility

• Bobby and CAST testing of sites
• Ensure all essential areas of your campus web
  site are as widely accessible as possible
• Appropriate uses of technology (Java, Flash,
  multimedia files, etc.)
• W3C Checkpoints and guidelines found at
  http//www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/checkpoint-list.html

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Campus Computing

• Built in accessibility features of your operating
  systems
• Ensure availability of assistive hardware such as
  earphones, track-ball mice, large monitors, etc.
• Ensure workstation environment is easily
  adaptable to multiple users

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Universal Design Process

• Identify the application. Specify the product or
  environment (i.e., the service, course, website,
  or other application) to which you wish to apply
  universal design.
• Define the universe. Describe the overall
  population e.g., students in a course or users
  of a technology and then the diverse
  characteristics of potential members of the
  population for which the application is described
  (e.g., with respect to gender age size
  ethnicity/race native language and abilities to
  see, hear, move and manipulate objects, and
  learn.)

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Universal Design Process

• Involve consumers. Determine how to include
  people with disabilities and other diverse
  characteristics in development and implementation
  of the application.
• Adopt UD guidelines/standards/performance
  indicators. Create or select existing UD
  guidelines/standards. Integrate UD practices with
  other best practices within the field of the
  specific application.

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Universal Design Process

• Apply UD guidelines/standards/performance
  indicators. Apply universal design along with
  design standards of good practice within the
  field to the overall design of the application,
  subcomponents of the application, and maintenance
  and procurement processes.
• Plan for accommodations. Develop processes to
  address accommodation requests (e.g., purchase of
  assistive technology, arrangement for sign
  language interpreters) from individuals for whom
  the design does not automatically provide access.

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Universal Design Process

• Train and support. Tailor and deliver training
  and support to stakeholders (e.g., instructors,
  computer support staff, procurement offices,
  administrators).
• Evaluate. Include universal design measures in
  the evaluation of the application, evaluate the
  application with a diverse group of users, and
  make modifications based on their feedback

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Q A

• Challenges on your campus?
• Current initiatives?
• Comments?
• Concerns?

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References

• The Principles of Universal Design Version 2.0
  (1997) by North Carolina State University (as
  cited in Preiser Ostroff 2001)
• Center for Universal Design (US) Home of the
  Principles of Universal Design, Exemplars of
  Universal Design, universal design history, the
  Design File, Center for Universal Design
  Newsline, publications, and more.
  http//www.design.ncsu.edu/
• CAST (US) Home of Bobby, the web accessibility
  analysis tool, Universal Design in Learning and
  the National Center On Accessing the General
  Curriculum, and eProducts. http//www.cast.org
• DO-IT Disabilities, Opportunities,
  Internetworking, and Technology,
  http//www.washington.edu/doit/
• Adaptive Environments Center (US) Home of the
  South Boston Waterfront Project, Designing for
  the 21st Century Conference, Access to Public
  Schools, New England ADA Technical Assistance
  Center, universal design education and
  consulting, Access to Design Professions,
  publications and more. http//www.adaptenv.org
• Accessible Electronic Information Technology
  Legal Obligations of Higher Education and Section
  508, Cynthia D. Waddell, J.D., 1999,
  http//athenpro.org/node/54

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Contact Information

• Todd K. Herriott
• Director of The Center for Academic Achievement
• ADA Compliance Officer
• Simmons College
• 300 The Fenway
• Boston, MA 02115
• todd.herriott_at_simmons.edu