[NABS-L] College website accessibility

Fri Jan 14 20:33:16 UTC 2022

Hi all!
Welcome to the world of college life as a blind student! I hope we can
help you with the good, the bad, and the ugly! I totally agree with Nick.
I don't believe that there is such a thing as full accessibility in the
college world because even though we have made a lot of progress, we still
have miles to go, especially in the fields of math and science. Even
without math and science, you will always run into inaccessible websites,
inaccessible videos, slides with inaccessible pictures, especially in
cases where your school doesn't have the ability to make their own braille
graphics, and, there are those inaccessible apps, and dodgy resources that
are accessible, but are not inclusive, especially to those such as myself
who is not enough of a techie to completely keep up with all of the 2021
features, but is more techie than is required to live in the 1990s. Even
when things are accessible, you're always going to have products that you
enjoy a lot and products that are not accessible to you because even
though they are conciddered to be accessible, they are either above your
skill leval, or they are so clunky that the developers didn't include work
flow into their deffenation of what accessibility means. In my mind, work
flow counts because without the ability of having good work flow, that's a
form of inaccessibility because without that work flow, you can't
completely keep up with the pace of college. For example, I don't like
Google Dox because even though it's conciddered to be accessible, it's not
accessible to me because when I go to use it, it's either too buggy, or it
doesn't have the right work flow that would allow me to keep up with the
fast pace of the college world. I stick to the old school Microsoft Word
document as much as possible because I like Microsoft Word much better
because it actually includes work flow as a required accessible feature.
You might like Google Dox better than I which is fine, but this is also
what you run into as a blind student. Also, since the world is semi
virtual, you have to understand what your school can do for you, what they
can't do for you, and how to line up your resources with theirs as needed.
Also, keep in mind that your school's accessibility department might have
a biest perspective that's in favor of your school, so therefore, they
might have somewhat of a less than accurate ability to figure out what's
accessible, what's not accessible, and/or even, where they're able to
completely keep up with the pace of your classes. From stories I've heard
over the years, most schools also don't completely understand your needs
as a blind student which also impacts your ability to get a completely
inclusive experience at your school as a blind student. With that in mind,
it's always a good idea to observe how your school is able to keep up with
you and your classes, what resources they have avalible to them, what
resources you have avalible to you, and determine whether or not they're
able to fully help you throughout your entire education. If you find that
they can't completely cover your education in the accessibility
department, or they can't keep up with everything, then you'll either need
to come up with your own resources, change your education plan, change
your school, or escalate the case, or some combination of these, depending
on your situation. I'd start with knowing everyone's avalible resources,
and step it up leval by leval from there. Only escalate the case as a last
resort.
Kendra

-----Original Message-----
From: NABS-L <nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of nspohn0--- via
NABS-L
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2022 12:07 PM
To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: nspohn0 at gmail.com
Subject: Re: [NABS-L] College website accessibility

Another thing to add:

I am also working with my university to improve the accessibility of the
athletics website, bookstore website, and the software we use to schedule
courses. I am also helping to make HR training modules for student
employees to be accessible.

I say all of that to let you know that it is likely you will run into
inaccessible websites and other resources.

Welcome to postsecondary education! (sarcasm)

Nick

-----Original Message-----
From: nspohn0 at gmail.com <nspohn0 at gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2022 2:58 PM
To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: 'Armando Vias' <armando at armandovias.com>
Subject: RE: [NABS-L] College website accessibility

Hello,

Penn State has an accessibility statement, but you have to click on a link
called "accessibility" to get to it. Even though Penn State has this
statement, I think Penn State needs improvement when it comes to
accessibility.

 Personally, I think an accessibility statement is not helpful to have.
What is really helpful to have is a quality education that is accessible.
Chances are, if your college does not want to have an accessibility
statement (or seems to be dragging their feet about it), then that is not
a good sign.

Nick

-----Original Message-----
From: NABS-L <nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Armando Vias via
NABS-L
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2022 2:50 PM
To: nabs-l at nfbnet.org
Cc: Armando Vias <armando at armandovias.com>
Subject: [NABS-L] College website accessibility

Hello everyone. I am trying to advocate to my college about implementing
an accessibility statement on their website. Other colleges in my area
have an accessibility statement on their website. Does your college have
an accessibility statement on their website? They are trying to send
information to me on applying for accessibility accommodations, but all I
need is my question answered on if they are going to implement an
accessibility statement on their website.

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