Overview

Digital instructional tools have become increasingly utilized at Cornell, whether for primary content delivery (online courses), supplemental course material, meetings, or remote consultations. Individual units and departments have implemented a variety of tools and platforms to support their work. 

Disability accommodations and accessibility support (and implementation) for courses, faculty, and staff have not kept pace with the use of these systems. The lack of a centralized support system mean that faculty and staff may not have sufficient training and resources to check and improve course accessibility.

The Learning Landscape

The Disability Population at Cornell

At Cornell, over 5,000 students are registered with Student Disability Services, making up 23% of the current student body. However, research indicates that not all college students with disabilities will disclose their status, so the actual number is likely higher.

Students have a diverse range of disabilities, many necessitating different methods for accessing course content and instructional resources. To effectively teach all students, it is essential that course materials and teaching tools are designed to be digitally accessible.

Software Diversity

Different Learning Management Systems (LMS) have been adopted by different units and colleges, which means there is no one common software program to evaluate. This also means at the higher University level, there is no good inventory of these systems, nor an idea of how well the systems – and the content in those systems – support disabled students.

Additionally, many individuals may create and upload content to these learning systems, adopt material from other courses, or repurpose material for new sections or classes. The individuals who create content may not be fully trained in the tools to help make content fully available to all students.

The Legal Landscape

Recent rulings at the federal level have defined clear deadlines for universities to ensure that students with disabilities can access digital learning tools in an equitable way. Institutions that are not able to support their student population may face legal sanctions from the Department of Education and Department of Justice.

In addition, internal reviews of Cornell’s digital instructional landscape revealed that Cornell lacks a formal program to address the accessibility of digital instructional content and tools across the University. At this time we do not know the current state of the accessibility of Cornell digital instructional content and tools.

Goals for the Project

• Inventory and identify known accessibility gaps in LMS used across all Cornell campuses
• Develop a process for assessing the accessibility of third-party LMS integrations
• Develop staff/faculty training resources and support needs
• Design a university-wide program to support the development and maintenance of accessible instructional resources

Project Team

The teams assembled for the DICTA project includes over three dozen individuals from the Ithaca, Weill, Cornell Tech, and Qatar campuses. Currently, units directly involved are:

• Student Disability Services
• CIT
• the Center for Teaching Innovation
• The Office of Enrollment Compliance and Design
• the Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX
• The School of Continuing Education
• University Libraries
• eCornell
• Cornell Retail Services
• Weill-Cornell Medicine Educational Technologies
• Weill-Cornell Medicine Digital Engagement Services
• Cornell Tech

Organizationally, individuals from these units make up an executive committee, advisory panel, working group, and SME groups working in specific focus areas.

Questions?

Contact Annie Heckel, Electronic Information Technology Accessibility Manager, if you have questions about the project or would like to participate.