The Division of

Enrollment Management

and Student Affairs

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Dear Colleagues: Is it spring yet? The staff and student-workers at the office of Student Accessibility Services (SAS) are as anxious as everyone else for the days to become consistently warmer and for green grass to re-appear! Snow and ice pose challenges for all of us, but especially for those with mobility impairments and sight impairments. Whether it’s trying to park in a “handicapped” parking spot, traverse a parking lot slick with black ice, or maneuver through the snow in a wheelchair, inclement

SPRING FORWARD WITH STUDENT ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES

weather can be treacherous for many of the students registered with SAS. Throughout this prolonged winter, we have worked closely with Grounds Department personnel who do a fantastic job of responding to the physical accessibility needs of our students.

Just as the Grounds Department works with our office and the students registered with SAS to ensure accessibility to sidewalks, parking spaces, and building entryways, faculty and university staff are critical in assisting us with making course materials and university programs equally accessible to students with disabilities. Although our office is tasked with spearheading much of the compliance with federal and state law regarding disability and accessibility, it’s everyone’s responsibility to ensure that we, at Kent State University, are working to make the university a welcoming and inclusive place for students of all ability levels!

We’d invite you to read the following articles about how faculty and staff can better ensure accessibility for students, about some of the programs we feature throughout the year, and some general information about SAS. Heartfelt thanks for all that you do to make Kent State University a welcoming and inclusive place for students!

SAS: Providing equal opportunity of University programs and services to students with disabilities.

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SPRING 2015 #2

INSIDE THIS ISSUE…

Greetings from the Director 1

Did You Know? 1

Contact Our Office 2

Supporting Students All Four Years 2

What’s on Your Resume? 2

Faculty Partnerships & Services 3

Online Career Resources 3

Employer Partnerships and Recruiting Services 3

Online Career Resources 3

On-Campus Student Employment 4

Testing for Credit & Admission 4

Career Counseling Staff by College 4

Favorite Resources 4

Did You Know?

Approximately 1,100-1,200 students are registered with SAS on a yearly basis; 80-85% of those are registered with “hidden disabilities,”(e.g., learning disabilities, ADHD, medical disabilities, psychological disabilities)

SAS proctors anywhere from 3,050 – 3,600 tests/quizzes a year (this is when students come to the SAS office to take the test with accommodations, (e.g., extended time, reduced-distraction testing environment, a scribe, a reader, JAWS [a screen-reader used by students who are blind/low-vision], etc.)

Last academic year, SAS provided 3,160 hours of classroom interpreting (American Sign Language) to students who were deaf/hard-of-hearing

Last academic year, SAS provided 1,230 hours of classroom transcriptioning (real-time captioning) to students who were deaf/hard-of-hearing

Last academic year, SAS converted 117 books to electronic text or Braille

Last academic year, SAS filled 813 requests for closed-captioning of digital media (videos, YouTube clips, voice-over Power Points, etc. used in the classroom)

Warm Regards,

Amy Quillin, Ph.D. Director, Student Accessibility Services

INSIDE THIS ISSUE…

Director’s Message 1

‘By-The-Numbers’ 1

Digital Media Center 2

SAS Collaborates 2

SAS Staff 2

Accessibility Matters 3

disAbility Awareness Month 4

INSIDE THIS ISSUE…

Director’s Message 1

Quickstart Membership 1

Healthy Lunch Hour Options 2

Mind and Body Exercise Can Reduce Stress Levels 2

Workouts at Work 2

10-Minute Office Workout 3

MOVChallenge: Students vs. Faculty/Staff 4

Free Fridays at the SRWC 4

Massage: Not Just a Luxury 4

Winter Family Fun 4

Student Accessibility Services ‘By-The-Numbers’

Kent Campus SAS provides consultative services to the Regional Campuses throughout the year.

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SAS STAFF AT THE KENT

AND REGIONAL CAMPUSES

The Kent Campus and all Regional Campuses have their own SAS staff, as noted below. Ashtabula – 440.964.4304 Carol Jones, Coordinator, Academic Services East Liverpool/Salem – 330.337.4214 Danielle Baker-Rose, Disabilities Specialist Geauga/Twinsburg – 440.834.3726 Ben Morrison, Assistant Director, EMSA Kent – 330.672.3391 www.kent.edu/sas Amy Quillin, Director Julie DiBiasio, Assistant Director Shannon Cowling, Coordinator of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Services Patti Marcum, Office and Testing Coordinator Marcie Dimac, Assistive Technology Coordinator Sue Smith, Editorial Specialist Leah Subak, Staff Interpreter Olivia Krise, Staff Interpreter Jacqueline Gee, University Accessibility Liaison Christine Salontay, Accessible Media Specialist Kylie Dennison, Graduate Assistant Sarah Sweeney, Graduate Assistant Stark – 330.244.5047 Amanda Weyant, Coordinator, Academic Services Trumbull – 330.675.8802 Elaine Shively, Coordinator, Academic Services Tuscarawas – 330.308.7447 Rob Brindley, Coordinator, Career Planning

DIGITAL MEDIA CENTER

SAS is working on a long-term plan of developing a Digital Media Center that would centralize a critical and needed service, that of converting digital media to accessible formats. The plan would primarily serve faculty using digital media in their courses. By design, the Center would offer faculty members a convenient, centralized and timely service of making that media accessible while complying with ADA standards. Additionally, and eventually, the Center would have the potential of generating revenue by offering those services to other regional universities and outside entities.

SAS COLLABORATES

SAS collaborates, consults with, and presents to, any number of departments, offices, and entities around campus including (but not limited to): Faculty and academic departments, Office of Continuing and Distance Education, Residence Services, Procurement, University Health Services/Psychological Services, University Dining Services, Faculty Senate, Information Services, Human Resources, University Architect’s Office, Academic Advising, Admissions, Graduate Student Orientation, etc.

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In addition to classes, SAS provides interpreting services for non-classroom events and programs.

Accessibility Matters: Exploring the Concept of Web

and Course Accessibility at Kent State University Marcie Dimač serves as the Coordinator for Assistive Technology, Student Accessibility Services, and recently attended a conference in Denver, Colorado on assistive technology for students with disabilities in higher education. Although awed by the beauty of the Rocky Mountains and the western feel of the city, Marcie was most inspired by the hundreds of dedicated professionals who share one of her life’s passions: creating accessible courses and websites for students with disabilities. In short, conference participants shared a common bond and vision of a day when opportunities for individuals with disabilities are limitless and barriers to their success are abated. A few of the conference “take-aways” and some of the many important reasons why “accessibility matters” are highlighted below:

1. Course and Web Accessibility Are Important Current Issues in Higher Education One of the reoccurring themes throughout the conference was that universities and colleges, big and small, are being investigated for accessible websites and accessible online courses. The scope and magnitude of accessibility issues in online environments in higher education continue to grow, as evidenced by the recent Office of Civil Rights Resolution Agreements with Youngstown State University and the University of Cincinnati containing the following specific stipulations, among others:

Develop, adopt and provide notice of web accessibility policies and an implementation and remediation plan to ensure adherence.

Provide training to staff responsible for webpage and content development, including faculty, as appropriate.

Review website and e-learning platforms to identify and fix any accessibility problems, as well as put into place mechanisms to ensure that the sites continue to be accessible.

Provide certification from a third-party web accessibility consultant or an employee of the university with sufficient knowledge, skill, and experience that the school’s electronic and information technologies meet the technical standard(s) adopted by the institution.

The SAS office is currently working with University Communications and Marketing (UCM) to create a notice of web accessibility policy for Kent State University. Training on creating accessible course content is being offered through the Office of Continuing and Distance Education. In addition, website usability and testing groups are routinely conducted with UCM to ensure the website is accessible to students with disabilities.

The university is currently undergoing an IT accessibility audit – on a few of its primary IT functions – by an accessibility consulting firm. Results of the audit are expected in late Spring.

2. Captioning Is Key Several conference sessions discussed the importance of captioning videos that are used both on University websites and in class. Both Youngstown State University and the University of Cincinnati were also cited by the Office of Civil Rights for lack of captions on videos on websites.

Kent State University’s Communications and Marketing Office has continued to work diligently to ensure that videos are captioned before being released to the public. SAS’ Accessible Media Specialist, Christine Salontay, has created workflows and policies related to captioning to ensure the process of making captioning requests and video turnaround is smooth.

3. Addressing Accessibility Is A Collaborative Effort Numerous sessions at the conference focused on addressing ways that colleges and universities could tackle accessibility issues and other concerns. To address these concerns, collaboration is key. The University of Central Florida has collaborated with several departments to create and distribute an Accessibility Support Model that they utilize to train faculty on the importance of online course accessibility. The University of Kentucky worked with the College of Education, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, and Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching to create a three-year plan for addressing accessibility campus-wide.

4. KSU Is Making Great Strides Kent State University is making great strides to meet accessibility standards, having created a campus-wide accessibility committee with sub-committees addressing structural, cultural and curricular accessibility. Student Accessibility Services has created new positions in the past year to include an Accessibility Liaison and Accessible Media Specialist to address campus-wide accessibility concerns and captioning requests. Collaborative conversations are being held with various units on campus to address website testing and accessibility compliance.

5. More Work Is Needed Despite the good work that has been accomplished by the university, much is yet to be done. Ensuring that all curricula (including online courses), websites, and university programs, are equally accessible to students with disabilities is a daunting task, but one that the university is committed to not just because of a federal mandate (ADA), but because it is the ‘right thing to do’ and aligns with President Warren’s “students first” focus.

Ensuring that digital media is closed-captioned, materials are accessible to screen-readers, classrooms and labs can accommodate students with mobility impairments, and that access to website portals are compliant with web-accessibility standards are just a few of the ongoing challenges in making sure Kent State University is a welcoming and inclusive place to all people of various abilities.

~ Final content and design of this publication by the Office of the Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs;

major content contributions from Student Accessibility Services. ~

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SAS celebrates disAbility Awareness Month (dAM) - the "d" is intentionally lowercase to emphasize people's ability rather than disability- every October in an effort to highlight the various and wide-ranging abilities of people who may otherwise be considered "disabled." SAS has been proud to host Josh Blue, Verlezza Dance, Bruce Jenner, Marlee Matlin, Handicap This!, and our 2014 guest, actress and comedienne, Geri Jewell, to share with the Kent State community. Geri, who has cerebral palsy and a hearing loss, shared her optimism with the audience despite her challenges. She used humor to speak about the trials she faced in Hollywood and advised students with disabilities not to be afraid.

This year, SAS offered two free movies at the KIVA, The Hammer and Silver Linings Playbook. Additionally, dAM sponsored a Homecoming Parade float along with students from the College of Education, Health and Human Services. Dogs on Campus, the pet therapy program started by Dr. Kathy Adamle, College of Nursing, proved once again to be a favorite among students.

Commit today to join us for this fall’s disability Awareness Month activities! Stay tuned for the 2015 dAM event schedule. If you would like to join the planning committee and/or want to collaborate on a program, please contact Shannon Cowling at scowlin1@kent.edu.

Geri Jewell Testimonials: “Her spirit is awesome and her resilience is encouraging!” “The speaker was very inspirational and I enjoyed hearing all of her life stories.” “People with disabilities are totally normal people. They live day to day just like us.” “The small things I take for granted and are harder for people with disabilities; however, not impossible. Truly inspiring!”

2014 disAbility Awareness Month Planning Committee:

Dr. Brian Barber, Education, Health and Human Services

Dr. Robert Cimera, Education, Health and Human Services

Shannon Cowling, SAS

Amy Densevich, Intercollegiate Athletics

Julie Di Biasio, SAS

Jacqueline Gee, SAS

Katie Goldring, Center for Student Involvement

Barbara Johnson, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Kyra Kendrick, Intercollegiate Athletics

Olivia Krise, SAS

Dr. Amy Quillin, SAS

Christine Salontay, SAS

Sue Smith, SAS

Tony Snyder, Library and Media Services

Dr. Linnea Stafford, Institutional Research

Tom Stafford, Education, Health and Human Services

Dr. Leah Subak, SAS

Tiffany Tyree, Residence Services

Amanda Weyant, Kent State Stark SAS

Geri Jewell, actress and comedienne and Shannon Cowling, dAM chair.