Cara Segger
Senior Project Manager, University of Victoria
In recent years, we’ve seen a huge rise in the demand for disability accommodations as well as new provincial legislation that requires universities to provide accessible services. At the same time, more university activities have moved online, making the digital campus more important than ever. University Systems is committed to creating an online environment that supports students, faculty, and staff of all abilities. We are learning to stop buying and building high-barrier software and IT processes. Along the way, we’ll leverage everything we’re learning to support the hundreds of faculty and staff who help shape our digital campus.
As the University Systems Digital Accessibility Acceleration Program enters its second year, program manager Cara Segger will talk about why digital accessibility matters, the role of Higher Ed IT, and some of the exciting work underway. We will share early lessons learned as we work to:
- Measure our progress using the WC3 Accessibility Maturity Model
- User test our digital products and experiences
- Train our IT support staff on accessible service delivery
- Train our developers in accessible software development
- Find the balance between accessibility and information security
- Procure low-barrier technology
- Build capacity across campus
- Help staff who need adaptive technology with technical review
Participants in this presentation will have an opportunity to share their own challenges and successes through an exercise that introduces the WC3 Digital Accessibility Maturity Model and encourages participants to locate their organization along the four maturity stages. We will all come away from this session with some actionable goals and a better sense of how BC universities are tackling this important work.