Dive Brief:
- Temple University is three years into a massive overhaul of its philosophy regarding IT accessibility and its own responsibilities.
- Campus Technology reports that the Philadelphia-based university was pushed into action—and given a roadmap—by a major 2011 settlement at Penn State following an Office of Civil Rights Complaint by the National Federation of the Blind.
- Four tips for other universities embarking on the same process, according to the article, are to read the Penn State settlement agreement, recognize accessibility considerations must be ongoing, begin with an audit, and find a champion for the process. In Temple’s case, that person was the chief information officer.
Dive Insight:
For a long time, Temple University operated under the belief that a single disability resources center was enough to help any students in need navigate its entire system without special consideration when designing IT infrastructure, including email, Blackboard, classroom technologies, and administrative systems. The recognition that its philosophy was not sufficient was an important step toward better serving a student population that deserves equal access to university systems. While the Penn State decision was in 2011 and based on a complaint, not a Department of Education audit, other universities would do well to follow Temple’s lead and be proactive about fulfilling their obligations to the entire student body.