Academic accessibility
1.Definition:
It is the accessibility of academic
programs, services and activities for every one especially for persons with
disabilities. Academic environment has several barriers for persons with
disabilities such as inaccessibility of built infrastructure for persons with
motor disabilities, inaccessibility of course content, inaccessibility of web
services, inaccessibility of course delivery mechanism for persons with visual
impairment etc. That’s the reason persons with disabilities have to struggle a
lot for higher schooling during course selection, admission, classroom learning, exam preparation, writing
exams, project and internship, research work, placement etc. academic
accessibility involve all these issues.
Several national and international rules and regulations prohibit discrimination against individuals with physical disabilities.
2.Scope:
Academic
institutions such as colleges and University should make each of their
programs, services, and activities accessible to and usable by qualified
persons with disabilities. These regulations contain information about
different types of disabilities, typical access problems, how to accommodate
persons who have disabilities, and how to make campus programs and public areas
of academic institution accessible. Many persons with disabilities find it
difficult to participate in activities (work, recreational, Social/cultural,
etc.) because of programmatic or physical barriers, and many are reluctant to
"ask for help." Consequently, most people in the general community
are unaware that individuals with disabilities exist in large numbers.
Visitors with
disabilities must be accommodated when they come to the campus to interview for
a job or to participate in campus sponsored activities and programs including
Extension University, sports, recreation, and cultural events.
Program accessibility
encompasses library services, computing services, student health services,
career planning services, counseling and psychological services, campus stores,
dining rooms, language laboratories, science laboratories, field trips, athletic programs, student housing, admissions and examinations, graduation
ceremonies, and co-curricular activities, off-campus programs and events, etc.
Areas where a major
activity takes place may include reception areas, classrooms and other teaching
facilities, conference rooms, faculty and teaching assistant offices, research
labs, cafeterias, museums, counseling centers, gymnasiums and other
recreational facilities, and libraries. All public areas in which program
activities occur should be accessible.
Persons with
disabilities should also have access to drinking water, restrooms, telephones,
and reasonably convenient parking.
A. Enrollment of persons with disabilities increases due to accessible environment in academic
institution.
B.Web services accessibility
C.Course curriculum accessibility
D.Course delivery mechanism accessibility.
3.Importance:
A. Enrollment of persons with disabilities increases due to accessible environment in academic
institution.
B. Learning
experience of persons with disabilities is improved due to academic
accessibility.
C. Skilled
and productive human resource with disabilities can be developed.
D. Compliance
of accessibility regulation result in to less risk of non compliance.
4.Components of academic accessibility:
There could be 4 important components of academic accessibility based on academic infrastructure and services:
A.Built infrastructure accessibilityB.Web services accessibility
C.Course curriculum accessibility
D.Course delivery mechanism accessibility.
4.1 Built infrastructure accessibility:
Academic
institutions have large campuses. It comprises buildings of academic
departments, complexes, administrative buildings, student and staff hostels,
guest houses, common auditorium and seminar halls, cafeteria’s, commercial
complexes, gymnasiums, playground, gardens, footpaths, roads etc. Persons with
disabilities have several hurdles while accessing built infrastructure of
academic institutions. Wheel chair users cannot access class rooms, academic
offices, auditoriums, hostel rooms and other recreational services. Persons
with visual impairment often bump on protruding branches of trees, chairs and
pots in corridors etc. persons with low vision cannot easily identify staircases,
doors walls due to insufficient light and color contrast.
It is also essential to
make entire built infrastructure accessibility compliant as per built
accessibility standards through the installation of ramps, elevators,
accessible toilets, repenting for maintaining color
contrast for low vision,
removing structural barriers and hurdles on building corridors, hall ways,
footpaths, roads etc. Built infrastructure accessibility should be factored
in
the building project designing architects and builder considers accessibility
while building any structure sin academic complexes.
4.2
Academic web services accessibility:
Academic
institutions have huge interactive web portals that make its entire academic
and administrative services online. The services include online admission
notification, online course entrance, course admission, hostel admission,
online examination application form, online examination system, course
material, online transcript request, internet service request, recreational
facility request, eligibility form, scholarship request form and many more.
Online circulars, notifications, employee services request, research grant
request etc. are also gone online.
These services are not
usually accessibility compliant as per any web accessibility norms. Students,
staff, faculties, researchers and visitors with disabilities face several difficulties while accessing these services.In
order to make all these services accessible and usable for every one including persons with disabilities, need is realized to implement accessibility standards and regulations in user interfaces of the university web portal. The academic institutions have a team of web developers who should be trained and continuous accessibility evaluation has to be conducted through web accessibility expert. A dedicated web accessibility expert is required to ensure accessibility of university web portal and to coordinate accessibility matter between various departments and web development team of the university as web accessibility implementation and maintenance is continuous process.
order to make all these services accessible and usable for every one including persons with disabilities, need is realized to implement accessibility standards and regulations in user interfaces of the university web portal. The academic institutions have a team of web developers who should be trained and continuous accessibility evaluation has to be conducted through web accessibility expert. A dedicated web accessibility expert is required to ensure accessibility of university web portal and to coordinate accessibility matter between various departments and web development team of the university as web accessibility implementation and maintenance is continuous process.
4.3 Course content accessibility:
University
runs several hundred degree and diploma programs. The course content of these degree
programs are not fully accessible and usable for persons with disabilities. Books in the library are not
available in alternative formats, notes are also usually not provided in accessible formats.
The course content of
all the programs is essential to be made accessible and usable for all kinds of persons with disabilities such as making available the course content in
alternative format like audio, electronic format, electronic Braille and large print
format, tactile graphics format as per requirement so that the academic programs
will be made easy for persons with disabilities that will increase their enrollment in main stream degree programs of the university. A dedicated team of
personnel is needed who can undertake course content accessibility projects and
ensure accessibility of academic course
content.
content.
4.4
Course delivery mechanism accessibility:
Course
delivery mechanism involves teaching and transmit ion of knowledge to course aspirants
through various ways such as verbal, body language, interaction and activities
etc. Teaching is done with the consideration that all the learners in class and
laboratories are abled body persons which does not includes persons with
visual, auditory and speech impairment. Persons with visual disabilities face
several issues in understanding various visual concepts in class room and science
laboratories. Persons with auditory and speech impairment cannot understand
verbal interactions and audio visual material. They require sign language
interpreter or body language from the teacher while teaching. Classroom
teaching and laboratory experiments should be made accessible and
understandable for persons with all kinds of disabilities in order to have
pleasant learning experience to them. All the teachers and learning
facilitators should be trained to teach inclusive class.
5.
Standards and regulations governing
academic accessibility:
Academic
accessibility in campuses accessibility of built infrastructure, Accessibility
of academic web services, course content accessibility and accessibility of course
delivery mechanism. There are specific accessibility standards and regulations
for specific components.
5.1 Laws governing on built infrastructure accessibility:
Article 14 and 15 ensure accessibility of all the built
infrastructure services for everyone. Persons with disabilities (equal
opportunities and protection of rights and full participation) act 1995 also
advocates accessibility of built infrastructure services for persons with
disabilities in its section 44, 45, 46. The act has made several provisions
such as installation of ramps, elevators signage’s in alternative formats etc.
United Nations conventions on rights of persons with disabilities (UNCRPD) also
emphasize on accessibility of built infrastructure. The international law has
similar provisions but more effective way. Ministry of urban development also
has issued guidelines for built infrastructure for disabled and elderly which have
several comprehensive provisions beside the laws. It has given stress on color
combinations of walls, floor, staircases etc. It has provisions like height of
electric switches and other controls from floor for wheel chair users. USA has Americans
with disabilities act (ADA) which also in line with the provisions discussed
above. USA has rehabilitation act 1973 amended in 1998 which also talks about
accessibility of built infrastructure services. Similar such laws are present
in united kingdom Members states of European Union Australia and Canada. But
the laws are little weak in Asian countries. Japan, UAE and Korea are some
exceptions. Built infrastructure of all the academic institutions also comes
under these laws and regulations.
5.2 Laws governing on web services:
Indian
laws do not cover accessibility of digital services accessibility as the laws
are older. Whereas international laws like UNCRPD addresses web services
accessibility. Section 508 of US rehabilitation act is one of the strongest regulations
that makes web services accessibility compulsory. It also has penalties for non
compliance. Disability discrimination act of UK and Australia also covers web
services accessibility similar to US act. Several developed countries like
Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Korea, Singapore etc has their laws on web
services accessibility. World Wide Web consortium W3c has given Web content
accessibility guidelines (WCAG) especially for web accessibility which is
widely used in more than 100 countries. These guidelines are specific and
comprehensive for web services. Government of India has also issued guidelines for
web accessibility (GIGW) similar to WCAG. Several developed countries also have
parallel guidelines. Several corporate organizations like Microsoft, Oracle, Adobe
Corporation, Google Corporation, Hewlett-Packard (HP) has their own
accessibility standards for their products and services. Almost all these
regulations are applicable for academic web services accessibility.
5.3 Accessibility of academic course content:
Web
and digital accessibility regulations are also applicable to course content
accessibility. However accessibility of physical course content such as tactile
graphics 3rd models, training equipment, Laboratory equipment, special
assistive gadgets etc. are not covered in any of the laws and regulations. Also
best practices documents are not available. Teachers and learning facilities
are providing course content in their own ways which some time difficult for
students with disabilities. Need is realized to have regulation for course
content accessibility.
6.
Implementation and assurance of academic
accessibility:
Several
laws, standards, guidelines, policies, mandates and directives are available
which ensures accessibility of academic services in India. But the
implementation is negligible at ground level in academic institutions. Faculties,
staff, students and researchers with disabilities face lot of challenges due to
inaccessible academic services right from kindergarten to tertiary education.
Mumbai high court also ordered through a judgment in November 2014 to all
educational institutions in India to make their programs, services and
activities accessible and barrier free for all including persons with
disabilities up to end of the year 2015. But academic organizations are
ignoring such orders as it has no penalties. Persons with disabilities are not
united to create pressure group and push accessibility in academic
institutions. Several academic institutions are really wish to make their
premises accessible for every one including persons with disabilities but they
are unaware about the laws and regulations and the accessibility provisions. Inline
to the persons with disabilities act, UGC introduced schemes for development of
facilities for persons with disabilities in colleges and universities from 1998
in IX 5 year education plan. This provision is being continued in XII plan
also. But its actual implementation in academic institutions is not clearly
known. Several schemes such as teacher preparation for special education
(TPSE), access to infra-structure, etc. are not yet implemented in any of the
universities in India. The main reason is number of schemes and number of
accessibility standards and regulations for different services.none of the
Indian academic institution has implemented any of these guidelines in their
campuses due to variety of reasons such as lack of awareness, lack of proper
method for its implementation and difficulty in addressing multiple compliance
for specific type of infrastructure and services etc.
[Judgment
of Mumbai high court dated on 15/11/2014]