DELTA’s Accessibility Team, in partnership with NC State Libraries and the Office of Information Technology (OIT), is delighted to announce the establishment of the NC State Accessibility Collaborative (NCStAC) this fall.
Open to any member of the NC State community, NCStAC’s primary goal is to facilitate collaborative allyship and engagement with accessibility topics and initiatives as part of a university-wide commitment to removing barriers to inclusion. The group will provide both in-person and virtual opportunities for community-building, knowledge sharing and peer-to-peer support in the accessibility space.
“We look forward to bringing together people from across campus who don’t usually have the opportunity to collaborate, but who all have a shared interest in accessibility,” explained Caitlin McKeown, DELTA instructional designer and award-winning accessibility team member. “We’re hoping this broad approach will bring a range of perspectives and experiences to the collaborative and will deepen our understanding of accessibility across campus.”
The inclusion of student perspectives is an exciting, and important, facet of the collaborative’s founding principles. “We’re excited to include students in this group and understand their challenges, opportunities, and viewpoints,” said Robin Davis, associate head of user experience for NC State Libraries.
“The goal is to eliminate silos at the university,” added Rebecca Sitton, accessibility coordinator for NC State OIT. “It is so valuable to be able to reach outside of our usual contexts and teams and facilitate the sharing of news and information between different campus units.”
Join NCStAC
The NC State Accessibility Collaborative will hold its first meeting virtually on Friday, September 13. After an introduction to NCStAC highlighting its purpose and goals, the meeting will feature several lightning talks of about five minutes each. Topics will include alt text for graphs and charts, what’s on the accessibility horizon on campus, and accessible and sensory friendly spaces in the libraries.
The initial meeting’s format is designed to provide examples of the types and range of topics that will be presented by this new group.
“Through NCStAC we hope to identify new opportunities for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and removing barriers in our NC State community,” McKeown said. “We want to create a space where everyone can come to share and learn.”
To maximize the potential for inclusive campus-wide participation, NCStAC meetings will be primarily virtual. The group is also excited to offer in-person field trips each semester, providing an opportunity to experience spaces where innovative accessibility resources are available to our campus community.
In October, NCStAC is planning a field trip to the NC State Libraries Makerspace Program at the D. H. Hill Jr. Library. The Makerspace has a variety of resources for accessibility projects, such as 3D printers to create tactile graphics, low fidelity electronics, sewing machines, a laser cutter and many other tools and materials.
NCStAC is governed by a diverse steering committee of NC State staff and faculty united by a common purpose: fostering a more inclusive, diverse and accessible campus for all individuals, including those with disabilities. The current steering committee roster is:
- Jill Anderson, Lead Instructional Technologist, Digital Learning, DELTA
- Beth Ashmore, Associate Head, Acquisitions & Discovery, NC State Libraries
- Jonathan Champ, Associate Director, Data, Integrations and Custom Applications, Academic Technology, DELTA
- Robin Davis, Associate Head, User Experience, NC State Libraries
- Alison Edwards, Librarian for Digital Teaching and Learning, NC State Libraries
- Troy Hurteau, Business and Technology Applications Analyst, NC State Libraries
- Caitlin McKeown, Lead Instructional Designer, Digital Learning , DELTA
- Melissa Ramirez, Associate Teaching Professor, Department of Biological Sciences
- Rebecca Sitton, Accessibility Coordinator, NC State OIT
- David Tredwell, Team Lead, Multimedia Development, Digital Learning, DELTA
Ready to get involved? Fill out this interest form. Questions? Email NCStAC at group-accessibility-collaborative@ncsu.edu.
Accessibility at DELTA
Established in 2021, the interdisciplinary DELTA Accessibility Team works toward a strategic shared vision of educational equity for all NC State students through accessible digital practices.
As well as supporting NC State instructors in implementing accessibility tools and practices in online learning environments, the DELTA Accessibility Team was instrumental in creating the new DELTA Course Accessibility Express Grants. These semester-long initiatives pair DELTA experts with NC State instructors to identify research-based strategies for removing or decreasing barriers to equitable course access.
One of the key goals for the DELTA Accessibility Team during its inaugural year of accessibility grants was to create scalable remediation templates and processes for instructors. Many of these resources are collected in DELTA’s Digital Accessibility Guide, an essential tool for instructors wanting to improve their online course accessibility.
Interested? Learn more about Course Accessibility Express Grants.
This post was originally published in DELTA News.
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