Many universities may be vulnerable to complaints about accessibility issues in online courses because of the decentralized way they handle compliance with a federal law that protects people with disabilities from discrimination, a new report says.
Campuses often lack formal policies to ensure that their online courses comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act, says the report about online-education management, sponsored by the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications and the Campus Computing Project.
In a survey of 183 colleges and universities, one-third of respondents said responsibility for complying with the ADA rests with individual professors who teach online. Almost a quarter reported that responsibility falls to academic programs or departments. Only 16 percent said their college has a central office that reviews every course for compliance.
The findings come after two national organizations representing the blind sued Arizona State University over its use of a different piece of technology, the Kindle e-reader, saying the device could not be used by blind students.
In the wake of that case, the new survey reveals what seems to be an “ad hoc” approach to ensuring compliance with the law, said Kenneth C. Green, founding director of the Campus Computing Project.
“That’s not a good strategy for anybody,” Mr. Green told Wired Campus. “The danger is that you have another situation as ASU and others experienced with the Kindles.”
Among the other findings of the survey:
- Colleges are making major investments in training online faculty members. Half of the institutions surveyed require professors who teach online to complete mandatory training. That training averages out to 22 hours.
- Seventy-three percent of respondents said faculty resistance to teaching Web courses obstructs institutional efforts to expand online programs. “The issues that impede growth are internal, not external,” Mr. Green said.
- Systems used to organize online programs are in flux at many colleges. Forty-four percent of those surveyed said their campuses have reorganized online management in the past two years.
11 Responses to ADA Compliance Is a ‘Major Vulnerability’ for Online Programs
hms3683 - November 12, 2010 at 10:08 am
ADA compliance gets tricky when online institutions are also being asked to provide some sense of security on the issue of whether the student is the one actually taking the course. This is often done with some course assessments being completed in proctored testing settings. But these settings may not be ADA compliant. And the disabilities may include mobility impairments so that travel to the testing facility is a hardship.
bbaylis - November 12, 2010 at 11:03 am
I do not wish to disabuse you of the belief that an ADA office and ADA officer guarantees compliance in on-ground courses and programs. Even at institutions with ADA office and officers, the real compliance in every course and program rests with the instructor and department. If instructors do not have compliance in their hearts, there will be many short comings. I have experienced this from both sides of the fence. For nearly 40 years, I questioned the fairness of extra time on exams, until two years ago when a blood vessel in a tumor in my brain exploded and created all the symptoms of a stroke, and many of the after effects. The tumor was removed and it was found to be benign so I did not have to have further treatment for the tumor. However, I was left with a case of aphasia, which is a communications disorder and does not effect intelligence. I know what I want to say and/or write, it just takes me much longer to do it now. Then nine months after the blood vessel exploded, I had four grand mal seizures within a 30 minute time span. Between the epilesy and the aphasia, there is no way I could carry out the functions of my last job, which was provost of a medium sized university, which offered both undergraduate and graduate programming in both on-ground and on-line formats. There is also no way I could teach either a regular or online course. I don’t believe I lost any of any intelligence or knowledge, However, the only way I can really communicate is via the written word, and that is a time consuming labor intensive task. I now have emphathy for the students with challenges. Most of them are not trying to get out of something. They are trying to maximize their potential. To do that they must have instructors who believe in them and are willing to help them.
burlingtoncol - November 12, 2010 at 11:50 am
To bbaylis–That was a thoughtful comment. Thank you.
dank48 - November 12, 2010 at 12:34 pm
Bbaylis, thanks for a very insightful comment. As the parent of a special-needs student, I can say we’ve had a wide variety of response to her request for accommodation. Most instructors have been willing and able to do their work with an interpreter in the room, and a couple have even commented that her example of dealing with her disability made for a more serious, distraction-free classroom.
But the truth is that an ADA office and an ADA officer no more guarantee compliance than a police station and a cop on the corner guarantee law and order.
bmcbull - November 12, 2010 at 12:39 pm
Yes it’s a challenge, but we are a Department of Rehab Counseling who put an entire 2 year MS degree online in 1999 ….. it is completely do-able, but requires fair consideration for alternative formats – - in particular for those students with sensory disabilities. With due diligence, great tech people, and common sense, we have been able to overcome all barriers thus far and it is well worthwhile. What’s the point of going online if some outstanding students cannot have access, right? We have tripled our enrollment while increasing the quality of students admitted in a very rigorous online offering.
b.t. mcmahon
VCU-Richmond
emmadw - November 12, 2010 at 12:44 pm
I agree with those above – an insightful post, bbaylis.
I’m not 100% familiar with ADA, as I’m from the UK, but we do have similar requirements. That said, I think that a level of pragmatism is required. So, while Kindle could be a good method of distributing text books for many students – indeed, for those with physical disabilities could even be ‘better’ than paper, there also needs to be a very easy way to port that information to other tools for those students who can’t use Kindle – whatever that might be.
vlghess - November 14, 2010 at 8:28 pm
and I would note that the audio feature on the Kindle, for texts for which that is available, should make it more useful than it used to be.
wd_deque - November 15, 2010 at 9:51 am
Very timely article as Penn State had a complaint filed on friday, November 12. The National Federation of the Blind filed a complaint with the Department of Education office of civil rights for alleged violations of Title II of the ADA.
http://www.nfb.org/nfb/NewsBot.asp?MODE=VIEW&ID=702
professor_e - November 15, 2010 at 5:39 pm
The lawsuit against Arizona State is surely groundless, since Kindle has a really functional audio feature. I “read” books on my Kindle every day by listening to them. I have become quite good at programming it in the dark. A little experience is all it takes.
citizenship - November 18, 2010 at 1:35 pm
Something else to keep in mind when allowing for a student’s need to take extra time for a test or some other communication-sensitive project: the growing number of new and returning students who have incurred injuries and/or disabilities due to their service in the military.
Schools will need to evaluate how they can best serve those students and help them reach their maximum potential. Respect, patience and understanding will be just as important as any actual accommodation made for them.
bgibson135 - December 7, 2010 at 4:37 pm
ADA compliance will also be a problem with the increased use of other mobile devices (iPad, iPhone, Android, etc.) in education. I’m not aware of any of the smartphone apps that hint at being ADA compliant.
However, services such as ODIOGO, which can create, “on the fly,” an audio version of each of your text blog postings can make accessibility easier (for hearing impaired).