The University of Wisconsin-Madison Faculty Senate heard a report Monday from a committee detailing a campus-wide accessibility survey it administered to further its efforts to make sure the university is following state and federal laws to fit the needs of students with disabilities.
According to Psychology professor Morton Ann Gernsbacher, chair of the Committee on Access and Accommodation in Instruction, the survey assessed aspects such as experiences with accessibility, inclusion of students with disabilities in campus life and general knowledge about disability.
Gernsbacher said the committee will soon have all data from the survey collected and the results will directly impact the next steps the committee takes. She said if the results indicate a lack of knowledge of disability, there may need to be an increase of knowledge of the “federal laws and regulations that require higher education institutions to be accessible to persons with disabilities” and she said the committee would design training materials on those laws and regulations.
Bacteriology professor Katrina Forest, chair of the Information Technology Committee, said she thinks some of the most important things the committee did over the past year were encouraging and strengthening the visibility of the committee and developing strong relations with the campus chief information officer and the office of the provost.
According to Forest, the committee has also had discussions about accessibility of electronic resources on campus and has encouraged faculty to make academic materials more accessible to all students.
“This is something that helps not only those who need more accessible material, but all students are probably benefitting from well-designed materials,” Forest said.
In the meeting, Chancellor Rebecca Blank spoke to faculty about the commencement change of a single ceremony held in Camp Randall Stadium for May 2014. Blank said by holding a single celebration, the university can attract a “probably more prominent and better-known” speaker.
The biggest consequence of the change is students won’t be able to walk across the stage and have their names read. Blank said they are working on different ideas to recognize the students and she said she is pushing for separate departments to hold ceremonies to recognize their own students.
