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the Equal Access Academy

The Equal Access Academy

Welcome to the Equal Access Academy! We're so glad you're here to check out ways to increase your knowledge about accessibility. All sessions are available to students, staff, faculty, and guests.

Descriptions of each training are under the calendar. We highly recommend starting with Accessibility Awareness 101 before you move on to more specific trainings.

If you would like to see something discussed or taught that isn't listed, please let us know by emailing EqualAccess@kent.edu. If you experience any difficulties registering for any of the events listed on this page, please contact Alison Haynes at ahayne23@kent.edu.

The Equal Access Academy courses are taught by subject matter experts from the Division of Information Technology, Student Accessibility Services, School of Health Sciences, Center for Teaching and Learning, Office of Legal Counsel, University Communications and Marketing, Kent State Online, and the Office of Compliance, Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action. 

 

UPCOMING SESSIONS

Accessibility Awareness

Accessibility Awareness 101

Presented by:
Amanda Feaster, Director of Student Accessibility Services, Division of Student Affairs
James Trombka, Accessibility Specialist, Student Accessibility Services

This is the foundational workshop for understanding accessibility at Kent State. We'll dismantle mistaken assumptions about disability and accessibility and explore the experiences of our students with disabilities. You’ll leave with a greater understanding of the additional challenges students with disabilities face and eager to work towards Equal Access for the entire Flashes Family. Open to students and employees.

Upcoming Sessions

March 4, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.

 

Accessibility Awareness 201

Presented by:
Amanda Feaster, Director, Student Accessibility Services
Donna Bernert, Associate Professor, Health Sciences

Come dig deeper with us on the models of disability, progress in disability activism and education, how disability and higher education intersect, and best practices for communicating with people with disabilities.

Upcoming Sessions

March 27, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Register for Accessibility Awareness 201

 

Request Previous Recording of AA 101 or 201

Accessibility Animals on Campus

Presented by:
Nichole Decaprio, Associate General Counsel, Office of General Counsel
Amanda Feaster, Director of Student Accessibility Services, Division of Student Affairs

How does a guinea pig help with disability? Can I pet my friend's Seeing Eye dog? Do I have to allow an emotional support cat in my class? Come get answers to these questions and more. Open to students, staff, and faculty. Highly recommended for faculty and student-facing staff.

Upcoming Sessions

April 1, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Register for Accessibility Animals

 

Request Previous Recording of Accessibility Animals

Accessibility for Webmasters

Accessibility for Webmasters 101

Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology

Join the Digital Accessibility Team and UCM’s Web Team to discuss the fundamentals of web accessibility and how Kent State users with disabilities experience web content. You’ll learn the accessibility policies and legal requirements governing Kent State’s digital presence, see some examples of good (and bad) web accessibility, and sample digital tools that help monitor your www.kent.edu websites.

February 6, 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.

 

Accessibility for Webmasters 201: Toolbox and Audit

Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology

In this workshop, we’ll use Siteimprove’s Quality Assurance and Accessibility modules to quickly identify, prioritize and fix issues on your website, teach you to audit and remediate your content more effectively, and explore Siteimprove’s built-in reporting tools to help you keep track of the progress you make and share that information with the people who need it.

February 20, 10:30 - 12:00 p.m.

 

Accessibility for Webmasters 301: Strategy

Presented by:
Alison Haynes, Assistant Director, Division of Information Technology

In this workshop, we’ll review the important concepts learned throughout the 101 and 201 courses and see how they fit into creating a long term and sustainable web accessibility strategy for your department or divisional website. We’ll teach you how to explain your new accessibility strategy to others and help you leverage the strengths of teammates for greater accessibility.

February 27, 10:30 - 12:00 p.m.

 

Request Access to a Previous Session's Recording

Accessibility in a Flash

Need a refresher or bite-sized training on key digital accessibility elements? Grab your lunch and join us for a quick tutorial and best practices discussion. Each session counts as 0.5 hr Beyond Compliance (BC) credit.

 

Headings and Labels

Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology

January 20, 2025; 12:15 - 12:45 p.m. 

Register for Headings and Labels

 

Adding Alternative Text to Images

Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology. 

February 3, 12;15 - 12;45 p.m.

Register for Adding Alt Text
 

Captioning Live or Recorded Events/Videos

Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology
Eileen Mlachak, Speech-to-Text Transcriber, Student Accessibility Services

February 17, 12:15 - 12:45 p.m.

REGISTER FOR LIVE OR RECORDED EVENTS/VIDEOS

 

Screen Reader Demo

Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology

March 3, 12:15 - 12:45 p.m.

REGISTER FOR SCREEN READER DEMO

 

Accessibility in a Flash: Quick Start Your Own Accessibility Testing

Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology

March 17, 12:15 - 12:45 p.m.

REGISTER FOR QUICK START YOUR OWN ACCESSIBILITY TESTING 

 

 

Request Previous Recording of an Accessibility in a Flash session

Creating Accessible Courses in Canvas

Designing Proactively Before Accommodation Letters

*Designed for Faculty and Education/Instructional Design Students

Written and Presented By:
Amanda Feaster, Director, Student Accessibility Services
Lydia Rogouski, Instructional Designer, Kent State Online

Companion webpage: Accommodations For Faculty

Course accessibility and universal design principles are part of pursuing the best ways to meet the educational needs of your students. What if each semester you prioritized adding one new accessibility habit to your course design workflow in Canvas until your course is accessible? We'll give you entry-level through advanced tips and tutorials on how to make it all happen.

Upcoming Sessions

March 20, 11:00 - 12:00 p.m.

REGISTER FOR CREATING ACCESSIBLE COURSES 

 

Request Recording of Previous Accessible Courses Session

Creating Accessible Events: In Person and Virtual

Presented by:
Amanda Feaster, Director, Student Accessibility Services

Taking a proactive approach to event accessibility can make guests feel more comfortable and included, and it can save you work in the long run. Learn practical ways to incorporate accessibility into your regular and special events as well as campus resources for planning accessible events. We will discuss best practices for both in-person and virtual events.

Upcoming Sessions

February 25, 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

 

Request Recording from a Previous Session of Accessible Events

Creating Accessible InDesign Publications

Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology
Larry Langston, Senior Graphic Designer, University Communications and Marketing

Learn how to make your InDesign documents accessible and convert them into accessible PDFs. Topics include fundamental accessibility concepts such as headings, image descriptions, and document tags, as well as best practices for saving and sharing your InDesign documents with others.

Upcoming Sessions

April 3, 10:30 - 12:00 p.m.

Register for Accessible InDesign

 

Request Recording from a Previous Session of Accessible InDesign 

Creating Accessible Marketing and Social Media

Creating Accessible Marketing and Social Media 101

Presented by:
Alison Haynes, Assistant Director, Division of Information Technology

Companion Webpage: Accessible Marketing

Learn best practices for creating accessible social media posts, flyers, videos, and digital displays. Open to students, staff, and faculty. Highly recommended for content writers and communications employees, both staff and student.

Upcoming Sessions

February 4, 10:30 - 12:00 p.m.

 

Request Access to a Previous Session's Recording of Accessible Marketing

Creating Accessible Office 365 Documents

Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology

Companion Webpage: Accessible Documents

Learn the accessibility features of and best practices for Microsoft Word, Excel, and Power Point, and learn how to save documents as accessible PDFs. Session includes hands-on practice. Open to students, staff, and faculty.

Upcoming Sessions

March 19, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.

Register for Accessible Documents

 

Request Recording from a Previous Session of Accessible Office 365 Docs

Creating Clean and Accessible Dynamic Forms

Presented by:
Alison Haynes, Assistant Director, Division of Information Technology
Amanda Kelley-Hurm, Manager, Division of Information Technology

Beyond knowing how to build a form, can you make it accessible and keep your users from getting frustrated? Do you know how to design for students and employees with ADHD or a language-processing disorder? Do you know how to write the form cleanly and with good spacing and styling? These and other best practices are crucial for the understanding and completion of your forms and for keeping Kent State legally compliant.

Note: this training will focus more on creating dynamic forms rather than accessible PDFs. Please see Creating Accessible PDFs Using Adobe Acrobat PRO to learn of accessible PDFs.

Upcoming Sessions

TBA

Disability in the Classroom

Presented by:
Amanda Feaster, Director, Student Accessibility Services
Donna Bernert, Associate Professor, Health Sciences
Jenny Marcinkiewicz, Director, Center for Teaching and Learning; Associate Professor

Most faculty believe that all students should have equally effective access in the classroom. But desire alone doesn't produce results; concrete methods DO. Come learn ways to teach confidently to all students by providing accommodations correctly, incorporating universal design strategies, and learning to discern the role disability plays in both straightforward and difficult interactions.

Upcoming Sessions

TBA, Spring 2025

 

Request a Recording of a Previous Session of Disability in the Classroom

Making PDFs Accessible Using Adobe Acrobat Pro

Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology

Companion Webpage: Creating Accessible Documents

Learn how to review PDFs for accessibility, including how to quickly identify and fix accessibility issues using Adobe Acrobat Pro’s built-in tools, resulting in an accessible PDF. Session includes hands-on practice. Open to students, staff, and faculty.

*Adobe Acrobat PRO (subscription), not just Adobe Reader (free), is recommended for the hands-on part of this course. If currently unavailable to you, Acrobat PRO can be purchased and downloaded at software.kent.edu.

Upcoming Sessions

April 8, 1:00 - 2;00 p.m.

REGISTER FOR MAKING PDFS ACCESSIBLE USING ADOBE ACROBAT PRO

Managing My Disability

Managing My Disability as a Kent State Employee (For Employees with Disabilities and their Supervisors)

Sponsored and presented by:
Access Betters the Lives of Everyone (ABLE, Employee Resource Group) and the Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action (EOAA) office. 

Managing a disability is complicated, especially when juggling life as an employee at Kent State. This workshop will help you navigate your rights, the resources available to you, and demystify the voluntary process of declaring a disability and requesting accommodations. We'll also reviews tips and resources for managing various disability symptoms as well as for supervisors of individuals who disclose a disability. 

 

Upcoming Sessions

February 18, 11:00 - 12:00 p.m.

REGISTER FOR MANAGING MY DISABILITY AS KENT STATE EMPLOYEE

 

Request Recording from a Previous Session of Managing My Disability

What is Neurodiversity?

Presented by:
Zach Strickler, Neurodiversity Coordinator, Student Accessibility Services

Join us for a discussion on changing the way neurodiversity is viewed from an all-encompassing characteristic to a facet of one's identity. This will be done by discussing what stigmas are present, why the term neurodiversity was coined and how we can reframe our thoughts.

Upcoming Sessions

TBA

Writing Accessible Code

Written and Presented by:
Doug Flower, Digital Accessibility Specialist, Division of Information Technology
Wayne Fincher, Associate Applications Developer, Division of Information Technology

Companion Webpage: Writing Accessible Code

Writing accessible code is an essential development skill for potential or current students, faculty, or staff who access your digital content or application via many different devices, interfaces, and assistive technologies. Accessible code is easier to write and understand, and it enables the greatest amount of access to the information to ensures an equitable experience for all Kent State users.

Upcoming Sessions

March 25, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.

Register for Accessible Code

 

Request Recording from a Previous Session of Writing Accessible Code

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