Meeting Minutes: March 12, 2015

Present

  • Stephen Blosser, Chair
  • Graham Pierce, Vice Chair; Webmaster
  • Al Puzzuoli, Digital Communications Coordinator
  • Jiatyan Chen
  • Nate Evans
  • Michael Ezzo
  • Dave Goodrich
  • Brendan Guenther
  • Steve Jewett
  • Ranti Junus
  • Nick Kwiatkowski
  • Emilia Marcyk
  • Deborah Margolis
  • Tyler Smeltekop
  • James White
  • Vi'nessa Webster
  • Joanna Young

Minutes

  1. Blosser called meeting to order at 3:00 PM
  2. Pilot Assistance to RFP Committees
    • Guenther was asked by the Office of General Counsel and Purchasing to advise on vendor plans to meet the new accessibility statement in RFPs. Guenther will report to ATC in May or June.
    • Questions raised: Who provides external validation of accessibility? Who pays? Possibility of CIC collaboration?
  3. Visit from Joanna Young, CIO, IT Services
    • Young is passionate about accessibility because it's the right thing to do, not just because it's required by law.
    • Young stated technology at MSU is widely distributed. Best to make things accessible from the beginning. Similar to security requirements
    • Concern: Resources to test/validate for accessibility. RCPD and UARC do not have enough staff for this.
    • Young: Can a basic checklist be developed of things that staff can check for themselves?
    • Young: Encourage staff to purchase what has already been purchased, rather than buying different technology that needs to be validated. Reduce MSU's technology portfolio. Young has charged Computer Store with facilitating licensing of common IT products. This can lead to better cost and service from vendors, including more leverage with vendors to improve accessibility.
    • Jiatyan Chen is on CIC Accessibility group. CIC is comprised of public and private universities, some public are tied to state procurement mechanisms. This limits cooperation on purchasing.
    • Young asked about inaccessible IT on campus. ATC members provided examples.
    • Ezzo: E-text content has not been integrated into D2L; Cengage will filter out inaccessible content
  4. Increasing Visibility of ATC
    • Tyler Smeltekop asked about ATC budget process; Guenther and Pierce clarified that ATC endorses funding requests made by other units, and does not itself make requests.
    • Smeltekop suggested reaching out to more colleges and support service units about ATC role. Possible mechanisms:
    • Letter to deans and directors
    • IT Council
      • Guenther will announce at next IT Council meeting that the ATC is offering to share responsibilities for reviewing and recommending IT with a focus on accessibility.
      • Guenther suggested that Mike Hudson could be guest speaker at IT Council
    • Web Accessibility Council
  5. Other Announcements
    • James White noted that DOJ's proposed revision of Section 508 is currently scheduled to be out in June.
    • Nick Kwiatkowski will arrange a meeting between ATC and the State of MI Telecomm ADA enforcement group. This group has focused on the deaf/hard of hearing (e.g. text to 911 service).
    • Blosser announced that next week's ATC meeting will be cancelled.
  6. The meeting was adjourned (Guenther, Pierce) at 4:30 PM

Respectfully submitted,
Deborah Margolis