Close-up of hands typing on a laptop.
As of 2020, the U.S. population stood at 329.5 million people, and according to the CDC, 26% of the U.S. population lives with some manner of disability. Moreover, approximately 8.5% of the population over age 5 have disabilities that impact computer use – that’s over 28 million people! Though some college students report this information to the Academic Office, they are not required to alert their faculty, nor are their colleagues.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in everyday activities. Baker College believes in providing an equal education for all students and accessible materials to all students, staff, and faculty. Faculty must therefore develop and set up their Canvas courses, course materials, and internal and external communications with ADA guidelines in mind to ensure classes, documents, and communications are accessible to all.
According to w3.org’s web accessibility initiative, “The Web is an increasingly important resource in many aspects of life: education, employment, government, commerce, health care, recreation, and more. It is essential that the Web be accessible in order to provide equal access and equal opportunity to people with diverse abilities. Access to information and communications technologies, including the Web, is defined as a basic human right in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD).”
Are you looking to learn more about this topic? Check out this video on YouTube about digital accessibility: Video: What is Digital Accessibility?
To learn even more, consult the Baker College Accessibility Checklist.
If you haven’t completed Baker College Accessibility Training and are interested in doing so, head to the Baker College Accessibility Experience page. You may be asked to complete this training in the future, so please be sure to log in with your UIN to get credit for completing this training.
If you have any questions about accessibility, please reach out to your Instructional Designer, or send an email to: ID@baker.edu.