Final paper for my Disability Issues class:
Functional Area
Enrollment Management – Topic: Online portals and accessibility
What is Enrollment Management (EM)?
Enrollment Management departments actively identify, counsel, recruit, and
enroll qualified students; and offer services that promote student retention
and success. Enrollment Management emerged as a new field in Student Affairs
in the 1980s.
Enrollment Management Organizational Example
At Oregon State University, EM consists of 6 units: Admissions, Student Orientation
and Retention Programs (SOAR), Registrar, Financial Aid and Scholarships,
SMILE, and Precollege Programs.
Strategic Enrollment Management concepts
- Establishing clear goals for the number and types of students needed to
fulfill the institutional mission.
- Promoting academic success by improving student access, transition, persistence,
and graduation.
- Determining, achieving, and maintaining optimum enrollment.
- Enabling the delivery of effective academic programs.
- Generating added net revenue for the institution.
- Enabling effective financial planning.
- Increasing process and organizational efficiency.
- Improving service levels to all stakeholders (e.g., prospective and current
students, other institutional departments, other institutions, coordinating
agencies).
- Creating a data-rich environment to inform decisions and
evaluate strategies. [We add analysis-rich too as many institutions
are data-rich with the student information systems in place,
yet a parallel investment has not often been made on analyzing
the still “invisible” relationships].
- Creating and continuously strengthening linkages with functions and activities
across the campus.
(From “Strategic Enrollment Management: Core Strategies and Best Practices,” by
Bob Bontrager, 2004, College and University Journal, 79(4), 9 – 15.)
Enrollment Management and Online Portals
As new technologies emerge; Enrollment Management departments strive
to expand online services for their students. Through the use of online portals,
EM departments continue to strategically utilize technology to increase student
persistence and retention. Online portals are also useful in increasing student
satisfaction, institutional efficiency, and online service deliverables (Harr,
2002).
What is an online portal?
An online portal is defined as “an abridged and customized
version of the institutional Web presence… a "pocket-sized" version
of the campus Web. Portal technology adds "customization" and "community" to
the campus Web presence. Customization allows each user to define a unique
and personal view of the campus Web. Community tools, such as chat, forums,
survey, and so on, build relationships among campus constituencies” (
UPortal by JA-SIG)
Online Portals and Accessibility
The creators of most online portal applications state that they provide accessible
online solutions. SCT, the creators of the Luminis online portal state that
they are “committed to making the SCT Luminis product family increasingly
accessible for people with disabilities and more user-friendly for everyone.
Accessibility doctrine requires that all people, including those with disabilities,
have equal access to information technology through the implementation of a
universal design standard” (Sungard SCT, 2005). According to Blackboard,
another online portal vendor, “Blackboard is committed to the accessibility
of our e-Education platform. We are working with leaders in the accessibility
field to contemplate industry standards and federal guidelines for accessibility” (Accessibility).
In addition, WebCT, a worldwide leader in e-learning systems states that “WebCT’s
e-learning systems are World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Priority 1 compliant
and adhere to Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act” (WebCT
Accessibility).
Frequent accessibility issues with online portals
- Frames – oftentimes, developers use frames as a convenient
means to separate data sets. Frames are usually
a virtual roadblock for users with visual impairments due to
incompatibility with screen reader technology.
- Alt tags – Alt tags are used to describe images. If an image is used
to provide a user with content then the tag needs to correctly identify the
image. If an image is used as a design element then the tag needs to be coded
as alt=””. This will allow screen readers to pass over an image
without wasting a user’s time.
- CSS/XHTML – The use of structured markup is usually
lacking on an online portal. Structured markup will ensure
that when images and formatting are removed, the content
of a site will still be accessible for all users.
- Skip navigation links – If navigational menus are
duplicated on all pages of a website than a developer should
always provide the user with a means to skip the duplicated
menu. This will create a heightened usability factor for your
user.
- New windows – When an online portal opens a new window, a user’s
navigation ability can be severely decreased. The
back button becomes useless and the ability to navigate to
the previous page becomes impossible.
- JavaScript – To achieve certain functionality, online portal developers
have relied extensively on JavaScript. Unfortunately, this takes away the
choice of browser options for most users. SCT’s
Luminis becomes ineffective if JavaScript is turned
off.
Note: SCT’s Luminis is currently in use by over 200
colleges and universities. Luminis contains frames, has improperly coded alt
tags, does not utilize CSS/XHTML markup, is missing skip navigation links,
opens new windows, and does not work if you turn off JavaScript. According
to SCT, “Future testing may include expanding client contact with schools
who are concerned about accessibility and feedback from users who face accessibility
challenges of all kinds” (Sungard SCT, 2005).
ADA and Section 508 Requirements
ADA : The interpretability
of the ADA can be both a benefit and a detriment to users with disabilities.
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (Title II) requires
a public college to take appropriate steps to ensure that communications with
persons with disabilities "are as effective as communications with others" [28
C.F.R. § 35.160(a)]. OCR has repeatedly held that the terms "communication" in
this context means the transfer of information, including (but not limited
to) the verbal presentation of a lecturer, the printed text of a book, and
the resources of the Internet (California State University, Long Beach – Docket
Number 09-99-2041, 1999). Most colleges and universities attempt to comply
with the ADA but most fail to provide absolute accessibility with online services.
It can be posited that the lack of disability studies curriculum in computer
science, information systems, and education programs has led to a general lack
of support and understanding for online accessibility.
Section 508: Section 508 is part of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973. It is intended to end discrimination against people who have disabilities
within the context of technological access. Section 508 officially became U.S.
law in 2001 (Zeldman, 2003).
Section 508 Internet component:
1194.22 Web-based intranet and internet information and applications.
(a) A text equivalent for every non-text element shall be
provided (e.g., via "alt", "longdesc", or in element content).
(b) Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation
shall be synchronized with the presentation.
(c) Web pages shall be designed so that all information conveyed
with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup.
(d) Documents shall be organized so they are readable without
requiring an associated style sheet.
(e) Redundant text links shall be provided for each active
region of a server-side image map.
(f) Client-side image maps shall be provided instead of server-side
image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric
shape.
(g) Row and column headers shall be identified for data tables.
(h) Markup shall be used to associate data cells and header
cells for data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column
headers.
(i) Frames shall be titled with text that facilitates frame
identification and navigation.
(j) Pages shall be designed to avoid causing the screen to
flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.
(k) A text-only page, with equivalent information or functionality,
shall be provided to make a web site comply with the provisions of this part,
when compliance cannot be accomplished in any other way. The content of the
text- only page shall be updated whenever the primary page changes.
(l) When pages utilize scripting languages to display content,
or to create interface elements, the information provided by the script shall
be identified with functional text that can be read by assistive technology.
(m) When a web page requires that an applet, plug-in or other
application be present on the client system to interpret page content, the
page must provide a link to a plug-in or applet that complies with §1194.21(a)
through (l).
(n) When electronic forms are designed to be completed on-line,
the form shall allow people using assistive technology to access the information,
field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of
the form, including all directions and cues.
(o) A method shall be provided that permits users to skip
repetitive navigation links.
(p) When a timed response is required, the user shall be
alerted and given sufficient time to indicate more time is required.
(Web-based intranet and internet information and applications, 2002)
Software for website accessibility assessment
|
Software Tool
|
Evaluation Category
|
|
IBM – aDesigner
|
Accessibility and Vision tests
|
|
IBM – Home Page Reader v3.02
|
User Test(assistive technology)
|
|
Dolphin Access – Supernova Pro v5.1
|
User Test(assistive technology)
|
|
Lynx
|
User Test
|
(From Oregon State University Technology Access Program)
Why should online portals conform to web standards?
Coding using standards (particularly CSS for positioning, and strict HTML)
makes accessibility an easier goal to achieve , as standards have been created
with accessibility in mind. Being able to address accessibility issues means
being able to serve web content to a larger audience, increasing web site efficiency,
especially for users with disabilities.
Additional resources/readings
A List Apart: Source for web standards information
http://www.alistapart.com/topics/userscience/accessibility/
Assistive Technology Act of 1998
http://section508.gov/docs/AT1998.html
Information Technology Technical Assistance and Training Center (ITTATC):
National Assessment of State E&IT Accessibility Initiatives
http://www.ittatc.org/laws/state_intro.cfm
International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet
http://www.icdri.org/
Making Web Sites Work for People With Disabilities
http://chronicle.com/prm/weekly/v47/i21/21a03001.htm
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)
http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/programs.html
Opera: a web browser with several accessibility features
http://opera.com/features/access/
Oregon State University online accessibility documentation
http://www.oregonstate.edu/accessibility
Section 508 Information
http://www.section508.gov
Spazowham Design – “we build sites from raw, organic table-free
XHTML and CSS, 100% validated, compliant to W3C standards and Section 508,
and ready to run in any browser on any device.”
http://www.spazowham.com/
Texas Tech University Enrollment Management Plan 2002- 2006 http://www.ttu.edu/enrmgt/emplan/
WebAIM: Accessibility in Mind – Free online accessibility tools
http://www.webaim.org/techniques/articles/freetools/
WebAIM: Accessibility in Mind – Section 508 Web Accessibility Checklist
http://www.webaim.org/standards/508/508checklist.pdf
Web-Based Information and Prospective Students with Disabilities:
A Study of Liberal Arts Colleges
http://www.educause.edu/apps/eq/eqm04/eqm0446.asp
References
Blackboard Inc., (n.d.). Accessibility. Retrieved Apr. 22, 2005 , from Accessibility
FAQ’s Web site: http://www.blackboard.com/products/access/faqs.htm.
Bontrager, Bob . (2004). Strategic Enrollment Management: Core Strategies
and Best Practices. College and University Journal, 79(4), 9 – 15 .
California state university, long beach – docket number 09-99-2041. (1999).
Retrieved Apr. 24, 2005 , from http://www.icdri.org/legal/lbeach.htm.
Harr, G. L. (2002). Connections: a comprehensive student portal. concept
paper and proposal…
Sungard SCT. (2005). SCT luminis product family and accessibility [Brochure].
Malvern , PA
Uportal by ja-sig. (n.d.). Retrieved Apr. 23, 2005 , from http://www.uportal.org/index.html.
WebCT, (n.d.). WebCT accessibility. Retrieved Apr. 21, 2005 , from WebCT
Accessibility> Home Web site: http://www.webct.com/accessibility.
Web-based intranet and internet information and applications. (2002). Retrieved
Apr. 21, 2005 , from Section 508: Section 508 Standards Web site: http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Content&ID=12#Web.
Zeldman, J. (2003). Designing with web standards. Berkeley , CA
: New Riders.
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