Information Technology Services is seeking individuals to join a Virtual IT Accessibility Lab, to help promote policy and IT accessibility as well as proactively test and watch users interact with software and websites to help improve the experience and make the University the best place to be a student.
Over the past year, faculty, staff, students and the community have been working with campus leaders and partners to strategize Big Ideas that identify what areas the University is good at—and where we can be great. Areas that transform lives for our students and the community.
As part of that Big Ideas process and in collaboration with the Chancellor, ITS is working on its next evolution of the ITS Strategic Plan. After consultation across the university, two areas of focus for 2019-20 came into focus: student affordability and accessibility.
What is IT Accessibility and the Lab?
IT Accessibility involves working collaboratively with campus technology and communication professionals to remain committed to the creation and dissemination of accessible content. This includes working together with system and campus stakeholders to provide direction and guidance on accessibility:
● Policy and Governance
● Tools, Resources and Guidelines
● Web and Mobile Design
● Procurement and Purchasing Guidelines
● Training and Professional Development
The virtual lab will primarily focus on testing web and mobile design as well as promotion and education of IT Accessibility consisting of:
● Advisory Board (10-15 members)
● Working Group (TBD)
● Liaisons and Community News (Everyone who signs up)
Nominate someone or sign up for the Lab
Descriptions of the Groups and Roles
The Advisory Board may contain a few members from ITS, but it will also include many others from our campus communities as well as the accessibility service offices at each campus and even members of the community. In ITS' commitment to accessibility, the IT Accessibility Advisory Board will guide future efforts related to ICT procurement, resources and tools, policy, and campus support. The board will meet quarterly and establish liaisons and guide the working group team to assess, review and work together to make technology more accessible at the University of Nebraska.
The Working Group will contain the most technical folks, or those with accessibility expertise and experience. If you have knowledge of WCAG, can help perform audits, or understand usability and end-user testing, we want you! The working group team consists of passionate developers, designers and content professionals who understand accessibility and can test and assess technology either through heuristic reviews or user experience testing. We will also be asking members both from within and outside ITS who use assistive technology to join us! Campus offices will be nominating and asking individuals to help as well.
Finally, the Liaisons and Community News is for everyone! It will be a larger stakeholder committee with liaisons from different audiences throughout the University of Nebraska System. People will be able to sign up for newsletters, listserves and other regular communications or act as a liaison if they so choose. This group is being modeled after a similar effort at Illinois.
For questions, please feel free to reach out to your ITS contact, or email it-accessibility@nebraska.edu. You can also find more information on the lab and IT Accessibility at its.nebraska.edu/it-accessibility.
Nominate someone or sign up for the lab