A framework and checklist for getting started
Application pools for faculty positions in computing fields have become increasingly diverse. However, the inaccessible design of employment application processes, as well as facilities, software tools, services, and online resources in many departments continue to erect barriers to some people with disabilities, including those who identify as members of other marginalized groups.
Many individuals with disabilities do not disclose their disabilities to current or potential employers. Some do not disclose because of concerns about discrimination and prejudice with respect to people with disabilities, often called 鈥渁bleism.鈥 Systematically reviewing and improving departmental communications, worksites, meetings, technology, events, and services to make them more accessible and inclusive has the potential to contribute to an inclusive department culture, and create a level playing field. This proactive approach, often called 鈥渦niversal design (UD),鈥 addresses accessibility issues for the wide range of potential users when products, environments, or services are being created in order to make them more accessible and inclusive of everyone. Because accessibility is built in, applying a UD framework reduces the need for accommodations. Unfortunately many postsecondary campuses and departments create inaccessible policies, procedures, and practices and wait to address accessibility issues once an individual with a disability encounters a barrier or challenge and requests an accommodation. The next two sections of this document provide examples of UD practices and accommodations, respectively, that are relevant to faculty in higher education.
Examples of UD Practices
The following reported experiences illustrate both structural barriers that can make academic careers unwelcoming and inaccessible to some faculty with disabilities and solutions that can make an environment more welcome and accessible.
Potential Challenge Faced by Faculty | Potential UD Solution 听 |
A faculty member who is blind encounters journal articles, review processes, and submission processes that are inaccessible to them using their screen reader. They face delays in securing accessible documents and require the help of sighted colleagues to prepare and review articles. | Increasing awareness and encouraging scholarly organizations adopt accessible and inclusive processes and formats. 听 |
The productivity of a faculty member is reduced when their health-related disability flares up. 听 | Adopting a tenure and promotion process that takes into consideration disability-related issues, such as one that extends deadlines for earning tenure. 听 |
A faculty member who is quadriplegic requires accessible spaces. 听 | Funding the design of an accessible lab. 听 |
A faculty member with a disability is told their accommodations should be funded from their own grants or assigned budgets. 听 | Developing institutional policies that fund disability-related accommodations centrally. 听 |
A faculty member finds that the burdens of disclosure, requesting accommodations, and being asked to ensure that departmental activities are accessible require too much time. 听 | Ensuring that departmental staff apply proactive accessible and inclusive designs (e.g., policy to design all websites and physical spaces to be accessible) can reduce this burden. 听 |
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Examples of Accommodations
An accommodation is a customized adjustment for an individual with a disability when the established product or environment is not designed to be accessible to them. To request an accommodation, faculty members with disabilities work with the appropriate office on their campus, which is often housed within an Academic Human Resources office. Using an individualized process, a designated staff person who handles accommodation requests will meet with the faculty member, who might be required to submit documentation of their disability, to determine reasonable accommodations.听
Types of accommodations faculty might receive are dependent upon the faculty member鈥檚 disabling condition(s) and how the condition might impact their required or expected work activities. Examples of accommodations for an individual include:
- Sign language interpreters or live captioning.
- Accessible equipment and furniture for classroom, lab and office spaces.
- Voice dictation software.
- Screen reader software.
- Altered teaching schedule.
- Funding travel expenses for a personal assistant for a faculty member who is quadriplegic.听
The Job Accommodation Network鈥檚 describes how a process should work, from the time a position is posted through the time someone receives employment accommodations.
Examples of Systemic Issues to Consider
AccessComputing, a National Science Foundation funded Broadening Participation in Computing Alliance, has drafted the following checklist of questions to highlight some promising practices departments can consider implementing proactively to be more accessible and inclusive of current and future faculty members with disabilities. Implementing these practices may also benefit other individuals, including non-native speakers of English, faculty who have not disclosed a disability, or faculty who have a temporary or newly acquired disability and may be learning about their own access needs.
鈥嬧婸olicies and Evaluation
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