Small Steps, Big Impact Episode 4 – Accessibility and Accommodations
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Our guest today is Tina Vires, Director of the Office of Accessibility Resources and Services, also referred to as OARS here at UNCG. Our conversation today focuses on accessibility and accommodations within higher education.
Link to full transcript here.
Music, A Short Walk, from Zapsplat.com
Quote from the Episode
“11% of students on college campuses across the country identify as having a disability.“
About our Guest
I’m Tina Vires (rhymes with “fires”) and I use “she/her/hers” pronouns. I’m proud of my Native American, Irish, French, African, and even Neanderthal ancestry. (Isn’t it astonishing how much we learn about ourselves and our intersectionality in this world where anyone may have DNA testing?!) With over 17 years in this field, North Carolina became my new home in September 2020, after my most recent transition from a similar post at Georgia State University in Atlanta. One of my biggest goals as a new Spartan involves simplifying processes to make it easier for students to connect to OARS and receive needed accommodations as quickly as possible. Another is for each semester to be better than the one before. These cannot be accomplished without your feedback!
Please feel free to reach out to me and share your ideas and any suggestions for improving on our efforts moving forward. tevires@uncg.edu
Resources from the Episode
UNCG OARS office – https://oars.uncg.edu/
Accessibility resources for faculty – https://accessibility.uncg.edu/
Web Accessibility 101: Level One is now available in Canvas! This asynchronous, self-paced course is the first of three levels that focuses on the fundamentals of making online content accessible for everyone. If you create content that is posted or shared on a web page, in a course, in an email, through social media or other modes of online communication, then this course is for you! You can enroll in Level One now!
Additional Resources
- UDL guidelines for courses – https://udlguidelines.cast.org/
- ADA.gov
- Askjan.org
- Office of Civil Rights
- Department of Justice
- The Americans with Disabilities Act
- Section 504 of the Rehab Act
- Disability Language Style Guide
- Becoming Disabled: Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, New York Times, 2016
- Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist: Judy Heumann (Beacon, 2020) UNCG library access
- Brilliant Imperfection: Grappling with Cure: Eli Clare (Duke UP, 2017) UNCG library access
- Claiming Disability: Knowledge and Identity, Simi Linton (NYU Press, 1998) UNCG library access
- Disability as Diversity: Lilah Burke, Inside Higher Ed., 2020
- Disability Visibility Project: Alice Wong
- Disabled: Just Say the Word: Barbara J. King, NPR, 2016
- Disabled Person or Person with a Disability: Annie Elainey
- Guidelines: How to Write About People with Disabilities, University of Kansas, Research and Training Center on Independent Living
- Guidelines for Writing About People with Disabilities: ADA National Network
- Identity-First Language: Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN)
- Language and Disability: Explore Access, UA Partners for Inclusive Communities
- The Language of Disability Activity: Disability as Diversity Toolkit, Explore Access, UA Partners for Inclusive Communities
- Language Guide: Disability Cultural Center, Syracuse University
- Leaving Evidence (blog): Mia Mingus
- PC Labels Do a Disservice: Stephen Stern, Inside Higher Ed., 2020
