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Accessibility at PPSC

See how accessibility affects what you do

PPSC is striving to provide the best experience for students, staff, and the community. Not only are we legally required to provide an accessible education (available to people of all abilities) through the Americans with Disabilities Act, we know that accessibility provides the best experience for everyone.
 
Learn about Emails Sending emails to large groups of people or even small groups, need to be accessible. Sticking to basic email features is a good rule. Accessibility & Curriculum If you are faculty, you will likely see this affect some of the ways you offer your curriculum. Including textbooks & 3rd party platforms like McGraw Hill Connect. Website Editing Sign up for web editor training if you update the website regularly. Making documents accessible Creating and maintaining any electronic documents (pdf, word) on the web need to be accessible.

CCCS's Charge

In April of 2014 the Colorado Community College System's (CCCS) President, from encouragement from the Department of Education, enacted SP 3-125g or the Web Accessibility Procedure. It requires that all CCCS Colleges, and the System itself, create and begin implementing a plan for conformance to the Web Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG) - Level AA. This plan began on December 31, 2014.

SP 3-125g

PPSC's Response

While certain details of this plan are still being developed, work is already underway for reaching conformance with web accessibility standards. In a multi-departmental and cross-discipline effort, major stakeholders from across our college are working towards conformance in our websites, web applications, and other web-based platforms.

Your Role

As an employee of Pikes Peak State College, you play an important role in ensuring that all of our website content meets the WCAG 2.0 AA standard. It is critical that you understand at least the fundamentals of accessibility-minded, web content authoring. Scenarios that require accessibility training are anything online or electronic. Including consideration of:

  • email
  • website
  • social media
  • word processing documents
  • video
  • photos
  • anything that is electronic and can be made accessible, must be.
campus image
downtown studio

The Case for Universal Design

Universal design is design inherently accessible; it is for people without disabilities and people with disabilities. An example of universal design is a sidewalk curb that is cut to a ramp rather than an abrupt drop. This is ideal for someone with a wheelchair, a stroller, and easier than stepping up a curb. Universal design is usable by all people to the greatest extent possible.

We implement universal design when we ensure website accessibility, content accessible to everyone regardless of ability. Because PPSC receives federal funding, we must ensure that every form of electronic communication is accessible. By ensuring website accessibility, we will broaden our reach to more students, comply with federal standards, improve our overall website presence and break down educational barriers.

Accessibility Example

A student who is blind may use a screen reader to read the content of a webpage, document, or email. If there is an image, with important information like dates and times, this student's screen reader will not read the text because computers cannot yet read images accurately. In this case, there are some practices that we can do to make sure that students, search engines, and people on low wifi bandwidth, can get that information.

girl with thumbs up

PPSC's Website Accessibility Plan

  • Josh Baker, Instructional Services, Vice President
  • Ann Cushman, Math & English, Faculty
  • Steve Dunn, Bookstore, Course Materials Manager
  • Robin Eckelberry, ACCESSibility Services, Access Specialist
  • Kim Hennessy, Human Resources, Assistant Director
  • Sharon Hogg, Communications, Humanities, and Technical Studies Division, Associate Dean
  • Jacquelyn Gaiters-Jordan, Maths & English, Dean
  • Kristen Johnson, Health and Sciences Division, Dean
  • Fabrizio Labate, Information Technology Support Services, Assistant Director
  • Shawna Mahan, Math & English, Faculty
  • Hannah McNamee, Student Services, Admissions & Recruiting Communications Specialist
  • Maria Mesa, ACCESSibility Services, Director
  • Marc Nash, eLearning, Accessibility & Universal Design for Learning Specialist 
  • Carole Olds, Learning Commons, Director of Libraries
  • Patricia Padeway, Human Resources, Human Resources Specialist II
  • Jenni Petross, eLearning, Administrative Assistant III
  • Dallas Pierce, Business Public Service and Social Sciences Division, Associate Dean
  • Michael Pomphrey, Disabled Student Support Services Program, Director
  • Matt Radcliffe, Marketing and Communication, Digital Strategist (CHAIR)
  • Jenna Shearn, Communications, Humanities, and Technical Studies Division, Faculty
  • Jessica Tjaden, Business, Public Service, Social Sciences Division Administrative Assistant III
  • Matthew Valdez, Learning Commons, Online Education Librarian
  • Patrice Whitley, Learning Commons, Dean

Accessibility Training through E-learning web training request accessible email signature

 

You will certainly have questions about accessibility. It seems intimidating but we are forming a community to help. Login to Yammer, an Office 365 product to join the community.

 

need more information?

For general advising questions, you can email us at advising@pikespeak.edu, or fill out the form below. For the quickest service, please include your Student Number in all communications.

Note: During registration seasons, we experience a high volume of calls and emails. During those times it may take us a few days to respond to you.

Contact Us

faculty contact

Melissa Nelson

melissa.nelson@pikespeak.edu

(719) 502-3300

advising team

Art, Business, and Hospitality

advising@pikespeak.edu

(719) 502-3232

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