More than 70 attend Accessibility Conference at Alfred State

Faculty and staff from public and private institutions alike gathered at Alfred State Jan. 13 for an Accessibility Conference on the Alfred campus.

Emphasizing the importance of accessibility in education, the conference drew 71 total attendees, with participants representing Alfred State, Alfred University, the State University of New York (SUNY) College at Buffalo, SUNY Brockport, Monroe Community College, the University of Rochester Medical Center, SUNY Geneseo, Open SUNY, Temple University, St. John Fisher College, and Northeastern Illinois University.

The agenda consisted of keynotes and sessions that addressed accessibility issues facing institutions today. Topics included making course content accessible through Microsoft Word (or PowerPoint), audio, and video; an overview of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and its application to the college setting; and improving the accessibility of online courses through the Open SUNY Course Quality Review Rubric.

Keynote speakers were Andrew Lessman, associate director for State Authorization: Office of Digital Education at Temple University; and Dr. Whitney Rapp, associate professor of Inclusive Education in the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. School of Education at St. John Fisher College.

Other speakers included Meghan Pereira from Buffalo State, Danyelle Moore from Alfred State, Dan Feinberg from Open SUNY, Angela Atwell from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide, Ginger Bidell from Buffalo State, and Thomas Tobin from Northeastern Illinois University.

“Overall, I think the conference went very well,” said Ellen Sidey, interim director of Online Learning at Alfred State. “The keynote speakers and session instructors were engaging, and I was pleased with the number of attendees.”

In photo above: Dr. Whitney Rapp, associate professor of Inclusive Education in the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. School of Education at St. John Fisher College, delivers a keynote presentation at the Accessibility Conference.