"It should be easy to do the right thing" ‑ how we work with accessibility issues
The newly started constellation Coordination Group for Accessibility has a meeting on campus in Sundsvall in a couple of weeks. The goal of the group is to make it easy to do accessibility right.
On a daily basis, all of Mittuinversitetet's departments work with accessibility issues in some form. Teaching materials are subtitled, premises are adapted in different ways, student support to varying extents is available, and there are many different compensated and adapted support measures based on different assignments throughout the university.
In 2021, the University Library was commissioned to lead a project with the aim of coordinating accessibility issues, both digital and physical. The project ended in the spring, and now the Coordination Group for Accessibility is taking over.
"The idea is that from next semester we will have a Vice-Chancellor's decision on a permanent solution for how the university will continue to work with accessibility issues. The group's main task is to be a constructive advisory function in the long term, where both faculty and TA staff can receive support in issues relating to accessibility in their daily work. Our starting point is based on the legal requirements that exist, including the so-called "DOS Act", the Discrimination Act and the Work Environment Act. The risk is that if we do not comply with the regulations and laws that we are subject to, it can lead to sanctions," says Robin Zetterberg, supervisor for targeted pedagogical support and acting convenor of the group.
The coordination group consists of representatives from the administration, the faculty, the student union and the coordinators for equal opportunities. A smaller working group meets once a month and will eventually act as the advisory function for all employees.
What are the key issues in terms of accessibility?
"It is important that Mid Sweden University takes a holistic approach to accessibility work, as we are facing major challenges. This semester, I have started work on a procedure for accessibility, where the focus is to define how Mid Sweden University should handle various issues regarding accessibility. My starting point is that it should be easy to do the right thing, and therefore the procedure is the basis for you as an individual employee or as a decision-maker to be able to do it through low thresholds in everyday life.
"We live in a world that is moving forward rapidly, and it is important that we in the coordination group are on our toes and monitor the developments that are taking place in the area. Issues such as the transition to the learning platform Canvas, the design and alternative subtitling of office templates, the development of AI and the right to additional pedagogical support efforts due to permanent disabilities are just a selection of all the work we do in accessibility at Mid Sweden University. There are many good examples of how we work in our various functions with accessibility around Mid Sweden University, now we just need to define the framework so that it becomes clearer what is expected of us, and how we will continue to work in the future.
If you as an individual employee have questions about accessibility, where do you turn?
– On our website miun.se/tillganglighet today you can find all the material related to accessibility, and there you will also find our e-mail address, which for the time being is our contact route. Contact us!