Narrative
Summary
In 2009 Florida Atlantic University (FAU) took an important step forward by providing funding for a Technology Fee Proposal that addressed a technological access problem of not providing equal access to computers in all University-wide computer lab locations to students with disabilities. As a result of this progressive technology implementation, students with many varieties of learning disabilities, visual impairments and physical disabilities have greatly benefited by having equal access in many FAU computer labs. This initiative has been instrumental in positioning FAU as a highly accessible institution for students of all abilities and has contributed to high standards for technology accessibility noted in subsequent external institutional reviews. This has also resulted in students with disabilities often making FAU their first choice of university due to the level of accessibility available.
This proposal requests funds to continue this successful initiative and increase the availability of assistive technology software to students in all areas of the university by providing funds for the purchase of a Texthelp Read and Write institutional software license and yearly maintenance, and secondly 5 additional JAWS screen reader licenses with an accompanying software upgrade
Implementation
This Technology Fee Proposal will not only continue to ensure an accessible computing environment, but will improve upon the current level of accessibility by expanding the reach of important assistive technology software tools to all areas of the University. This will reach beyond the computer labs to also be available in all areas that would greatly benefit from the use of such software. This strategy embraces a model of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) which not only benefits students with disabilities, but also, in the case of Texthelp software, offers beneficial reading, writing and study tools for students in the general FAU population to utilize. This software will also allow students the option to access an FAU download link to utilize the software for use on their personal computers and mobile devices.
The funding of this proposal will also simplify the software licensing verification process in deployment in all areas of FAU. This will be done by utilizing web authentication for the Texthelp software and an already existing licensing server application on campus for JAWS screen reader. Licenses to use the assistive technology software will be readily available in all areas of FAU.
The granting of this proposal will mean that students can continue to walk into any campus computer lab and know they will have full functionality of any computer. This will continue to enhance instructional technology and the continuation of a state-of-the-art information technology environment for all students. The price of a licensing server model would continue to be a highly cost effective method of providing universal accessibility for areas in FAU where computers are deployed.
Software licensing details
The JAWS screen reader uses a concurrent licensing model. This means that licenses do not have to be purchased for every computer, instead the licenses can be utilized anywhere on campus as long as the total number of licenses are not exceeded at any one time. We are requesting the total number of concurrent licenses to be increased from 15 to 20 and Software Management Agreements to be purchased to allow for future software upgrades. The Texthelp software for learning disabilities is a full institutional license that allows for unlimited deployment and downloads within FAU. This software offers greater flexibility over the previous software, Kurzweil 3000 as it can be utilized on a larger scale with greater efficiency. It also allows for a download link to be provided to students to install a copy on their personal devices.
The funding of this proposal will ensure the continuation of a full range of essential accessibility software, not only in all campus computer labs, but in all other campus areas that may benefit from assistive technology including all FAU Libraries, The Center for Excellence in Writing, The Center for Learning and Student Success, Athletics, the College of Education and the Center for eLearning. Thus this initiative seeks to benefit the widest possible group of students and campus areas for the cost of funding provided. In summary, this Technology Fee Proposal would uphold FAU’s high level of University wide accessibility, while adding additional software functionality that would be of benefit to many other student populations as a model of progressive Universal Design for Learning.