National Forum on Accessible Tertiary Materials: Consolidated Recommendations
Introduction
On May 29, 2002, the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission convened a forum to address the issues surrounding the provision of curricular material in accessible formats (audio, braille, e-text and large print) for university students with a print disability. Approximately 90 people participated in the forum, representing 35 of Australia's 39 universities, university librarians, government departments, publishers, and students. Prior to the forum, on May 28, a session was held to clarify and discuss copyright legislation and regimes as they impact on students with a print disability. Most participants in the forum also attended this session on copyright.
The forum included the presentation of a number of "perspective
papers" that examined relevant issues from a variety of standpoints,
including student, academic, disability support staff, and government.
These papers and a number of associated documents are on the HREOC website,
at http://www.humanrights.gov.au/disability_rights/education/forum02/papers.htm
.
The first link is to the background discussion paper produced by the Commission in preparation for the forum. Anyone unfamiliar with the issues would probably find it useful to begin by reading this paper.
The forum divided into 5 discussion groups, each group dealing with a
specific topic area:
- Approaches to Production;
- Copyright and Publishing;
- Digital Libraries and the Sharing of Information in Accessible Formats;
- Sector and Cross-sector Standards and Guidelines
- University Policies, Practices and Procedures.
Each group was asked to develop recommendations aimed at improving access to curricular materials by students with a print disability. Following is the list of recommendations that arose out of these five discussion groups. The Commission will be participating in discussions with the sector to develop effective strategies for action on these recommendations.
If you have any comments or questions about the recommendations or the underlying issues that they aim to address, please contact:
Bruce Maguire
Policy/Project Officer
Disability Rights Unit
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
Level 8, 133 Castlereagh Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Telephone: 02 9284 9613
Email: brucemaguire@humanrights.gov.au
Discussion group 1: Approaches to
Production
1) That a national approach to the acquisition and production of accessible materials for tertiary students with print disabilities would be beneficial to both students and tertiary institutions. Therefore a study should be undertaken under the auspices of the AVCC having the involvement of students and their advocacy organisations, institutions and other stakeholders. The study might investigate:
a) The demographics of tertiary students with print disabilities;
b) The present and future demand for accessible learning materials for
these students;
c) The supply of accessible learning materials for these students, and
the cost of this supply;
d) Review of current and future production processes and resources;
e) Specification of accessible formats; and
f) The required resources for the acquisition and production of accessible
format materials.
2) That universities explore a mechanism under the auspices of the AVCC
to develop ways of sharing existing production capacity within the sector.
3) That universities which have accessible-format production facilities
should ensure that materials produced by those facilities conform to national
standards and guidelines; and that such standards and guidelines should
be developed through the participation of students and their representative
organisations, tertiary institutions, production agencies and other relevant
organizations.
4) That TEDCA or a similar organisation be asked to compile a register
of producers of accessible-format materials and circulate this register
to all Australian universities and advocacy organizations representing
students with print disabilities. This register should also be accessible
via the Internet.
5) That as part of the work of the Universities' Practices and Procedures
working group, a communications protocol between universities, producers
and students be developed.
6) Having regard to the growing demand for accessible learning materials
and the increased complexity of the materials being produced, DEST be
asked:
a) to work with the Tertiary Education Sector to quantify the cost of
meeting this demand for accessible materials;
b) to develop funding mechanisms to meet the cost of production; and
c) to support the implementation of technology change in production to
enhance output quality whilst reducing unit production costs.
Discussion Group 2: Copyright and Publishing
1) That HREOC establish and co-ordinate a working group with representatives from the following groups to provide education about copyright issues to students and all libraries, and, in particular, to develop practical guidelines for understanding and applying copyright:
a) Commonwealth Attorney General's Department
b) Copyright Agency Limited
c) Students
d) Educational Institutions
e) Australian VC's Committee (make use of copyright officers, compliance
officers, copyright lawyers on staff) Also ask AVCC to support educational
campaign.
f) Australian Publishers Association
g) NTEU
h) Blind Citizens Australia
2) That the group referred to in Recommendation 1) consider the following
specific issues as part of its work:
a) central co-ordination;
b) development of a database of material produced under Statutory License,
having regard to work that is currently being done by the Copyright Agency
Limited (CAL);
c) availability of electronic version at the time of publication;
d) with input from the Australian Libraries Copyright Committee, Fair
dealing by students with print disabilities who use scanners and other
means to gain independent access to materials;
e) co-operation with the Library of Congress and bodies in the UK with
a view to developing centralised catalogues;
f) links with overseas publishers to ensure availability of electronic
versions
g) barriers to the production of accessible-format materials and the accessibility
of electronic materials, as a result of encryption and copy-protection
schemes.
Discussion Group 3: Digital Libraries and Sharing of Material in Accessible Formats
1) That a representative working group be established to:
a) Investigate existing databases and make recommendations to develop
and implement a national database of existing accessible tertiary materials,
and a mechanism for cataloguing newly-produced materials;
b) work with the Australian Publishers Association and other groups to
investigate and where necessary develop guidelines for the creation of
an electronic repository of newly-published materials. Such guidelines
could include appropriateness and consistency with existing international
guidelines and open source standards
c) work with the Copyright and Publishers group (Formed within this Forum)
to develop guidelines for the establishment of a mechanism for access
to shared material
NOTE: In pursing development of a national database the working party will seek advice regarding the impact of copyright and other relevant legislation, e.g. Telecommunications Act.
Discussion Group 4: Sector and Cross-Sector Standards and Guidelines
1) The current Higher Education Review provides a unique opportunity
to make the case for a more inclusive and systemic approach to responding
to the needs of students with a print disability. Consequently, we recommend
that HREOC calls for volunteers to contribute to the development of a
submission to the Higher Education Review on the matters raised in this
report.
2) University policies and guidelines about the accessibility of print materials are not well known and are at various levels of sophistication. We recommend that HREOC publicises the use of its website for a clearinghouse/depository of such policies and guidelines so that these documents can be shared.
Discussion Group 5: University Policies, Practices and Procedures
1) That a Working Party on training/educational awareness raising be
established.
2) That greater opportunities be provided for professional development
for Disability Liaison Officers.
3) That training in Inclusive practices be provided for academics
4) That consideration be given to ways of providing assistance for students
to utilise assistive technology.
5) That a Working Group or National Forum be established to consider
inclusive curriculum/teaching practices, specifically including print
disability issues
6) That Australian Universities' Quality Audit cover disability issues
and specifically print disability.
7) That universities, through AVCC, be asked to identify opportunities for inclusion of university access/universal design principles into the current quality framework and reviews of teaching and learning.