Accessibility Resources Staff Training
Accessibility Resources staff members are dedicated to lifelong learning. This is especially true when discussing the complexity of disability, accommodations, and equal access.
Accessibility Resources staff are members of AHEAD, the leading professional membership association for individuals committed to equity for persons with disabilities in higher education, and its regional affiliate, MN AHEAD. Accessibility Resources staff receive training across a number of best practices and key issues in disability accommodations and awareness, including:
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Accommodations: Determining and Planning
These trainings inform how accommodations decisions are made.
Expand Trainings CollapseSpring 2023 | AHEAD | Designing the Flexible Attendance Accommodation for Maximum Effectiveness |
Spring 2023 | AHEAD | Would This Be a Fundamental Alteration? Practical Guidance For Working with Students and Faculty |
Fall 2023 | AHEAD | Effective Models for Reasonable Accommodation Decisions |
Fall 2023 | AHEAD | Providing classroom accommodations in a digital age |
Fall 2023 | AHEAD | Psychoeducational Evaluations: A Crash Course in Reviewing Psycho-Ed Reports/Documentation |
Fall 2023 | AHEAD | Understanding and Developing the Foundation for Sound Accommodation Decision |
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ADA Compliance
These trainings help ensure we follow the law and meet legal compliance standards.
Expand Trainings CollapseRegularly | ATIXA | 504/ADA Coordinator Trainings |
Annually | MinnState | Safety & Compliance Training |
Spring 2023 | AHEAD | AHEAD Masterclass: Disability Law: Lessons in Application for the Advanced Disability Professional |
Spring 2023 | AHEAD | Seven Essential Functions of the ADA/504 Coordinator Role |
Summer 2023 | MnAHEAD | ADA Title I: Employment Protections for Persons with Disabilities |
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Assistive Technology
These trainings help staff learn how to use the assistive technology students use to succeed, as well as learn what is up-and-coming in the tech world.
Expand Trainings CollapseFall 2023 | AHEAD | A new level of digital equity now possible for AT users – and easier AT deployment for IT departments |
Fall 2023 | AHEAD | Accessible Technology Procurement: A Free Tool for Accurate Assessment Beyond Technical Documentation and VPATs |
Fall 2023 | AHEAD | Evaluating Document Accessibility: Training Student Employees |
Fall 2023 | AHEAD | Maximize the Impact: Strategies to Increase Knowledge & Use of Available Assistive Technology Tools Across Campus |
Fall 2023 | AHEAD | Microsoft vs Google: A Comparison of Accessibility Features in Documents and Slides |
Fall 2023 | AHEAD | The Future is Now: Building a Comprehensive, Compliant, Affordable Captioning Service |
Fall 2023 | AHEAD | Wait... It's That Easy? Using Built-In Accessibility Features on Everyday Devices |
Fall 2023 | Glean | Several information sessions to learn more about Glean's features and best ways to use it |
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Best Practices
These trainings guide staff as they navigate the field of accessibility and disability services.
Expand Trainings CollapseSpring 2023 | AHEAD | Navigating the Field as a New Disability Resource Professional |
Spring 2023 | AHEAD | Personal Care Attendants and College Students: An Introduction and Guide |
Spring 2023 | AHEAD | Perspectives on Serving Students with Chronic Illness |
Summer 2023 | MnAHEAD | Disability History |
Summer 2023 | MnAHEAD | Preventing Burnout in Higher Education |
Fall 2023 | MnAHEAD | Effective Coaching Skills for Disability Service Professionals |
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Digital Accessibility
These trainings provide information that aid in ensuring accessibility on the web.
Expand Trainings CollapseFall 2023 | AHEAD | Creating a Digital Accessibility Hub |
Fall 2023 | AHEAD | Predictors of Web Accessibility in Higher Education: Ten Years After |
Fall 2023 | AHEAD | Replacing an Accessible Website: Ensuring a Better New Site |
Fall 2023 | AHEAD | The History of Web Accessibility |
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Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Accessibility Resources staff recognize that students with disabilities are multifaceted individuals with multiple aspects of their identities. These trainings inform how Accessibility Resources' work can be intersectional, welcoming, and affirming.
Expand Trainings CollapseSpring 2023 | AHEAD | "I'm Unlearning!" Applying Reflexivity to Higher Education Disability Services as a Tool for Supporting Students with Intersectional identities |
Summer 2023 | MnAHEAD | Infusing Accessibility and Disability into DEI Work |
Summer 2023 | MnAHEAD | Resisting Trans Hate with Radical Care |
Fall 2023 | Maverick Diversity Institute | LGBTQ+ Safe Zone Training |
Fall 2023 | MinnState | Minnesota State Equity Scorecard: An Overview, Demonstration, and Leveraging the Tool |
Fall 2023 | ASLIS | The Intersection of Interpreting and Identity |
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Neurodiversity
We know that everyone's brains work differently. We attend training opportunities to learn how to best support those whose thinking and learning styles are different from the expected norm (neurotypicality), including students who are autistic, have ADHD/LD, or other forms of neurodivergence.
Expand Trainings CollapseSpring 2023 | AHEAD | Neurodiversity, Autism Politics, and Language, a Brief Introduction |
Fall 2023 | AHEAD | Neurodiversity Cultural Responsiveness: Improving Communication and Understanding |
Fall 2023 | ADDitude | Executive Function Strategies to Externalize Time, Memory, Motivation |
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Title IX and Parenting
While students may work directly with their professors for pregnancy- and parenting-related accommodations, Accessibility Resources will ensure that the policies and practices of individual instructors are aligned with Title IX regulations and do not discriminate against pregnant students.
Expand Trainings CollapseFall 2023 | Grand River Solutions | Pregnant and Parenting under Title IX |
Conferences Attended
In addition to various trainings in-person and online, Accessibility Resources staff attend conferences for hands-on training and networking.
List of Conferences Attended Collapse ConferencesSpring 2023 | AHEAD | Equity and Excellence 2023 |
Fall 2023 | AHEAD & ATHEN | Accessing Higher Ground 2023 |