Acknowledgements

GOALS—Gaining Online Accessible Learning through Self-study—is a project led by the National Center on Disability & Access to Education (NCDAE) at Utah State University’s (USU) Center for Persons with Disabilities. (CPD).

FIPSE funded the original GOALS project (2007-2011) to assist administrators and institutional leaders in understanding the importance of web accessibility and to act on that awareness. With the National Center on Disability and Access to Education as the lead, this consortium included the Kentucky Council on Post Secondary Education, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, Southern Regional Education Board, and WebAIM.

This project produced:

• Action Paper: This paper outlines the need for accessible web content in education.
  ncdae.org/goals/actionpaper.php
• Best Practice Indicators: This document can assist in reflection and review, or as the basis for an institutional self-study.
  ncdae.org/goals/indicators.php
• GOALS Benchmarking and Planning Tool: This online tool provides a framework for formal institutional self-study of web accessibility.
  ncdae.org/goals/planningtool.php

FIPSE has funded a new effort that extends the earlier work of GOALS. During this project (2011-2014), a national consortium will strengthen the work of GOALS with blueprints useful for both institutions and regional accreditation entities. With the National Center on Disability and Access to Education again as the lead, this consortium includes the Southern Regional Education Board, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, Michigan Community College Virtual Learning Collaborative, Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education, and WebAIM.

This project will work with partners to:

• Create a blueprint to help institutions engage in the GOALS self-study process
• Create an accreditation blueprint for regional accreditors on web accessibility
• Produce case studies focused on cost analysis of web accessibility
• Increase the number of institutions adopting enterprise-wide web accessibility

This Project has been made possible by a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education. No official endorsement should be inferred.