The REPORTER Team is working with multiple departments on campus to release and implement new development that will support the inclusion of ADA Accommodation information for registrants of REPORTER course instances. It is important that all REPORTER Course Admins read this email and the linked resources in their entirety as course owner support is crucial to upholding NC State’s commitment to ensuring activities are welcoming and inclusive for all attendees.
This new functionality is being implemented in two parts to allow time for Course Admins who wish to make changes to their existing instances. In the first of two updates, we added new fields and an optional setting on each instance (available now). In a subsequent update, the ‘optional’ setting for statement inclusion will be removed and all instances will provide the same ADA Accommodations statement to participants (planned for July 30).
The contact information provided in instance setup for the ADA Accommodation statement will be shown to participants using the system-wide, standardized template: “In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, NC State will honor requests for reasonable accommodations made by individuals with disabilities. Please direct accommodation requests to: EventCoordinatorName, Email or Phone Number. Requests can be served more effectively if notice is provided at least 10 days before the event.”
Action on your part will be required if:
- You are currently including information about ADA accommodations to your registrants via the “Registration Confirmation Email Notes” field in your REPORTER instance,
- Your contact information for requesting accommodations is different from your Instance Contact information, or
- You wish to turn on the setting for your instances prior to July 30.
All Course Admins and Course Liaisons should be familiar with the new functionality and prepared for the go live by July 30, 2021.
Be sure to read all of the information detailed here about the upcoming changes and relevant considerations including:
1) Explanation of Changes
2) The updates & impact considerations for existing instances
3) New Course Admin resources related to ADA accommodation requests.
Should you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact us at reporter_support@ncsu.edu. Thank you for your time and contributions to support this effort!
REPORTER Support
Information included below can be seen at https://support.reporter.ncsu.edu/june2021-new-ada/
Please read the following changes to begin making any adjustments needed for your groups’ existing courses and instances. We have broken up this information into three subject areas:
1) Explanation of Changes
2) First release v. Subsequent Release & Impact Considerations for existing instances
3) New Course Admin resources related to ADA accommodation requests.
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EXPLANATION OF CHANGES BEING IMPLEMENTED:
Currently, when editing or creating a REPORTER instance (In REPORTER > Left Menu: Activity Management > Course/Instance > Edit Course > Edit instance), there are numerous instance setup options grouped into collapsible sections. Among them, is a section entitled “Policies”, which currently includes settings for selecting a “Cancellation Policy” and, if a cost exists, a “Refund Policy”.
With these changes, the policies section in the Instance setup has been expanded to include new setup fields that capture information needed for ADA Accommodations. The Event Coordinator in the new ‘ADA Accommodation Statement’ section should be the person who participants should contact with ADA accommodation requests.
In preparation for this roll out, we have defaulted the Event Coordinator name and contact information in the ADA Accommodations policy section to match the Instance Contact for each instance. Action is needed on your part if your Event Coordinator will be different from your Instance Contact. If your Event Coordinator is different, you will need to update the information in the fields on those instances prior to July 30 (go to help documentation).
The contact information provided for the Event Coordinator is included in the ADA Accommodation statement provided to participants using the system-wide, standardized template:
“In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, NC State will honor requests for reasonable accommodations made by individuals with disabilities. Please direct accommodation requests to: Event_Coordinator_Name, Email or Phone Number. Requests can be served more effectively if notice is provided at least 10 days before the event.”
That ADA Accommodation Statement is presented to participants in the following areas:
- In the Registration Policies window accessible via link in the cart prior to checkout (see example)
- On the ‘Order Summary’ page presented to registrants immediately after registration, just after the Order Summary Notes (see example)
- In the Registration Confirmation email as it’s own paragraph, coming just after the registration confirmation details field (see example)
- In the calendar appointment details if the participant uses the ‘Add to Calendar’ link (see example)
- In the ‘View Details’ window that can be opened from the My Courses dashboard and account profile (see example)
- In the instance details seen when viewing a course or instance’s deeplink (see example)
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IMPACT AND CONSIDERATIONS for EXISTING INSTANCES
The changes described in the above section are being implemented in two updates over the next month:
- In the first update (June 25):
- New policy fields added
- Course Admins now have the option to include the ADA policy
- Once turned on, the statement is included in the place specified here
- While off, the statement will not be included anywhere by default, but the contact fields will still be required when saving an instance (go to help documentation).
- Second update scheduled for July 30
- The ADA statement will be turned on by default for all instances
The Event Coordinator contact fields have been updated on all existing instances to match the instance’s “Contact Information”. Course Admins can now edit their instances and update the new fields. As a Course Admin, it is important to consider the information currently included for the Instance Contact, and whether that should be the same as or different from the contact for accommodation requests.
By breaking up these changes into two updates with an initial opt-in setting, we are giving Course Admins the opportunity to decide which instances are ready to use the new feature and which need to be updated. Course Admins should use the time between releases to review their existing instances and remove any repetitive details before beginning use of the new feature.
The following considerations should be addressed by Course Admins in preparation of the changes:
- Check for conflicts or repetition: Determine if there is anywhere in REPORTER that you are currently including ADA accommodation information that will become redundant or conflicting
- Do your instances currently include ADA information in Registration Confirmation Notes, or other fields that will result in a duplication of or conflicts with the ADA accommodation information being newly included?
- Do your existing refund or cancellation policies already include some of this wording? Are additions or updates needed for those policies?
- Confirm Contact for requests: Determine the Event Coordinator Contact Name, Email, and Phone (include phone if possible)
- Who should participants contact if they need to request an ADA accommodation related to your instance?
- Is that contact different depending on the instance? or instance format?
- Does your department need to touch base to ensure all Course Admins are using consistent information and processes?
- Plan accommodation process: Determine the workflow or plan of action upon receipt of accommodation requests (note – help resources for this are included below)
- Have you reviewed all the coming changes in REPORTER related to ADA accommodation language and processes?
- Have you completed training and reviewed relevant resources?
- What and Who is needed to determine how best to address accommodation requests? Do you need to reach out to any campus offices for assistance with that planning?
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IMPORTANT RESOURCES TO SAVE & REVIEW
In addition to the new development being released, numerous resources are now available to help Course Admins in establishing accessible events and handling ADA accommodation requests.
- New Online, Self-Paced Training
- Supporting Accessibility as a REPORTER Course Admin (OIT-REP-Access)
- Link to register: All REPORTER Activity Admins are advised to register for and complete this training.
- New Dedicated REPORTER Support Page
- ADA Accommodation – Activity Admin Resource Guide
- Visit the Page: Activity Admins are advised to bookmark or save this support page, it provides links to numerous campus resources that REPORTER Admins can utilize both for planning accessible events and supporting accommodation requests
- New Virtual Event offered by OIED
- Virtual Event 2021 (Virtual) Accessibility Excursion
- Presented by numerous departments, learn more at https://diversity.ncsu.edu/accessibilityexcursion/
- You can participate in the digital excursion through the Articulate course page.
- “This adventure will introduce you to digital accessibility, why it’s essential, and the tools we have on campus to ensure the digital materials you create can be used and understood by everyone. In general, the excursion should take between 30-60 minutes to complete and you can stop and come back anytime.“
All Course Admins should be familiar with the new functionality and prepared for the required change by July 30, 2021. Should you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact us at reporter_support@ncsu.edu