Digital accessibility initiative discussed at All University meeting

By Sophia Oppedisano

Editor-in-Chief

President Nancy Niemi hosted the first All University meeting of the 2025-26 academic year on Oct. 20.

Niemi said she wanted to use the occasion to discuss the University’s successes, including strategic priorities that were completed during the first year of the University’s five-year strategic plan. 

“We decided today that we also wanted to highlight the things, both from our strategic plan and from around the University, that we have already accomplished and we've done well. So that, we figured, was a very good use of an All University meeting to show us that we're making progress and highlighting the divisions from across our campus,” she added. 

In addition to discussing completed strategic priorities, Niemi introduced a digital accessibility initiative, which will affect the entire University, she said.

Steven Courchesne, director of Academic Technology and Instructional Design with the Education Technology Office, led the portion of the meeting dedicated to discussing the digital accessibility initiative.

“I think that this is very much connected to our strategic mission. Under our core values, we talk about encouraging academic excellence, and we talk about building an inclusive and collaborative community. You see that reflected also in the mission and in specific strategic goals that we have. So this is really work that is related to achieving our core ideas as an institution,” Courchesne said.

This is not the first digital accessibility initiative at Framingham State, according to Courchesne. The Massachusetts Office of Civil Rights filed a complaint with the University in 2018 about the accessibility of its website as well as the learning management system Blackboard, which the University was using at the time, he added.

“Now again, we have an external factor that's kind of encouraging us to do this again,” he said.

A new rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will require “spaces that are currently password protected, like SharePoint or Canvas, be digitally accessible and adhere to accessibility guidelines,” by April 24, 2026, Courchesne said.

He said the primary goal with this initiative is “to remove barriers that might prevent people from being able to perceive, to navigate and to understand the information that we have located on our different platforms.”

This includes adding alternative (alt) text to images within documents, adding captions to videos, and including headings and other proper structural elements to documents “so that everybody can consume the documents and navigate them more easily,” Courchesne said. 

He added faculty and staff will need to learn the skills necessary to make their password-protected spaces more accessible.

Courchesne said he is aware “this can create some anxiety,” and some faculty and staff might be “more familiar or less familiar with what's expected.” 

To help alleviate some of this anxiety, Courchesne said he wants faculty and staff to develop their accessibility skills by attending one of the Education Technology Office’s workshops, use the accessibility resources linked in SharePoint, or meet one on one with the office. 

“The Education Technology Office team loves to sit down with people and look at your course site, figure out what needs to be done, and help you to figure out how to maybe mitigate any issues that are there. And you can take that skill forward into the future,” he said.

Courchesne suggested faculty start by "prioritizing" the most important pieces of their course site, such as their syllabi. 

“I think that if we focus on one or two things at a time and make gradual but continuous progress throughout the semester, by the end of it, you've actually accomplished a lot,” he said.

At the conclusion of Courchesne’s presentation, Niemi asked for questions. 

Shelli Waetzig, chair of the Biochemistry, Chemistry, and Food Science Department, expressed concern about the April 24 deadline. 

“I have so much stuff on Canvas, and I recognize that this is important work that needs to be done. … There's a lot to learn for me because all of our stuff is chemistry and not as straightforward as putting something in Word or PowerPoint even. … There's just a lot to be said about the deadline and how that will wrap into the only six months we have to get everything up and running,” she said. 

Waetzig asked if there is any “flex” with the deadline.

Courchesne said April 24 is when the rule will come into effect, “not necessarily the day folks are going to show up to police it.

“My suggestion is to try to make it smaller and think micro. So, don't think, ‘I have to get my entire course site completely accessible by this deadline,’ but rather, ‘I realize that this is a thing, and therefore, I need to make continuous progress.’ So, identifying something to fix and making progress day by day, week by week, I think that's all we can do,” he added. 

Niemi added faculty and staff should not “suffer in silence. Just let somebody know so we can be together and work with it.”

Dean of Student Success and Persistence LaDonna Bridges said if a student in a specific class needs digital accessibility, “We're going to work with you to make sure that happens,” regardless of the April 24 deadline.

“For faculty who are panicking, this is your job. It is collaborative work to do, but if you have a student in your class, we don't get to mess around with the deadline for that,” Bridges added.

In addition to the implementation of the digital accessibility initiative, Niemi celebrated other University accomplishments, including the success of Homecoming and Family Weekend Oct. 17 and 18.

Niemi said the University is “redeveloping an official FSU Native American land acknowledgement.” 

There has been success in developing policies and processes to support student success, including efforts to increase FAFSA completion, which rose by 7% this academic year, the transfer summit, and the new 30-course credit minimum, Niemi said.

She discussed the SUCCESS grant, which was awarded to CASA and allowed for the hiring of four new success coaches and CASA’s expansion into the Peirce Annex. 

Niemi said the University is “working hard” with an accessibility task force, which toured campus this summer “turning over everything to make sure that even if we can't fix it right away, we know what's happening. That work is ongoing between this task force's work and the campus master plan, but we are going to make sure we get it all.”

Niemi asked staff and faculty to share the achievements in their departments or offices. 

Director of Procurement and Contracts Management Natasha Bizanos-Ashe said because of the University’s new contract with Pepsi, “We now have $6,000 that goes to an internship for interns to be paid. I think they've split it up to two $3,000 internships, and Pepsi pays for it.” 

Assistant Vice President of Human Resources Kim Dexter said, “We have been able to raise our students on-campus employment hour limit from 20 hours per week to 29 hours per week to give them more space to be able to take on some of those paid internships that they may also be doing for curricular reasons. … So I know that's been something that for those who are employing students on campus, that's always felt like a barrier for you and our students. So we're really happy to be implementing that, and we'll be sending out a broader message in the very near future.”

Criminology Professor Zeynep Gönen said she wanted to give a “shout out” to the Christa McAulliffe Center and Plantarium. “They are doing amazing work with the community, with our students in the classes,” she said.

Niemi said, “I encourage you to pat yourself, pat your division, your department, your office on the back, and take a few minutes to think about what you have accomplished, both in relation to our strategic priorities as well as just what you've done that we don't even know about, that I'd love to know about.”