Report 2017-102 Recommendation 19 Responses
Report 2017-102: California Community Colleges: The Colleges Reviewed Are Not Adequately Monitoring Services for Technology Accessibility, and Districts and Colleges Should Formalize Procedures for Upgrading Technology (Release Date: December 2017)
Recommendation #19 To: Foothill-De Anza Community College District
To ensure that all instructors are aware of the accessibility standards for instructional materials, De Anza should include in its next collective bargaining negotiations a requirement for instructors to periodically attend accessibility trainings.
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2021
De Anza offers extensive training that involves accessibility standards:
- All faculty members must be Canvas-certified to use Canvas, and because of the recent move to online teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all faculty members who have taught in the past two years have been Canvas certified. The Canvas certification training directly addresses accessibility standards. More than 900 faculty members at De Anza are now Canvas certified, which demonstrates that accessibility training is widespread.
- All new full-time faculty members participate in a multi-day orientation training. Part of the training addresses accessibility standards.
- In addition, new full-time instructors participate in a first-year-experience program, and training for accessibility standards is repeated during this year-long training.
- New part-time faculty members also attend orientation training, which addresses accessibility standards.
De Anza also has a rigorous evaluation process required of all faculty members to advance in employment and salary increases that directly address accessibility standards in multiple criteria. As described in #17 above, there are two formal administrative and student evaluation processes in place to periodically review the practices that instructors follow to meet accessibility standards. These evaluation processes are included in the Faculty Association collective bargaining agreement.
- Completion Date: April 2020
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: No Action Taken
De Anza has not demonstrated it has fully implemented this recommendation. Canvas certification only pertains to online instruction, and De Anza's campus is open for the Fall 2021 term. As such Canvas certification does not address our recommendation. Further, De Anza has not addressed our recommendation that all instructors periodically attend accessibility trainings.
- Auditee did not substantiate its claim of full implementation
- Auditee did not address all aspects of the recommendation
Annual Follow-Up Agency Response From October 2019
Periodic mandatory accessibility trainings are not included in the collective bargaining agreement. However, Learning Management System (LMS) training IS required for those faculty who wish to teach in the online modality. The LMS training includes a section specifically on accessibility.
We will continue to offer accessibility information and training to instructors through the required LMS training. Optional workshops focused on accessibility. are available to a wider audience across campus as needed.
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: Will Not Implement
De Anza's training on accessibility is only required for its instructors teaching online courses. Although De Anza offers optional workshops to instructors, as we state on page 23 of our report, without requiring faculty to attend accessibility training, colleges cannot ensure that faculty are aware of their responsibility to comply with accessibility requirements for the instructional materials they use.
60-Day Agency Response
Foothill-De Anza Community College District did not submit its 60-day response to this recommendation. It did, however, submit a 6-month response.
- Response Date: March 2019
California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: No Action Taken
The district did not submit a response.
1-Year Agency Response
Although Foothill-De Anza Community College District submitted a 6-month response to this recommendation, it did not submit its 1-year response.
- Response Date: March 2019
California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Pending
The district did not submit a response.
6-Month Agency Response
The FHDA Community College District, comprised of both De Anza College and Foothill College, and Faculty Association will discuss the requirement set forth in the recommendation during the active negotiations period.
- Estimated Completion Date: January 1, 2019
- Response Date: July 2018
California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Pending
All Recommendations in 2017-102
Agency responses received are posted verbatim.