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YSU academic senate annoyed with requirement
By Denise Dick
YOUNGSTOWN
A settlement between Youngstown State University and the U.S. Department of Education and the administration’s handling of it has irked some faculty members.
Under the terms of the settlement, reached late last year, the university must make all YSU Web pages and materials accessible for people with disabilities. It also must provide training to staff responsible for Web page and content development.
Chet Cooper, chairman of YSU’s Academic Senate, a body that includes faculty and some students and members of the administration, told members of the body at a meeting Wednesday that faculty have been mandated to produce electronic materials that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
That mandate, which Cooper said came from the university’s legal counsel, was made without consultation with faculty, he said.
Cooper said it’s an order to do extra work without compensation that “in my opinion, does not fall within my job description, and I don’t think falls without your job description.”
The training would begin during the summer.
“Those with physical challenges need assistance to be successful at all YSU has to offer,” Cooper said.
What is an issue is the way the faculty and the university’s academic division are treated, he said.
Martin Abraham, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, said the mandate isn’t from the YSU administration. It’s a requirement of the U.S. Department of Education.
The department determined that the university wasn’t compliant with ADA requirements and the settlement reached outlines the time lines for the university to become compliant, he said.
If YSU doesn’t comply, it wouldn’t qualify for federal grants, and students couldn’t secure federal financial aid.
Cooper said it’s not a government issue. It’s an issue of the responsibility being placed on faculty.
The senate passed a motion saying that responsibility for making Web content ADA compliant should not rest solely with faculty.