A process for timely adoption of textbooks by faculty
A process for identification of textbooks for late-hire faculty
A process for early identification of students with disabilities who require instructional materials to be provided in an alternate format
A strategy to increase use of the campus LMS for delivering technology-enabled courses, and for posting syllabi and instructional materials online for traditional face-to-face and hybrid and blended courses
A process to incorporate accessibility requirements in the purchase of digital or multimedia instructional materials (captions on videos, for example)
A method to incorporate accessibility (where required) in the educational policy addressing course development and delivery
A plan to support faculty in the creation of accessible course content
A communication process and training plan to educate students, staff, and faculty about the campus Instructional Materials Accessibility Plan
An evaluation of the overall effectiveness of the campus IMAP
Identification of all campus personnel involved in implementing or overseeing the campus IMAP
Chronological listing of all IMAP deliverables (policies, timelines, milestones)

1. A process for timely adoption of textbooks by faculty.

1A. Overview

The goal of this plan is to provide instructional materials and online course materials to persons with disabilities in a timely manner and in accessible formats. For purposes of this document, the term “textbooks” shall apply to all print-based materials including textbooks, course packs, and electronic library reserves. As of July 1, 2007, departments are required to inform El Corral Bookstore of any required textbooks and/or coursepacks at least six weeks prior to the start of the academic quarter. This will give the Disability Resource Center sufficient time to provide alternative media for students with disabilities. The department head/chair is responsible for ensuring their faculty/department complies.

1B. Procedures/Practices

Deliverables	Status (Y, N, IP)	Initiation Date	Completion Date (exp)	Discussion
The establishment of a deadline to adopt print-based instructional materials (and associated business procedures)	Y	3/13/07	6/30/07	At least six weeks prior to the start of the quarter
The passage of academic policies or resolutions of support for the timely adoption of print-based instructional materials	Y	Fall 2006	3/13/07	Academic Senate resolution introduced 2/13/07. Passed by overwhelming majority on 3/13/07. Presentation and work by Instruction Committee raised faculty awareness and demonstrated faculty commitment to this effort.
The development of incentives to encourage faculty and staff to adopt print-based instructional materials in a timely manner	N			No incentives are planned at this time. Compliance by departments will be monitored and reported to the college deans and the Provost. It would be up to them to decide if incentives are appropriate and/or feasible.
Modification of existing procedures used by faculty and students for E-Reserves	IP	Summer 2007	Summer 2008	Use appears to be declining in favor of other resources. Process will be modified and evaluated in 2007/08.

1C. Resources

What technical and financial resources will be utilized to implement these business procedures and academic practices?
Departments and faculty will be sent email notices and reminders about the deadlines and procedures. El Corral Bookstore will maintain a database of required textbooks for every course that is offered each quarter. Departments and/or faculty will identify textbooks using the same online process for ordering textbooks. El Corral will provide this information in digital form to the Disability Resources Center. Students with disabilities will use existing procedures to request assistance from DRC. DRC uses a scanner or other resources to converts materials into alternate formats as needed. Faculty will use existing procedures to request/submit materials to the Library E-Reserves where students can then download them. This process is being reviewed to improve accessibility, including using BlackBoard to post converted materials.

1D. Milestones/Measures of Success

Milestone

Status
(Y, N, IP)

# of weeks before term

Effective Term

Discussion

The implementation of a deadline (and associated procedures) supporting timely adoption of print-based instructional materials

Six (6)

Fall 2007

Current process asks faculty to identify textbooks for Fall Quarter classes before they leave for summer. Reminder notices will be sent out reminding faculty of the new six week deadline for the upcoming quarter

The implementation of a deadline and procedure to ensure timely submission and conversion of E-Reserve materials

TBD

Library scans and OCRs materials without verifying if they are accessible. There is no specific deadline and no minimum requirements which could facilitate making materials accessible. Starting in Fall 2007, materials will be posted in the associated BlackBoard course, either by the faculty member or a Library staff. To accommodate flexibility of course subject matter and addition of supplementary readings, materials are often submitted at the last minute and throughout the quarter, and may vary from hand-written pages to articles, etc.

Baseline Measures	Textbooks	Course Readers	E-Reserves	Discussion
The number of print-based instructional materials adopted in the last year	5211 (Fall -1712) (Wtr -1921) (Spr -1578)	890 (Fall -297) (Wtr -313) (Spr -280)	412	While this information can be obtained, doing so is a time-consuming manual process. The value of collecting this data is unclear. A more critical measure for us will be how many and which departments are meeting the specified deadlines.
Number of textbook requisitions submitted by faculty last year	3695	N/A	N/A	A requisition is the adoption of books for a particular course. This could involve ordering multiple books for one course or one book for multiple sections of a single course.
The percentage of requisitions received in a timely manner in the last year	68%			Based on a six-week deadline. (The Bookstore deadlines were actually earlier than six weeks which may have improved timeliness.) Averaged over three quarters. Fall (68%), Winter (70%), Spring (60%)
The number of departments by college that met the deadline	TBD	TBD	TBD	This information will be collected starting in 2007/08
The percentage of departments by college that met the deadline	TBD	TBD	TBD	This information will be collected starting in 2007/08

1E. Exemptions/Equally-Effective Access

If a student who requires print-based instructional materials in an alternate format enrolls in a course for which materials were adopted after the deadline, how will the campus provide equally-effective access to this material?

The Disability Resource Center will work with the affected students and faculty to identify, obtain and convert the materials in a timely fashion. This process is already in place and is working well. By mandating a deadline for identifying textbooks for all courses, Cal Poly anticipates that the workload will be more evenly distributed over several weeks, leaving more time at the start of the quarter to address last minute requests. Exceptions must be approved by the Department Head/Chair. If necessary, a process will be established to document exceptions in writing.

Instructional Materials Accessibility Plan - DRAFT

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