About GOALS
In an era of internet-based education, web accessibility is essential for everyone, including faculty, staff, and students with disabilities. However, most institutions grapple with how to achieve and maintain web accessibility across their entire web presence. While information on web accessibility is available, there are few resources designed to assist institutions engage in self-study and plan for system-wide improvements in web accessibility.
Project GOALS (Gaining Online Accessible Learning through Self-study) http://ncdae.org/goals/ has developed a set of materials and processes specifically tailored to help postsecondary institutions plan for and achieve enterprise-wide web accessibility:
These materials include:
- An action paper to help establish the need for enterprise wide web accessibility across key stakeholders.
- Institutional indicators of best practice to assist in assessment and strategic planning.
- This web-based self-study tool to facilitate continuous quality improvement and enterprise-wide web accessibility planning.
The Benchmarking & Planning Tool
Institutional accessibility efforts are determined by the presence of four key Institutional Indicators, and each Indicator is comprised of several Benchmarks, which are expressed through a series of actions that define, and show evidence of, that specific Benchmark. The strength of institutional evidence for each Benchmark can be evaluated by looking at various permanent products and documented processes.
We have developed a series of questions to help evaluate the state of your institution’s web accessibility. These questions assess evidence for each Benchmark to determine what areas need work and to aid you creating an action plan for developing and improving your enterprise-wide web accessibility. Your answers to these questions will create a snapshot of your current status that can be used to document your improvement across cycles and to compare yourself to other institutions.
Staff & Partners
Project partners and Staff include:
Project GOALS Staff
- Cyndi Rowland
- Heather Mariger
- Jon Whiting
- Aaron Andersen
- Kimberly Rigley
- Denise Knight
Project GOALS Partners
- Kentucky's Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE)
- Southern Region Education Board (SREB)
- Web Accessibility in Mind (WebAIM)
- The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE)
Project GOALS Past Members
Project Funding
The GOALS project is made possible by a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education. The contents of this page do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
