Today, I sit down with Beth Noel, a communicator dedicated to accessibility and inclusive design in higher education. Beth shares her journey into this field, which may have started with a challenge posed by an Office of Civil Rights letter regarding inaccessible PDFs. Still, it has resulted in a newfound commitment to diversity, equity, and belonging for students with disabilities. Beth and I discuss the steps taken to remediate accessibility issues, form a cross-college digital accessibility team, and discuss the importance of starting with accessibility in communications. Beth also provides practical tips on writing and designing with inclusivity in mind and shares insights on these practices’ positive impact on student success and retention. These insights are particularly inspiring, as they demonstrate the tangible benefits of inclusive design. Join us for an inside glimpse into why accessibility and inclusive practices are important as a business decision and how to navigate introducing these new practices in fields where things have never been “done this way before.”
Beth Noel’s NCMPR Presentation
