5 Things You Didn’t Know the Accessibility Commission Did

October 3, 2018

The Accessibility Commission, which started as a Task Force in 2010, has made great efforts towards making Clemson University a more accessible place. Here are some highlights:

1. Enhanced Accessible Routes

In 2010, the Commission (then Task Force) began implementing a 5 year, $2 million dollar plan to improve physical access on campus. This led to:

• Holtzendorff, Brackett, and Hardin Halls getting improved building access routes and improved ADA parking.
• Daniel and Kinard Halls getting repaved ADA parking lots and new ADA signs.
• Cooper Library getting a renovated plaza, repaved parking lots, improved sidewalks, and new ADA signs.
• Martin Hall getting improved building access routes.
• Martin and Hardin Halls getting automatic door openers.

In addition to the $2 million dollar plan, the Commission has also been involved in:

• Sikes, Long, and Sirrine Halls getting automatic door openers.
• Tillman Hall getting new elevator in 2017.

And more improvements are still to come! In fact, right now, there is a campus sidewalk slope survey being conducted on the center of campus that will be used to prioritize future improvements and will hopefully be used as the basis for a publicly available interactive map of accessible routes.

2. Improved Bathrooms and Added Wellness Rooms

In addition to building access, the commission has worked to improve the accessibility inside buildings, including bathrooms and Wellness Rooms. The buildings with improved accessible bathrooms are:

• Academic Success Center
• Lowry Hall
• Martin Hall (E Section)
• Poole Agriculture Center
• Godfrey Hall
• Brooks Center
• Redfern Health Center
• Vickery Hall
• Bradley Hall

And more bathrooms are being worked on.

In addition to the bathroom improvements, Clemson has more Wellness Rooms than before. Wellness Rooms are rooms that can be used for lactation, medical self-treatment (example: diabetic shots), and more. These rooms are located in Sullivan Center (2 rooms), Cooper Library, Littlejohn Coliseum, Advanced Materials Research Lab (AMRL), Poole Agriculture Center and Watt Family Innovation Center.

3. Increased Parking and Transportation Ease

In addition to the parking lots mentioned in the first section, the Commission has worked with the Parking and Transportation office to add more means for getting around the campus and community. Starting in Fall 2016, the office of Parking and Transportation started offering:

• Paratransit shuttles (Tiger Assist).
• Rentable mobility scooters.
• Temporary handicap parking placards.
• Handicap accessible rides to Greenville through Greenvillelink and Tiger Commute.

4. Brought Accessible Events to the Foreground

The Accessibility Commission has also worked to improve event accessibility and has provided some accessibility related events.

• Improvements:
  • American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters provided during CU tours, events, employee meetings, training, etc.
  • ASL interpreters and captioning at graduation.
  • Captioning at home football and basketball games.
• Events provided:
  • National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) workshops.
  • Presentations by Sheryl Burghstaler, Regan Brashear, Rosemarie Garland Thomson, DJ Savarese, Margaret Price, Eli Clare, Temple Grandin, and Eric Moore.

5. Worked on Digital Accessibility

Clemson University still has a long way to go in the realm of digital accessibility, but here are some of the recent accomplishments made by members of the Commission:

• The UDOIT accessibility auditing tool was added to Canvas.
• My.Clemson was made accessible.
• Clemson Online started providing captioning services through third-party vendors.
• Clemson Online started hosting a Caption Bank in Box.com.
• Clemson Online launched Canvas and Multimedia accessibility guides.
• The Accessibility Portal, a one-stop-shop for all of Clemson’s accessibility-related information, was launched.

Also in the works are the development of additional guides and the development of the University’s Web Accessibility Policy!