Survey of people leaders in information
technology, healthcare and education fields commissioned with The
Harris Poll highlights strengths and opportunities for developing
accessibility skills in the workplace
University of Phoenix is pleased to share insights from a survey
on workplace accessibility awareness, understanding, and
development opportunities on Global Accessibility Awareness Day.
University of Phoenix is committed to enhancing the accessibility
and experience of learners with disabilities, and as a higher
education institution focused on serving working adults,
commissioned The Harris Poll to conduct a study of 459 people
leaders across the fields of information technology, healthcare and
education to better understand workplace commitment to
accessibility, accessibility understanding and skills of workers,
and opportunities for development of accessibility skills.
“University of Phoenix has advanced a framework of support for
our working adult learners and our students with disabilities to
navigate their learning environment, and plan next steps in their
careers,” shares Kelly Hermann vice president of accessibility,
equity and inclusion. “We activated this survey in order to more
fully understand workplace commitments to awareness and building
accessibility skills.”
The survey was developed in collaboration with Teach Access, a
national non-profit organization strategically partnering with
students, educators, industry, government, and nonprofit advocacy
organizations. Teach Access bridges the accessibility skills gap by
providing free programs and open educational resources that teach
fundamental skills and concepts about disability and digital
accessibility. It has reached more than half a million
students.
Hermann has oversight of the university’s accessibility
initiative, including the evaluation and remediation of curricular
resources, the Student Accommodation office, which provides
accommodations to students with disabilities, and the Office of
Educational Equity (OEE), which works with University stakeholders,
community partners and corporate sponsors to create an inclusive
educational environment for the students, faculty and staff.
On GAAD, Hermann serves as an expert panelist in this month’s
webinar hosted by OEE, “Understanding AI's Influence on
Accessibility and Inclusion.” Additionally, University of Phoenix
is providing educational events for faculty, on universal design
for learning, and for students, on accessibility features to
support learning.
“Best practices promote building accessibility into the
development of products, services and activities from the very
beginning stages,” Hermann states. The survey found 60% of managers
report that their organization has accessibility built into all
phases of products, service, and/or activity development.
Fifty-seven percent report that accessibility is addressed upon
request by disabled customers/people with disabilities. At 69%, IT
managers are more likely than education, 56%, or healthcare
managers, also 56%, to report their organization has accessibility
built into all phases of products, service, and/or activity
development.
“This shows that there is still a considerable population of
organizations that are seemingly not building in accessibility,”
share Hermann. “We need comprehensive professional development and
awareness building regarding the needs of people with disabilities
as well as the benefits of integrating accessibility into all
phases of product and service development.”
The survey identified accessibility differentiators including
completion of credit-based university level accessibility courses,
completion of non-credit based accessibility courses or learning
opportunities, previous experience in accessibility roles or
functions, reported personal experience with accessibility and/or
assistive technology, accessibility certification, and earned
accessibility-related badges.
Nearly 9 in 10 managers, 88%, report their organization
considers at least one of these accessibility differentiators when
hiring employees, with a majority of 60% reporting completion of
university level accessibility courses or learning opportunities
(credit or non-credit based).
In this survey, the majority of managers – 89% – report their
organization has programs, activities, or initiatives to hire,
train, and/or retain employees with disabilities with more than 3
in 5 (62%) reporting their organization has mentorship partnerships
or job placement partnerships specifically. Additionally, about
half of managers report having regular meetings with
managers/supervisors (51%) or job coaching (50%) as other ways
their organization hires, trains, and/or retains employees with
disabilities.
The survey also identified accessibility skills and topics to
include the following: disability as part of diversity programs,
use of assistive technology by persons with disabilities, general
understanding of disability, legal foundations for accessibility,
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), policy development and
implementation, multimedia accessibility, accessibility testing
methodology, usability testing, image accessibility, HTML and
accessibility, responsive design and zoom, and others.
Survey findings show an increasing need for accessibility
training and skill development. In the last five years, 59% of
managers have seen an increase in demand for employees with
accessibility skills in their organization, with one in 10 saying
there has been a significant increase in demand. Virtually all
managers – 95% – feel like they need professional development
related to specific accessibility skills and/or topics. While there
is no one area specifically identified, the three most often cited
are disability as part of diversity programs (32%), the use of
assistive technology by persons with disabilities (31%), and
general understanding of disability (30%).
Among respondents who say it is difficult finding job candidates
with accessibility skills, the most common reasons are that
candidates don’t understand what accessibility skills are and
candidates not having accessibility skills, with 53% of managers
saying either of these. “Importantly, these findings show us there
are not enough available resources for employees to gain this
knowledge or expertise,” states Kate Sonka, Executive Director of
Teach Access. “Coupled with the finding that most awareness, 48%,
is related to previous professional experience, we can infer that
previous experience may not offer a wholistic understanding of
disability or accessibility skills. The findings help us see
opportunities to improve skills development.”
The survey builds on findings from a 2023 study the University
commissioned with The Harris Poll of human resource (HR)
professionals to better understand workplace practices and
approaches to employees with disabilities, resources and
accommodations, findings which illustrated the need for employers
to understand how to support employees with disabilities through
strategies that focus on awareness, workplace community, and mental
health. It also builds on a 2022 Accessibility Skills Gap Survey
created by Teach Access that reflected a growing awareness toward
adopting accessibility practices.
"Teach Access aims to create systemic change within education so
that all students learn the fundamentals of disability and digital
accessibility,” states Sonka. “It is essential to create a pipeline
of future employees who can make technology accessible and
inclusive. This survey supports the need for Teach Access programs
and resources and emphasizes the importance of our collaboration
with academia."
About the Research
The research was conducted online in the United States by The
Harris Poll on behalf of University of Phoenix among 459 adults
aged 21+ who are employed full-time at an organization with two or
more employees, has a title of manager or higher, has at least one
direct report, and works in one of the following industries:
Information Technology, Education, or Healthcare. The survey was
conducted April 3 - 19, 2024. For each industry, data are weighted
where necessary by employee size to bring them in line with their
actual proportions in the population. A post-weight was applied to
ensure equal weight of each industry in the total.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who
have agreed to participate in The Harris Poll surveys. The sampling
precision of Harris online polls is measured by using a Bayesian
credible interval. For this study, the sample data is accurate to
within +/- 5.1 percentage points using a 95% confidence level. This
credible interval will be wider among subsets of the surveyed
population of interest.
For more information, review the survey report here.
About University of Phoenix
University of Phoenix innovates to help working adults enhance
their careers and develop skills in a rapidly changing world.
Flexible schedules, relevant courses, interactive learning,
skills-mapped curriculum for our bachelor’s and master’s degree
programs and a Career Services for Life® commitment help students
more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while
balancing their busy lives. For more information, visit
phoenix.edu.
About Teach Access
Teach Access is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization
collaborating with education, industry, government, and disability
advocacy organizations to address the critical need to enhance
students' understanding of digital accessibility as they learn to
design, develop, and build new technologies with the needs of
people with disabilities in mind. Teach Access envisions a fully
accessible future in which students enter the workforce with
knowledge of the needs of people with disabilities and skills in
the principles of accessible design and development, such that
technology products and services are born accessible.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240516509152/en/
Sharla Hooper University of Phoenix
sharla.hooper@phoenix.edu