Accessibility Resources Staff Training

Accessibility Resources staff members are dedicated to lifelong learning. This is especially true when discussing the complexity of disability, accommodations, and equal access.

Three people standing next to an Accessibility Resources banner

Accessibility Resources staff are members of AHEAD, the leading professional membership association for individuals committed to equity for persons with disabilities in higher education, and its regional affiliate, MN AHEAD. Accessibility Resources staff receive training across a number of best practices and key issues in disability accommodations and awareness, including:

person holding pencil near laptop computer

These trainings inform how accommodations decisions are made.

Spring 2023 AHEAD Designing the Flexible Attendance Accommodation for Maximum Effectiveness
Spring 2023 AHEAD Would This Be a Fundamental Alteration?  Practical Guidance For Working with Students and Faculty
Fall 2023 AHEAD Effective Models for Reasonable Accommodation Decisions
Fall 2023 AHEAD Providing classroom accommodations in a digital age
Fall 2023 AHEAD Psychoeducational Evaluations: A Crash Course in Reviewing Psycho-Ed Reports/Documentation
Fall 2023 AHEAD Understanding and Developing the Foundation for Sound Accommodation Decision
bronze statue of Lady Justice holding a scale

These trainings help ensure we follow the law and meet legal compliance standards.

Regularly ATIXA 504/ADA Coordinator Trainings
Annually MinnState Safety & Compliance Training
Spring 2023 AHEAD AHEAD Masterclass: Disability Law: Lessons in Application for the Advanced Disability Professional
Spring 2023 AHEAD Seven Essential Functions of the ADA/504 Coordinator Role
Summer 2023 MnAHEAD ADA Title I:  Employment Protections for Persons with Disabilities
a person's hands on a refreshable braille display

These trainings help staff learn how to use the assistive technology students use to succeed, as well as learn what is up-and-coming in the tech world.

Fall 2023 AHEAD A new level of digital equity now possible for AT users – and easier AT deployment for IT departments
Fall 2023 AHEAD Accessible Technology Procurement: A Free Tool for Accurate Assessment Beyond Technical Documentation and VPATs
Fall 2023 AHEAD Evaluating Document Accessibility: Training Student Employees
Fall 2023 AHEAD Maximize the Impact: Strategies to Increase Knowledge & Use of Available Assistive Technology Tools Across Campus
Fall 2023 AHEAD Microsoft vs Google: A Comparison of Accessibility Features in Documents and Slides
Fall 2023 AHEAD The Future is Now: Building a Comprehensive, Compliant, Affordable Captioning Service
Fall 2023 AHEAD Wait... It's That Easy? Using Built-In Accessibility Features on Everyday Devices
Fall 2023 Glean Several information sessions to learn more about Glean's features and best ways to use it
text on a laptop that reads "I design and develop experiences that make people's lives simple."

These trainings guide staff as they navigate the field of accessibility and disability services.

Spring 2023 AHEAD Navigating the Field as a New Disability Resource Professional
Spring 2023 AHEAD Personal Care Attendants and College Students: An Introduction and Guide
Spring 2023 AHEAD Perspectives on Serving Students with Chronic Illness
Summer 2023 MnAHEAD Disability History
Summer 2023 MnAHEAD Preventing Burnout in Higher Education
Fall 2023 MnAHEAD Effective Coaching Skills for Disability Service Professionals 
computer programming code

These trainings provide information that aid in ensuring accessibility on the web.

Fall 2023 AHEAD Creating a Digital Accessibility Hub
Fall 2023 AHEAD Predictors of Web Accessibility in Higher Education: Ten Years After
Fall 2023 AHEAD Replacing an Accessible Website: Ensuring a Better New Site
Fall 2023 AHEAD The History of Web Accessibility
a poster surrounded by houseplants that reads You Belong.

Accessibility Resources staff recognize that students with disabilities are multifaceted individuals with multiple aspects of their identities. These trainings inform how Accessibility Resources' work can be intersectional, welcoming, and affirming.

Spring 2023 AHEAD "I'm Unlearning!" Applying Reflexivity to Higher Education Disability Services as a Tool for Supporting Students with Intersectional identities
Summer 2023 MnAHEAD Infusing Accessibility and Disability into DEI Work 
Summer 2023 MnAHEAD Resisting Trans Hate with Radical Care
Fall 2023 Maverick Diversity Institute LGBTQ+ Safe Zone Training
Fall 2023 MinnState Minnesota State Equity Scorecard: An Overview, Demonstration, and Leveraging the Tool 
Fall 2023 ASLIS The Intersection of Interpreting and Identity
graphic of people of multiple colors with their brain showing different patterns

We know that everyone's brains work differently. We attend training opportunities to learn how to best support those whose thinking and learning styles are different from the expected norm (neurotypicality), including students who are autistic, have ADHD/LD, or other forms of neurodivergence.

Spring 2023 AHEAD Neurodiversity, Autism Politics, and Language, a Brief Introduction
Fall 2023 AHEAD Neurodiversity Cultural Responsiveness: Improving Communication and Understanding
Fall 2023 ADDitude Executive Function Strategies to Externalize Time, Memory, Motivation
person holding the hand of a newborn infant

While students may work directly with their professors for pregnancy- and parenting-related accommodations, Accessibility Resources will ensure that the policies and practices of individual instructors are aligned with Title IX regulations and do not discriminate against pregnant students.

Fall 2023 Grand River Solutions Pregnant and Parenting under Title IX

In addition to various trainings in-person and online, Accessibility Resources staff attend conferences for hands-on training and networking.

Spring 2023 AHEAD Equity and Excellence 2023
Fall 2023 AHEAD & ATHEN Accessing Higher Ground 2023

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Mankato, MN 56001
1-800-722-0544

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