Digital Accessibility & Academic Technology Support Specialist

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The University of Massachusetts Global (UMass Global) is a private, nonprofit affiliate of the University of Massachusetts. Accredited by WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges), the university offers undergraduate, graduate, credential, and certificate programs designed to be relevant to more than 90 career paths. UMass Global has ranked consistently among the best in the nation by U.S. News and World Report.

Responsible for supporting the university’s efforts to proactively ensure online courses comply with Section 508 and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) by conducting accessibility audits/assessments and supporting remediation efforts. ¬¬¬Responsible for providing online support for academic technology used by faculty in the development and instruction of graduate and undergraduate courses.

This position is a remote position. Eligible remote locations in the following states: Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

The hiring range for this position is $24.00 - $30.00 an hour. Offers are determined by a variety of factors, including but not limited to geographical location, knowledge, skills, years & depth of experience, and equity with internal team members.

TYPE OF SUPERVISION: 

Receive general supervision from the Manager, Academic Technology.

• General Supervision — indicates that the incumbent performs a variety of duties; some of which may be complex duties within established policy guidelines; and receives occasional supervision.

POSITION DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:  

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: 

Accessibility Specialist

• Serve as the university's educational technology accessibility expert for major platforms like Brightspace, Zoom, Kaltura, Google Suite, MS Office, TurnItIn, LearnWise and any future adopted technologies.
• Manage and conduct accessibility audits on recently developed or revised online courses to ensure compliance with WCAG 2.2 standards. Utilize assistive technology and tools to identify non-compliance areas, providing guidance for necessary revisions. Maintain regular communication with the instructional design team on audit progress.
• Aid Instructional Designers and Faculty in formatting online resources to meet WCAG 2.2 standards. Update instructional materials (e.g., PDFs, Word documents, HTML content) in newly developed courses for compliance and provide accessible files to developers or designers requiring advanced remediation.
• Provide support to Instructional Designers in building course components and integrations that necessitate WCAG expertise for accessibility compliance.
• Upload files to courses and assist with updating videos and adding transcripts to live sections and principal shells if needed.
• Stay updated on emerging technologies, accessibility laws, guidelines, best practices, and tools relevant to developing accessible courses and instructional materials.
• Support the Office of Accessible Education to remediate courses as needed for student enrollments.  Including auditing and remediating courses as well as managing the outsourcing of remediation as needed.
• Proactively audit and remediate high enrolled courses for WCAG compliance.
• Provide accessibility training and consultation, including support for Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles

Academic Technology Support - Faculty & Staff

• Provide application and advanced technical support to UMass Global LMS users and its integrated applications.
• Provide escalated help and support via the phone, email and/or Zoom, Live Text, LearnWiseand other external software for UMass Global users in troubleshooting and problem solving in the more advanced technical uses of the LMS platform.
• Assistance in maintaining and tracking of systems for instructional design and courseware development projects, as needed.
• Provide support, relating to Academic Technologies which includes to assist users in troubleshooting issues and providing ticket support.
• Communicate with other university support services to coordinate support for faculty, students, and potential students in an attempt to make the entire online education experience more user-friendly, effective, and seamless.

• Perform other duties, as assigned

POSITION SPECIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS:

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