Guidelines

The aim of this procedure is to support an inclusive academic environment by incorporating design concepts that reduce or remove barriers. NTC will achieve this goal by endorsing a procedure on the use of captioned media.

Course of Action

All new/revised courses going through ESS as a curriculum project due for Spring 2015 start and forward will include the requirement of Closed Captioning. All media purchased and used within NTC courses will have Closed Captioning by January 1, 2018.

If a student requiring closed captioning as an accommodation is enrolled in a course with existing media, the faculty is responsible for ensuring accessibility of all material prior to the start of that course.

All new instructional, informational, marketing and promotional audiovisual materials produced by NTC, including content posed on websites, will be produced with captions to ensure all subsequent copies will be captioned.

Legal Support

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), signed into law in 1990, protects persons with disabilities from discrimination through barriers to communication. Communications with individuals with disabilities must be as effective as communications with others. The use of captioned media breaks down these barriers and equalizes communication access.

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, also prohibits discrimination and mandates accessibility to individuals with disabilities. Individuals may not be excluded from participation or denied the benefits of educational programs.

Summary

• Purchase and produce captioned media.
• Before using an existing legally obtained video currently in inventory or recorded from a broadcast, obtain copyright permission to caption. The video may not be used unless it has been captioned. It will not be captioned without copyright permission. Be aware the process of obtaining copyright permission to caption a video is lengthy.
• When using audiovisual media, view with captions turned on.