Kutztown University: A Promising Practice in Campus-wide Accessible Meetings and Events

Some rooms and buildings at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania are inaccessible to people with certain types of disabilities. In the past, when scheduling a room for meetings, events, or programs, information about the accessibility of specific rooms was unavailable. This often created accessibility problems and complaints from event planners and participants.

To resolve this situation, a task force at the university worked with the Disability Services Office, the Office of Conference Services, and other campus units, to develop policies and procedures to ensure that all meetings, events, and programs offered would be accessible to all participants. The online room reservation system was also changed so that inaccessible spaces could no longer be reserved online. The use of these rooms is only approved after a roster of participants is submitted that indicates no participants have disabilities that would inhibit physical access of the space.

The policy also includes the following language that faculty, administrators, and staff are asked to use in any invitation, flyer, or promotional material: "Persons with a disability, and who require accommodation, should notify the Disability Services Office two weeks prior to the event at 610-683-4108 or email accommodation@kutztown.edu, TDD number: 610-683-4499, in order to discuss accommodations. Every effort will be made to provide reasonable accommodations."

For more information read the Kutztown Accessible Meetings, Events, and Programs document.