Bakersfield College Paves the Way for Accessibility

Monday, October 2, 2023

Bakersfield College hosted the California Community Colleges Accessibility Center (CCCAC) on Thursday, September 28 and Friday, September 29 in the Renegade Event Center on the Panorama Campus. The CCCAC presented the Accessibility Capability Maturity Model (ACMM) and the goals associated with it in multiple workshops throughout the two-day visit. The workshops kicked off with an introduction from Acting President Steve Watkin reviewing the purpose of the workshops and introducing CCCAC Director Dawn Okinaka. Deputy Chancellor Zav Dadabhoy also shared his thanks to those involved in the accessibility growth process of the campus and district.

Accessibility is an important part in the lives of ours students, employees, and community members. The workshops provided by Dawn Okinaka and her team from CCCAC on the development of ACMM were a starting point to the great work that will be accomplished moving forward. The main focus of the ACMM is to drive the college, district and system toward accessibility.

The ACMM consists of 10 goals and associated milestones that integrate accessibility into existing business processes in the following focus areas:

• Governance
• Business Processes
  • Procurement of Information and Communication Technology
  • Websites and Applications
  • Digital Content (Instructional Materials, Student & Employee Services)
  • Collaborative Efforts
• Training and Professional Development
• Culture and Communication

California Community Colleges Accessibility Center - Accessibility Capability Maturity Model

Kern County Community District is the first mult-college district to set up and role out the ACMM. Bakersfield College is going to work hard moving forward to make sure that accessibility is met and reaches all students, employees, and community members.