When does an online accessibility course keep delivering the latest information to students long after they’ve graduated? When it’s the PCWA. Senior course lecturer Dr Scott Hollier shares the various facets that make this university-backed six-week Professional Certificate course unique, in a fascinating podcast and article.
The Professional Certificate in Web Accessibility (PCWA) course was created by Media Access Australia in conjunction with the University of S.A. It teaches Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Section 508 in the USA plus more global standards, along with practical accessibility skills and techniques in an easy-to-schedule online format.
Since 2011 over 350 students from Australia and all over the world have graduated with an internationally recognised qualification in web and digital accessibility. And one of the things which sets this course apart from any other is that once it’s done, it’s not over, as Dr Scott Hollier explains.
“It’s important that anyone who’s come through the course continues to be kept informed because the course is a point in time. We want to make sure that as people continue to implement accessibility in their work practices, they’re kept up-to-date. So we have two mechanisms to support our alumni.
“One is through a Linked-In forum where we discuss the topics. A lot of the topics that we looked at through the course we also have the ability to have in that forum. It’s a closed forum, so only alumni can participate. We also have a regular newsletter that we send out, just updating the alumni since they’ve finished the course on some of those key changes in technologies and standards, so that again they’re able to be aware of that and continue their learning process.”
People who are interested in taking the course can watch a highlights video covering what the PCWA is focused on, the benefits of taking the course, and how it has helped many graduates upskill and move forward with new expertise. There’s also feedback from recent graduates on the student testimonials webpage.
The current intake of the course runs from Monday 8 August to Friday 16 September 2016 and the cut-off date for enrolments is 5pm Tuesday 26 July 2016. You can enrol in the Professional Certificate in Web Accessibility course online. For a group booking please contact Media Access Australia directly.
Listen to the June 2016 interview where Dr Scott Hollier talks with Media Access Australia’s Philip Jenkinson about some of the key components of the PCWA course.
Read the transcript of Philip Jenkinson’s interview with Dr Scott Hollier on the PCWA