An Educause student technology survey found that nearly half (44%) of students with disabilities do not register with their institution’s disability services office for support.
Among students with disabilities, 32% said they require accessible content, accessible technologies and/or technological accommodations for their coursework. However, some of the reasons cited for not registering with disability services include the services offered not being helpful, having anxiety about contacting the office and feeling “uncomfortable,” “embarrassed” or afraid of being turned away, not believed or being labeled. Students also noted the process to apply for accommodations as “tedious and difficult,” “lengthy” and requiring too many steps for the limited accommodations they might receive.
Verbit’s new education subscription plan – Verbit Unlimited – can now help to alleviate some of the challenges university and college leaders are facing in providing access services to all students who need them, even those who don’t report their disabilities.
What sets Verbit Unlimited apart is that it offers industry leading captioning, transcription and translation support at one annual price. This new method enables schools, colleges and universities to scale accessibility initiatives across their campuses in new and affordable ways. By proactively providing captioning and other accessibility tools, institutions are going beyond just complying with the law. They can now support more students, regardless of their reported status, in having equal access to the learning resources they need to succeed.
An accessibility gamechanger for institutions
Verbit Unlimited works by offering an annual fixed, affordable price point to institutions depending on the number of students enrolled. It offers a wide range of accessibility solutions, including live and post-production captioning, audio description and translations, including:
- Unlimited live English and Spanish captioning via our AI-driven Captivate™ technology
- Unlimited post-production captions for student accommodation requests
- Unlimited translation into two languages via our advanced AI machine translation offering
- Two hours of extended audio description
- Transcript insights by Verbit’s generative AI-based tool, Gen.V™
- Access to Verbit’s interactive Smart Player
- Easy integration with LMS, cloud storage and video platforms
- Dedicated customer service
Receive unlimited benefits
Our new subscription plans are thoughtfully curated for education. They’re designed to be affordable and scalable. Whether you’re addressing the needs of a few students or implementing a campus-wide solution, Verbit Unlimited can now offer you:
- Predictable budgeting: Our fixed, annual cost makes it easier to budget without worrying about unexpected charges
- Scalable accessibility: Plans support accessibility regulations, making it easy to scale captioning to meet accessibility goals and ADA compliance
- Student success: Verbit Unlimited supports learning experiences for all students, including those with reported and unreported disabilities, as well as ESL and international learners
- Peace of mind: The annual plan reduces the stress of monitoring caption usage, ensuring uninterrupted access to the services students rely on
Prepare for ADA Title II updates
The US Department of Justice recently announced its final rule revising Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), requiring web and mobile application content to be accessible to people with disabilities. Title II applies to all state and local governments, which includes public schools, community colleges and public universities.
The rule clarifies the obligations of public education institutions to make their websites and mobile apps “readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities,” including via the use of accessible text, images, sounds, videos, controls, animations, and electronic documents. This includes adding audio description to videos and captions for all live and pre-recorded audio and video.
Although enforcement will not begin until 2026 at the earliest, school leaders have begun taking steps to ensure that their digital presence complies with the new regulations. Having unlimited access to accurate captioning, transcription and translations for all students — as well as the ability to request additional audio description services — is a tremendous perk when it comes planning for the upcoming Title II requirements.
Partner with a leader in educational accessibility
Creating inclusive learning experiences requires specialized expertise. Verbit’s team has been hired from within the education industry to offer the experience and knowledge needed to help our partners succeed. Our accessibility solutions are specifically designed for different learning environments. With Verbit Unlimited, you can now leverage our blend of proprietary technology and optimization techniques to provide captioning, transcription, translation and audio description without limits, but within budget.
Connect with us to learn more about how we can work together to enhance the accessibility of your courses, campus events and more.