Case Study
University of Akron
The University of Akron partners with Verbit for inclusive hybrid events, complete with live captions and accessibility solutions for both in-person and remote attendees.
University of Akron In a Nutshell
The University of Akron is placing high priority on planning and hosting high-profile events, such as graduations, that are inclusive of all in-person attendees and remote viewers. As the university hosts hybrid-style graduations and events, with availability to tune in through platforms like YouTube Live, it’s enlisting Verbit as an essential partner for live captioning and accessibility best practices.
The Challenge
With the need to provide greater flexibility and access in today’s climate, The University of Akron needed to find a partner to support its event and course needs. Ensuring the milestone moment of graduation was fully accessible to students, their families and diverse viewers was essential. However, it was trickier to execute with internal resources alone.
"We really needed to bring live captioning into our graduation ceremonies and because of our previous relationship with Verbit, we knew that it could be done."
The Solution
Verbit provides leading technology and trusted support with:
- Accurate live event captioning to meet ADA guidelines
- Direct integration into event streaming & web conferencing platforms for seamless use
- Glossary features to correctly showcase graduate t& speaker names
- The 24/7 support needed for high-profile events
"For the graduations, we’re sharing the link to Verbit’s captioning. It opens up accessibility for everyone to see their child, grandchild and neighbor have that shining moment of graduating."
The Results
With Verbit, the University of Akron is able to place accessibility first for its graduation ceremonies with a simple process.
Easy access to event captions
“If someone comes to the ceremony and they need to access the captions, a link is printed on their tickets. Live captioning helps so many individuals with disabilities.”
Specialized technology built for education & graduation
“We’re not technicians, so tapping into resources like Verbit’s has really helped us. It’s no longer one person but a team of professionals who have the responsibility of making this happen.”
Support & engagement for all graduation audience members
“We’re not just looking at those who are hard of hearing – It’s also for attendees with Attention Deficit Disorder, auditory processing disorders and learning disabilities to name a few. Many people benefit from having visual support and a multi-sensory learning experience.”
Easy on-demand viewing of ceremonies
“In addition to the live captioning, we like that we can get captioning for videos that are on our website so people watching these at a later time can also view it with the captions.”
University of Akron Profile
The University of Akron is home to over 16,000 students from 46 states and 44 countries. It offers its diverse students more than 200 undergraduate programs and over 100 graduate programs, including a law school.
Verbit provides specialized transcription and captioning solutions for many companies, universities and other institutions worldwide.