This report details program review commendations, compliance issues and recommendations in each of three areas. Summarized in the section are the findings from the review in each of three functional areas of focus—operational compliance, technology deployment, and responsiveness to the field.


Operational Compliance
Commendations:
● Clear support for the ATPC by the senior administration of Ventura College.
● Effective ATPC-Ventura Community College reporting relationships.
● Job descriptions and other employee-related materials appear to be current.
● Purchase records for equipment, supplies, and services are maintained.
● Records of ATPC Advisory Committee meetings and communications were carefully maintained and available for review.
● The ATPC’s Website is accessible to people with disabilities.
Compliance Issues:
1. Communication with the Project Monitor in the Chancellor’s Office has not conformed to requirements specified in the RFA and the grant agreement. Diligent collaboration with the Project Monitor is required.
2. Productivity Plan for addressing college and district needs has not been generated as required in the RFA. A clear plan for addressing short- and long-term needs of colleges and districts should be developed and implemented.
3. The track record needed for the ATPC to be designated as the state single point of contact for alternate media has only begun to be developed. Efforts toward this designation should be sustained.
4. Policies and procedures committed to in ATPC workplans are only partially developed. Efforts toward development of more complete operating policies and procedures should be continued, with significant field involvement.
5. Partnerships called for in the RFA are only partially developed, with notable lack of effort in developing effective collaborations with the HTCTU.
Recommendations:
1. Review all ATPC positions and consider designating a full-time ATPC Director/Manager knowledgeable about technology and DSP&S services.
2. Continue development of job-cost accounting processes, with attention to providing efficient and cost-effective services to the 108 CCCS colleges.
3. Identify strategies for providing technical assistance in a structured fashion in collaboration with HTCTU.
4. Identify strategies for collaboration with other centers and projects involved in alternate media research and development.

Technology Deployment
Commendations:
● Staff knowledgeable about alternate media technologies and publishing issues.
● Staff exhibit real enthusiasm for work and engage in creative problem solving.
● Production center workstations are well equipped with current technologies.
● Excellent use of limited space in accommodating both staff and technology.
● Good use of prior relationships with technology vendors in production launch.
● Developed testing process to ensure proper configuration of college embossers.
● Excellent technical support from Ventura County Community College District.
● Excellent community service internship program for local High Tech magnet school, using student volunteers for scanning print material into e-text.
Compliance Issues:
None
Recommendations:
1. Explore other options other than the use of swell paper for displaying text that accompanies tactile graphics with the goal of ensuring “readability” by Braille users; for example, the Tiger family of embossers.
2. Verify accessibility of Lotus Domino for all potential users/employees.
3. Monitor Adobe’s work to ensure accessibility of files transferred to PDF.
4. Develop policies and procedures for handling likely increases in requests for formatted e-text as colleges deal with budget constraints.
5. Establish a process for retrieving, cataloguing, and distributing e-texts formatted by other colleges, with attention to copyright and proprietary issues.
6. Implement a quality control system designed to ensure that materials obtained from publishers/vendors are the resources originally requested by the college.
7. Secure full-time technical support for essential ATPC technologies.
8. Revise request forms to reflect generic technologies (e.g., screen readers) rather than brand names in those areas where there is more than one option.
9. Update User profiles on a regular basis.
10. Internet connectivity for ATPC is through a DSL line that may present a bottleneck as work volume expands. Explore strategies for upgrading to a faster Internet connection.
11. The ATPC should research the feasibility of setting up an FTP service on their server for the transfer of electronic text and electronic braille files to colleges.

Responsiveness to the Field
Commendations:
● The ATPC is in full operation and making headway in a trailblazing arena.
● The ATPC is collaborating effectively with some of the larger publishers.
● The ATPC’s Web-based order form is easy to use and facilitates tracking.
● The ATPC resource catalog is extremely useful.
● There is very creative and effective use of volunteers at the ATPC.
● Collaboration with the California Department of Corrections, Folsom State Prison, Folsom Project for the Visually Impaired provides Braille and tactile diagrams at low or no cost.
● The ATPC has sought other sources of alternate media resources and support.
● The ATPC has been responsive to the field in the delivery of tactile graphics.
● Interaction with community groups (e.g., Lions Clubs) has been excellent.
● Excellent one-on-one contacts with students in colleges statewide has occurred.
Compliance Issues:
1. Evidence of collaborations with bookstore associations as required in the RFA was lacking. Efforts toward effective collaboration should be initiated.
2. Information on copyright protections and use restrictions is not routinely included with ATPC products as stipulated in the grant agreement. Collaboration with the Chancellor’s Office on this issue should be a priority.
Recommendations:
1. Finalize a resource allocation plan for the ATPC. Develop and implement a multimodal communication strategy providing for general communication to the field and targeted communication to specific constituencies (e.g., high volume users), as well as for securing timely feedback from the field.
2. Devise a plan for revisiting projects that may have been denied during peak work times to determine if these resources will still be needed in the future and can be produced during off-peak times.
3. Establish, with field input, policies and procedures regarding responsibilities for pre-request database searches and disseminate to the field.

Details of the recommendations for all three sections are provided in the full report that follows.