As a cross-campus unit, the Michigan State University Usability and Accessibility Center provides leadership in evaluating the degree to which new interface technologies are useful, usable, accessible, and appealing to a broad cross-section of people. The overarching goal is to understand how the needs and aspirations of people can be reflected in communication technologies. The Center employs current and emerging assistive, information, and computer technologies to create an environment that is as accessible and usable as possible for as many people as is possible. The Center supports and advocates for the development of accessible interface technologies for people with disabilities.
In collaboration with other campus units, the Michigan State University Usability and Accessibility Center conducts research and usability testing; provides training, formal education, and consulting services on accessibility, usability evaluation methodologies, and user-centered design techniques; and participates broadly in local, regional, national, and international usability/accessibility communities of practice. It seeks to serve faculty, students, and organizations at MSU as well as external clients through consulting, collaborative research, educational programming, publications, and the sponsorship of open houses, workshops, and symposia. The Center supports graduate and undergraduate education by employing students who gain real-world experience in planning and running usability tests as lab associates, and by maintaining and making available a state-of-the-art testing facility as a resource to support MSU credit courses and curricular programs in related subject areas. Working collaboratively across the university, the Center's staff and researchers develop grant proposals and conduct research on interface technologies and their development processes. With MSU faculty and staff, they study the entire technology development life-cycle, including the initial technology design, development issues, and evaluation of user performance. The Center develops and disseminates innovations in theory building, research methodologies, and technologies.
The Center's research, dissemination, education, and consulting programs are designed to ensure its recognition as a center of excellence in usability and accessibility. This is accomplished through a variety of means. The Center's staff and fellows participate in appropriate national and international colloquia and conferences in order to establish the Center as a major source of usability and accessibility information for practitioners. The Center serves as a regional hub for professional, scholarly, and public discourse about usability and accessibility. It facilitates symposia, forums, and lectureships with notable experts and scholars; develops a usability and accessibility knowledge database; and disseminates new findings and information about best practices through publications and websites.