Cisco's commitment to diversity includes people with disabilities. The Networking Academy curriculum addresses the needs of students with learning disabilities, visual and hearing impairments through content and delivery modifications and in partnership with the National Center for Learning Disabilities. Beyond the Academy program, Cisco was one of the first companies to create an external web site that is accessible to people using assistive technology, and company policies support the hiring and retention of persons with disabilities.
The educational institutions that host the Academy program have the primary responsibility for providing equal access. However, the Networking Academy program is listening and providing support to help them meet those needs. Our curriculum team can make all four CCNA courses available to instructors in Word format to interface with technologies for helping visually and hearing impaired students.
In September 2000, Cisco entered a partnership with the National Center for Learning Disabilities
(NCLD) to ensure that students with learning disabilities (LD) have full access to the Academy curriculum. NCLD reviewed the curriculum and provided recommendations for improvement and instructor awareness and training. As a result, the Cisco Academy curriculum team added components to the design process for curriculum updates, and included accommodations in the Cisco Instructional Best Practices Video Series.
On October 30, 2001, NCLD launched a web site Living with LD as a result of the partnership with Cisco. The web site covers a range of issues including: LD testing, educational and career choices, studying, interviewing and job- hunting skills. This site is an excellent resource for Academy instructors and students.
Cisco has recruited a number of employees through Project Hire, a nonprofit that helps people with disabilities gain competitive employment. Cisco is currently working with HirePotential, Inc. to conduct a workplace assessment for a Customer Support Engineer who is visually impaired, and Cisco compiled a Persons with Disabilities Resource Guide for all employees.