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Verbit serves as a one-stop-shop for all university transcription and captioning needs. They provide seamless integrations and real-time service at competitive pricing that doesn’t compromise on accuracy or speed. They make captions not just an accommodation feature, but a learning feature to benefit all students.
Agreement Start: 1 January 2022
Agreement End: 31 December 2024
Purchase credit to call off.
Institutions purchase credit with Verbit and then have 12 months in which to use that credit.
Free trials are available. Please contact Help@chest.ac.uk for further information
Higher and Further Education, Research Councils, Associated Sites, Charities in the United Kingdom and Third Level Institutions in Ireland
This Agreement has been negotiated by Chest in response to a need within the Accessibility community.
Licensor: Verbit Software Ltd, registered in Israel (company number 51-554773), 94 Yigal Alon Street, Tel Aviv, 6789139.
The biggest issue around captioning is the time it takes to correct automated captions. It takes around 6 hours to correct one hour of video. Some universities create 1000s of hours of lecture capture a week are striving to meet regulations. Whilst it is possible to claim ‘disproportionate burden’ against correcting captions this is a temporary solution (can be invoked for around two years, until a solution to an accessibility issue is found) and is justified based on cost. See this Jisc page for more information on Video Captioning and Accessibility Regulations for more information
Verbit partners with institutions to help promote access and engagement – from the classroom to commencement. Verbit’s technology is purpose-built so its post-production and live integrations allow you to automatically caption sessions with accuracy to meet compliance requirements seamlessly and engage more effectively with others.
Verbit has access to over 35 thousand on-demand professional transcribers and transcribed over 30 million minutes of content in 2021.
The Verbit Chest Agreement offers Captioning, Transcription, Live Captions and Audio Description. Click on the below links to find out more about each.
Video Captioning: Verbit streamlines transcription and closed captioning services to support all video and audio needs. Users benefit from accurate, interactive transcripts and helpful integrations with Zoom, LMS and video hosting platforms. Captioning makes your audio searchable and increases view time and engagement.
Ease of use with key integrations: Users benefit from API and out-of-the-box integrations with Blackboard, Canvas and other LMS. Verbit’s automatic captioning software integrates with Panopto, Brightcove, JW Player, Vimeo, YouTube, AWS, Dropbox, Box, OneDrive and Google Drive for seamless use.
Compliance & security matter: Verbit’s platform meets Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations, FCC, WCAG 2.0 SOC 2, HIPAA, HECVAT, VPAT and GDPR guidelines, ensuring users meet disability needs, among others.
Captions create inclusive environments: Verbit’s captions engage professionals and students learning in various environments more effectively, increasing their comprehension of videos, events and content they’re consuming. The closed captions and subtitles can be offered in all languages and in multiple formats, including SRT, VTT, SCC, SAMI and DFXP.
Specialized Expertise: Verbit’s employees have backgrounds in Education so have built solutions tailored to Education needs. This includes technology that that can support the complexities of different university disciplines.
How does it work?
Through this Agreement, institutions can purchase a set amount of credit with Verbit. They then call off Verbit's services as required, using the credit they have purchased. Once they have used up their credit or at any time prior to this they can choose to purchase more credit. They can choose whether to just use Automatic Speech Recognition, which gets them to c.90% accuracy, or add one Human Layer to get to c.97% accuracy, or add two Human Layers for 99% accuracy.
The pricing for each of the different levels is available on the Products and Pricing tab of this Agreement.
Q&A
Q: What file types can be captioned and subtitled?
A: Verbit’s captioning services work with: MP3, MP4, FLAC, OGA, OGG, DSS, M4A, WAV, WEBM, and WMA, 3GP, AAC, AVI, FLV, MP4, MPG, and MPEG-2 files and others.
Q: What closed caption and subtitle formats are supported?
A: Verbit’s users can export captions and subtitles in the following formats: SRT, VTT, SCC, SAMI and DFXP.
Q: Does Verbit support open and encoded captions?
A: Yes, Verbit supports both options.
Q: Can Verbit provide captions for difficult audio and video?
A: Yes, Verbit’s technology and AI-based solution improves with each use. It accommodates difficult accents, background noise and individual speakers. Verbit’s team of professionals then fact-check the closed captions to ensure accuracy.
Q: Can captions help to boost my SEO rankings?
A: Yes, Verbit’s captioning solution makes all content searchable, which improves its users’ SEO rankings. Closed captions create a text file that search engines can interpret, allowing videos with closed captions to rank significantly higher in search results.
Q: If we were initially planning on syncing via OneDrive but considering migrating to another synching method mid-contract, would that cause any issues?
A: No. You can use any and all integrations that Verbit offer
Quotes
“I found Verbit, and it just seemed such a good fit because I was literally just about to send 40 videos manually to somebody to download, and watch, and transcribe, and the process just felt so painful. Verbit was just a simple win.” Sushil Pallen, Learning Innovation Manager, London Business School
“When we first joined with Verbit, we had a large number of events that we’d planned. They helped us to rapidly set those up because from signing a contract to things actually going live, I think was like a week. It was really short notice. The guys I worked with there, they were fabulous.” Juli MacArthur, Learning Technologist, Royal College of Art
"It’s great that Verbit does it in UK English because I think sometimes that’s a challenge with some of the automatic transcriptions, is they’re provided in American English, and being a UK University, UK English is really important to us.” Jenny Crow, Digital Education Team Manager, University of Glasgow
“We were originally using a service that provided transcriptions and captions with a week-long turnaround, but we were finding ourselves needing to be timelier. We also needed a way to incorporate captioning into Zoom meetings and livestreams. Verbit was the answer to all these needs. Verbit’s platform is user-friendly and easy to navigate.” Latoya Clark-Horne, Instructional Technology Coordinator, Hinds Community College
“Verbit continues to bridge the accessibility gap within higher education and demonstrates a pivotal commitment to providing equal access to our students, staff and faculty at the University of Pittsburgh. From day one of meeting our customer success manager, Dr. Misty Cobb, she has gone above and beyond with exceptional services!” Chad Jurica, Ed.D., Disability Specialist, University of Pittsburgh
See more quotes here
Free trials are available. Please contact help@chest.ac.uk for further information
TBC
Please visit this page: https://verbit-ai.zendesk.com/hc/en-us
Please visit this page: https://verbit-ai.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/sections/360004497659-Contact-Us
The Licensee is entitled to all updates and new versions that are made generally available to the Supplier’s customers.
TBC
Software as a Solution deliverable over the internet. Preferred browser is Chrome.
City, University of London found itself struggling to meet the growing demand for captions to provide accessibility to its students under new UK legislation. Automatic speech recognition and student volunteers offered cost-effective options, but they couldn’t provide the high quality needed to meet the UK’s new accessibility standards. City now partners with Verbit to deliver high–quality captions at scale to boost accessibility on campus and support City’s obligations under the new law Read more here.
10 Must-Know Considerations to Assist Learners with ADHD. Verbit considers challenges within academic settings for students with ADHD. With a dropout rate twice the average and only 16% accessing vital support, a notable disparity exists. Individuals with ADHD, however, display a significant propensity for entrepreneurial pursuits. The article offers concise tips for students and educators, emphasising aligning paths with passions and proactive accommodation support. The goal is to foster a more inclusive learning environment for those with ADHD. Read more here.
Why Accessibility is an Essential Piece of the Higher Education Puzzle. As the number of students, staff, and researchers with disabilities grows The Times Higher Education suggests valuable steps, including seeking feedback, avoiding assumptions, and enhancing accessibility in campus events and structures. Read more here.
What to Know About Digital Accessibility Laws in the UK. Educational organisations must adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, a recognised international standard. So what do institutions need to do to meet the requirements set out by the PSBAR? Read more here.
Navigating AI Bias and Web Accessibility
Biased Bots: Are You Using AI That Violates the UK Equality Act? AI's growing role in workplaces and education poses risks of violating the UK Equality Act due to potential biases. From discriminatory Amazon algorithms to robots exhibiting racial biases, AI's reliance on flawed data is concerning. To mitigate these risks, companies must test AI for biases, ensure transparency in AI use Read more here.
Why You Should be Wary of Using an “Accessibility Checker” Alone. Recent experimentation with online accessibility checkers revealed significant discrepancies, raising doubts about their reliability in ensuring a fully accessible web environment for individuals with disabilities. These tools, while helpful as a starting point, often present conflicting results and misidentify intentional design elements as accessibility issues. Expert insights emphasise the need for a more comprehensive approach Read more here.
Two UK university leaders emphasise the importance of understanding legal accessibility regulations, implementing scalable captioning solutions, addressing challenges related to accents and errors, and extending accessibility efforts beyond the classroom to create inclusive student experiences in compliance with the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations (PSBAR). Read more here.
The University of Notre Dame holds a remarkable 93% four-year graduation rate, but the traditional four-year degree format no longer fits the needs of most students. To stay competitive, universities must break away from the conventional mold, adopt flexible learning methods, integrate technology, and prioritise inclusivity through Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Read more here.
At the start of February Verbit, together with City, University of London, ran the above webinar. If you missed it, or want to watch it again, you can find the recording by clicking on the below image.
Click on the below logo to read a case study from the University of Glasgow
Click on the below logo to read a case study from the Royal College of Art
Licensor: Verbit Software Ltd, registered in Israel (company number 51-554773), 94 Yigal Alon Street, Tel Aviv, 6789139.
The Chest Order, together with the Licence Terms and Conditions, and any exceptions listed below, create a legally binding contract between your institution, organisation or company and the Licensor. Therefore please read the terms and conditions carefully and only submit a Chest Order if its terms and conditions are acceptable to your institution, organisation or company and you have the authority to make the financial commitment shown.
This Site licence is subject to the terms and conditions for the Standard Chest Licence for Software (June 2011), with exceptions listed at the bottom of the page.
Copying of the Software is allowed in accordance with the terms and conditions for the Standard Chest Licence for Software.
Jisc will invoice Licensed Institutions for the initial fee on receipt of a completed order.
Chest is an Enterprise of Jisc. All Purchase orders must be made out to Jisc, 4 Portwall Lane, Bristol, BS1 6NB to cover all charges plus VAT.
All terms contained in a PO are expressly rejected and do not form part of the Licence or vary the Licence terms in any way.
Payments are due within thirty days of invoice date; recipients of late payments are entitled to interest in accordance with UK statutory provisions.
At the end of the Period of Agreement, if there is no new Agreement between QSR and Chest or a new Agreement directly between the Licensed Site and QSR, then Licensed Sites are required to remove all copies of QSR Products from their systems - including personal machines which have been loaded with a copy of the software - at the expiry of their Licence (Commitment) Period.
The product(s) may be used by any Authorised User of the Licensee for Educational Purposes which includes the administration and management of the licensee’s educational and research operations. These permissions are described in the terms and conditions for the Standard Chest Licence for Software.
Amendment to the Standard Chest Software Licence. An additional article 6.2 is added: Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, Licensor may in its reasonable discretion institute or modify upon written notice a credit limit for Licensee’s account such that to the extent that unpaid usage accrues on the account in excess of the credit limit, Licensor may suspend availability of the Software to Licensee pending payment of the unpaid accrued usage; and Licensor shall bear no liability to Licensee for such suspension.
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