Digital Accessibility

The University has millions of digital and electronic resources, with new resources being created or modified on a regular basis. This includes website, classroom resources, videos, and applications. As a decentralized institution, these resources are often generated with little or no direct accessibility support or guidance. Accordingly, a centralized accessibility team, similar to those at peer institutions, is needed in order to provide the dedicated, consistent, and broad support needed to ensure new, existing, and procured technologies are accessible. See Digital Accessibility Report, Recommendation 2, Appendix 2.

In addition to creating an accessibility team, embedded accessibility unit liaisons can further ensure information technology resources are accessible by providing focused, consistent support to units and departments on issues of accessibility. Liaisons would need to be given the support and resources necessary to develop accessibility skills and knowledge, such as flexibility to attend digital accessibility trainings and events. See Digital Accessibility Report, Recommendation 8, Appendix 2.

For several years, entities within the university (i.e., the Office for Institutional Equity, Information Technology Services, the Office of the General Counsel, and others) have collaborated on a university Standard Practice Guide (“SPG”) requiring that existing, new, modified, or procured information technologies (IT) meet recommended accessibility standards. This policy is intended to bring the university in line with legal requirements, peer institution practices, and suggested practices for accessibility and inclusion. A strong statement from university leadership in support of this effort would help ensure the SPG’s adoption.

See Digital Accessibility Report, Recommendation 5, Appendix 2.

Faculty and staff are the primary creators and distributors of digital or electronic information technology. Faculty, in addition to using or making their materials available online, may also research and procure technologies for use in the classroom. Heightened awareness of digital accessibility among faculty and staff, therefore, is instrumental in ensuring the university’s resources and technologies are accessible to disabled students. Therefore, faculty and staff should be provided with training (i.e., in-person workshops and online modules) to help inform them of their responsibilities. These trainings can be provided during orientation and onboarding sessions for new employees, as well as at regular intervals throughout the year to ensure continued compliance and understanding. For example, university offices such as Center for Research on Teaching and Learning (“CRLT”) and Organizational Learning (“OL”) could add digital accessibility sessions into their current course offerings and publicize these opportunities to faculty and staff. See Digital Accessibility Report, Recommendations 6 and 10, Appendix 2.

In addition to raising awareness, faculty and staff must be given support and guidance as to how they can incorporate digital accessibility suggested practices. For example, the university should invest resources that would enable faculty and staff to request a digital accessibility audit of their resources. This audit would not only identify inaccessibility but provide clear and actionable guidance so that employees could remove any barriers. Additionally, the university could explore relationships with third-party vendors who could provide accessibility “make-overs” of existing university resources. Finally, faculty and staff should be given regular access to resources that allow for self-guided training (i.e., online modules) and application of accessibility principles (e.g., templates for commonly created content such as Word documents, PowerPoint slides, websites, syllabi, reading materials, etc.). See Digital Accessibility Report, Recommendation 7, Appendix 2.

The university is frequently hiring employees whose roles include the creation or modification of digital and electronic content. Such positions should require some familiarity or expertise in accessibility to help with the university’s efforts to ensure its digital and electronic information resources are broadly accessible to the community. To incorporate accessibility experience into these positions, it is recommended that units and departments include accessibility qualifications in any relevant job postings and descriptions. Additionally, interview questions or skill-demonstration tools should be used throughout the hiring process to assess candidate expertise. Furthermore, units responsible for hiring oversight (such as the Shared Services Center and Human Resources), should be trained on when and how to use these tools.

See Digital Accessibility Report, Recommendation 10a, Appendix 2.