WCAG 2.0 Level AA

From the UC Electronic Accessibility website:

IT accessibility is a rapidly developing field. One area where standards have emerged is Web-based technologies. The requirements document (of the proposed UC policy) establishes WCAG 2.0 Level AA as the standard for university Web content. WCAG 2.0 is a widely accepted standard for Web content that was developed by the World Wide Web Consortium.

As UC policies go, it is relatively short, only four pages. But, oh, how important it is in the electronic information age at a public university.

The policy states in part: “The University of California is committed to supporting an information technology environment that is accessible to all, and in particular to individuals with disabilities.”

The Information Technology Accessibility Policy and accompanying requirements are still in draft form — posted online for review, with comments welcome through July 22. Send them by email to ITS-accessibilitypolicy-SA@ucop.edu.

Earlier this week, a UC Davis IT leader and the chief compliance officer sent an email to the Council of Deans and Vice Chancellors and the Campus Council for Information Technology, among others, encouraging feedback and asking the recipients to spread the word about the draft policy.

“As a public institution, it is important for the university to ensure that electronic information, programs and services are accessible to everyone,” wrote David Levin, director of Academic Technology Services (part of Information and Educational Technology); and Wendi Delmendo, compliance officer.

The proposed policy defines “accessible” as follows: “The concept that people with disabilities are able to access and use a product or system, including with the help of assistive technologies. For example, an ‘accessible’ website may be designed so that the text can be enlarged by the user, rather than having a fixed font size, or may be designed so that it can be interpreted and ‘read out loud’ by screen reader software used by blind or low-vision people.”

The policy also aims to assist people in the UC community whose disabilities are less obvious and who choose not to disclose them, and, more broadly, the thousands of people around the state — veterans and older alumni among them — who may wish to connect with UC as learners or donors but who might not be able to do so if the university’s websites are not accessible.

Flexibility at each location

Under the proposal, every UC location would be required to establish an IT Accessibility Program. The UC Electronic Accessibility website elaborates (on a page devoted to the proposed policy): “The policy and requirements are structured to give locations the flexibility to develop and support an IT Accessibility Program that reflects local needs and resources.

“The programs are intended to help locations address IT accessibility in a holistic manner, balancing the academic, research and administrative needs against the realities of resource constraints and technology limitations. Locations will need to prioritize IT accessibility efforts and continually work toward achieving a more accessible IT environment.

“IT accessibility is not a one-time universitywide effort but needs to be incorporated into every IT activity on an ongoing basis.”

The UC Davis campus already has an Electronic Accessibility Committee, comprising campus service providers, faculty, staff and students. Chief Information Officer Pete Siegel established the committee in 2009.

Levin, a committee member, said: “At UC Davis, we approach electronic accessibility as a search for the electronic equivalent of curb cuts — those sidewalk cutouts that were originally put in so that people in wheelchairs could get around, but which now are used by mothers with strollers, skateboarders, delivery people and bicyclists.”

The committee was instrumental in developing the Center for Accessible Technologies, which opened in 2010; and created the Accessibility at UC Davis website. The committee also presents accessibility awareness events— the most recent of which took place May 9.

The committee established processes to incorporate universal design principles into online and hybrid courses, electronic textbooks and similar initiatives, as well as campus technologies and other online resources, all from their inception. Also available: tools and training programs to assist faculty and staff in producing accessible documents, and the campus’s IT professionals in designing, purchasing and modifying accessible software..

The proposed policy also directs UC locations to:

• Develop, purchase and-or acquire, to the extent feasible, hardware and software products that are accessible to people with disabilities.
• Promote awareness of the policy to all members of the university community, particularly those in roles that are responsible for creating, selecting or maintaining electronic content and applications.

‘The right thing to do’

UC Davis’ Electronic Accessibility Committee, with representatives from administrative and academic units, did extensive work to prepare the campus for the new UC policy and will play an important role in overseeing its implementation, Levin and Delmendo said in their email to campus leaders.

Once the review period closes, the UC-wide Electronic Accessibility Leadership Team will gather feedback and make revisions as necessary, and then submit the policy and requirements for review by the Academic Senate. The university’s Policy Steering Committee, appointed by the president, has the final say.

President Mark G. Yudof supported the effort early on. “This initiative offers an exciting new opportunity to think systematically and creatively about how we serve the growing number of people who, with or without formally disclosing a disability, increasingly depend on a fully accessible electronic environment,” he wrote in a July 21, 2010, letter to all UC chancellors.

“As part of a broad and substantive commitment to accessibility in all venues, the time has come for the university to take a lead role in advancing electronic accessibility, not only because it is the right thing to do, but also to tap new sources of innovation and imagination.”

Online

UC Electronic Accessibility, including an overview, standards and best practices, and sections for Web developers and content developers

Proposed policy, including the policy and requirements (PDFs), plus frequently asked questions

UC Davis Electronic Accessibility Committee

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