University Statement: Letter from Director for Equal Opportunity Office C. Leonard Davis Regarding Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility on Campus
January 21, 2004
To: Vice President & Deans
FROM: Len Davis, Director
UGA Rehab Act and ADA Compliance Officer
RE: Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act adopts standards for access to technology for persons with disabilities. Those standards have been made applicable to recipients of federal funds such as the University. Computer accessibility was addressed in my December 13, 2000 memo distributing the Disability Resource Center Advisory Committee guidelines for "Computer Access on Campus." Those guidelines adopted standards of capacity for purposes of supporting adaptive technology needed by some computer users with disabilities. These standards have been updated periodically.
Accompanying this memo is the December 2003 update of computer access guidelines. Adaptive and assistive technology and tech consultation available through the UGA Disability Resource Center is not intended as the sole source of support for a disabled student population of some 1,000. Indeed, consistent with requirements of law and with respective unit missions, the University looks to academic units, employing units, and units responsible for delivery of programs and services to maintain a level of readiness to accommodate the computer and web access of persons with disabilities in any covered group.
My June 19, 2001 memo called attention to the fact that Rehabilitation Act computer access standards now include guidelines for website accessibility which are set out on the EITS website at http://www.uga.edu/help/wai. Accessibility guidelines which appear on that site will be treated by the Equal Opportunity Office as the University standard for website accessibility. This office looks to departmental and unit web developers and tech support personnel at the operating unit level to assure that existing websites are timely brought into compliance with Access Board Statements at the EITS website as additions/revisions are made and to assure that new websites are developed in accordance with the guidelines. Websites should be evaluated/validated using tools identified on the EITS website.
Internal and extramural proposals involving technology acquisition and/or website development are expected to incorporate the above standards.