Purpose/Rationale
The Evergreen State College is committed to:
- Providing equal access to information technology for people with disabilities.
- Ensuring a coordinated process to make information technology accessible to persons with disabilities.
- Clarifying who is responsible for the tasks associated with making information technology accessible and available.
I n achieving this commitment to making information technologies accessible to individuals with disabilities, The Evergreen State College implements the state guidelines adopted by the Washington State Information Services Board (ISB). (See,State Guidelines — Accessibility to Information Technology for Individuals with Disabilities(hereinafter referred to as “ISB Guidelines”) The ISB Guidelines apply to all executive and judicial branch agencies and educational institutions that operate, manage, or use Information Technology service or equipment to support critical state business functions. (See RCW 43.105) This includes the applicable provisions of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 794d (Section 508 Standards), and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), incorporated in the ISB Guidelines as they now exist or as they may hereafter be amended.
Implementation of the State Guidelines by The Evergreen State College is not intended to, and does not create, rights independent of those under existing legal requirements. Rather it is the intent of this policy that the ISB Guidelines be used as a guide to assist the College in complying with existing legal obligations and in achieving the College’s goal of creating an accessible, inclusive educational and work environment.
This policy applies to...
All Evergreen staff and faculty who make information available through technology including, but not limited to, the following:
- faculty web pages
- program web pages
- Banner self-serve
- academic collaborative tools (drupal, moodle, wikis, blogs)
- on-line forms and documents
- computer labs and classrooms
- official web pages
- my.evergreen.edu
1. The Director of Access Services will coordinate the annual review of Assistive Technology (AT) software and hardware.
To ensure the college is meeting the ISB Guidelines , the Director of Access Services in collaboration with the Dean of the Library and the Manager of Academic Computing will:
- Define guidelines for college technology providers in implementing accessible technologies for their areas.
- Annually review software and hardware and provide a report to the Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance Advisory Committee (ADACAC).
- Ensure systems are being implemented consistently across the institution.
2. The Director of Computing and Communications, the Director of Access Services and the Dean of the Library are responsible for providing technology access for students with disabilities through the Assistive Technology Lab (ATL).
The Director of Computing and Communications, the Director of Access Services, and the Dean of the Library will maintain the current Assistive Technology Lab (ATL) as the central technology lab for students with disabilities.
3. Access Services will assess and resolve individual student requests for AT related academic accommodations on a case-by-case basis.
4. Human Resource Services will assess and resolve employee and job applicant requests for AT related accommodations on a case-by-case basis.
5. Access Services is responsible for providing technology access through education, training and user support for students with disabilities.
- Access Services, working with other college technology providers, will provide intake, education, training and coordination for students with disabilities needing access to technology resources.
- Day-to-day user support will be provided by existing staff in technology locations (central AT Lab and satellite locations).
6. The Manager of Academic Computing will coordinate AT configuration for classroom facilities.
AT will be provided in the primary computing classrooms identified below. The Manager of Academic Computing will coordinate this effort and will track hardware and software inventory. Facilities include but are not restricted to the following:
Central Lab:
- Assistive Technology Lab (ATL)
Satellite Locations:
- Computer Center
- Computer Applications Lab
- Tacoma PC Lab
- Language Lab
- Digital Imaging Studio
- Multimedia Lab
7. Each satellite location will fund its own general Assistive Technology.
This may include but is not limited to software, monitors, keyboards and input devices.
8. The Manager of Academic Computing will ensure that ISB’s Guidelines are met in Academic Computing Web Applications.
This will include:
- Checking compliance on academic web pages such as program web sites, collaborative software, and courseware.
- Training for faculty on ISB Guidelines, and how to comply.
- Maintaining and supporting a common toolset that promotes access.
9. The Manager of Administrative Computing will ensure compliance with ISB Guidelines in Administrative Computing.
- The Manager of Administrative Computing will ensure compliance with ISB Guidelines for all application specialists and developers.
- This will include ensuring all staff members have knowledge of ISB Guidelines and comply with them when developing new applications.
- Manager of Administrative Computing will train all developers in Administrative Computing on an annual basis.
10. The Campus Web Manager will ensure compliance with ISB Guidelines on all official web pages.
- The Campus Web Manager will ensure that all official web services, pages and templates follow ISB Guidelines for accessibility.
- The Campus Web Manager will provide training on ISB Guidelines for staff who maintain web pages.
11. The Dean of the Library will ensure compliance with ISB Guidelines on all official library web pages and applications.
The Dean of the Library will ensure that all library web services follow ISB Guidelines for accessibility.
12. The Director of Computing and Communications will update staff members when ISB Guidelines change.
The Director of Computing and Communications will update staff members who have a need to know when ISB Guidelines change, including the Campus Web Manager and the Dean of the Library.
13. The Technology Manager in Residential and Dining Services (RAD) will ensure compliance with ISB Guidelines on all RAD web pages, applications and satellite computing stations.
- The Technology Manager in Residential and Dining Services will ensure all RAD web applications follow ISB Guidelines for accessibility.
- The Technology Manager in Residential and Dining Services will fund, maintain and equip all AT applications.
14. The Director of Computing and Communications, in collaboration with the Director of Access Services, is responsible for determining whether an exemption to the policy is warranted.
Circumstances which may qualify as exemptions from this policy include but are not limited to:
- Undue burden.
- Hardware and software tools specific to a research or development process in which no member of the research or development team requires accessibility accommodations.
- Hardware or software for which no equivalent accessible option is available (non-availability).
Definitions
Accessibility. Web sites, Web-based applications, software systems, and published documents or other types of information services that enable equal access for individuals with disabilities.
ADACAC . Americans with Disabilities Act Compliance Advisory Committee (ADACAC) is a committee of staff, students and faculty representatives appointed to address all campus wide access issues and to ensure that the College’s facilities, programs and activities are accessible to persons with disabilities.
Assistive Technology. Assistive technology is technology used by individuals with disabilities in order to perform functions that might otherwise be difficult or impossible. For the purpose of this policy, “Assistive technology” refers to hardware, software, and peripherals that assist people with disabilities in accessing computers or other information technologies.
Section 508 Standards . A comprehensive set of general, technical, and functional standards that apply to Federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to individuals with disabilities. The standards applicable to this policy are set forth in the ISB Guidelines.
Undue burden. According to Section 508, “Undue burden means significant difficulty or expense. In determining whether an action would result in an undue burden, an agency shall consider all agency resources available to the program or component for which the product is being developed, procured, maintained, or used.”
World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is the international body of industry-leading corporations, individuals, and organizations who set the standards by which the World Wide Web operates. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the W3C’s standards for creating accessible Web content.
See Also
§ Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 794d http://www.section508.gov
§ Information Services Board Guidelines http://www.isb.wa.gov/policies/portfolio/1000g.doc
§ W3C Web Accessibility Initiative http://www.w3.org/wai
§ IT Strategic Plan http://www.evergreen.edu/computing/itportfolio
§ AccessIT — http://www.washington.edu/accessit/
§ DO-IT - http://www.washington.edu/doit/
§ JAN - http://www.jan.wvu.edu/
§ ADA - http://www.eeoc.gov/types/ada.html
§ Access Services Web site www.evergreen.edu/access