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The Colorado State University (CSU) Web Accessibility Policy

Approved by ITEC October 29, 2004. http://accessibility.colostate.edu/policy.htm

1. Purpose:

Access to information by all members of its learning community is implicit in Colorado State University's mission as a land grant institution of higher education. To this effect, university web resources should be deployed in a manner that ensures that all members of our community, including persons with disabilities, have access to university information. This campus web accessibility policy so serves our community and complies with current legislation and recommended standard practices (see http://accessibility.colostate.edu/.)

2. Policy:

All pages of official CSU University Web sites should conform to the CSU Web Accessibility Standards (see http://accessibility.colostate.edu/CSUstandards). The CSU Web Accessibility Standards shall be integrated into all CSU web page design and training courses. Each department / unit responsible for web pages is responsible for ensuring that its web pages are in compliance with this policy. The university shall support, train and enforce this policy in accordance with the Implementation Timeline included in this document.

A. Exceptions:

Upon specific request, web page content that is inaccessible will be made available to any individual who requires access to that information by revising the web page so that the content is accessible, or through an alternative method. Depending upon the page content, this alternative method could be physical hardcopy, phone, fax, email, traditional mail, etc. The unit responsible for the information on the web page is responsible for providing such access in a timely fashion.

If a user feels that the information remains inaccessible, the individual may file a "Request for Access to Web Resources" with the CSU Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator. Where compliance is not technically possible or may require extraordinary measures due to the nature of the information and the intent of the web page, exceptions to this policy may be granted by the CSU ADA Coordinator. Web resources provided by outside vendors will be held to the same standards and exceptions.

B. Archival web based material and information:

Web based content generated before implementation of this policy will not be held to the same standards as newly generated content. Archival and older content will be made accessible or provided in an alternate format upon specific request.

3. CSU Web Accessibility Policy Implementation Timeline:

A. Implementation.

All official university web pages should be made accessible using the CSU Web Accessibility Standards at the next significant redesign or major revision of the web page, or according to the phases listed in the Appendix, whichever comes first. Web page developers are encouraged to begin incorporating accessibility practices as soon as possible.

B. Links.

This policy will be posted at: http://accessibility.colostate.edu/policy/webaccesspolicy.html. Links to this CSU Web Accessibility policy shall be provided at the following locations:

C. Training.

Continuing Education, Computer Training & Support Services (CTSS) and the Office of Instructional Services (OIS) will incorporate the CSU Web Accessibility Standards in all Web development related programs and trainings by Phase III. New Continuing Education, CTSS and OIS training courses will incorporate the Web Accessibility Standards upon implementation of this policy.

4. Enforcement

Inclusion in the 'CSU A-Z' section of the main CSU home page will be contingent upon a web page meeting the campus Web Accessibility Standards. Web developers should "access-check" their pages using one or more of the automated accessibility checkers, such as

WAVE (http://wave.webaim.org/index.jsp)

Cynthia Says (http://www.cynthiasays.com/ ),

 A-Prompt (http://aprompt.snow.utoronto.ca/ ),

Bobby (http://.watchfire.com/bobby/html/en/index.jsp). NoteAs of February 1, 2008 the Watchfire WebXact and Bobby Online products will no longer be publicly available.

The accessibility of the WebCT interface and any uploaded materials will be the responsibility of the unit which supports WebCT. That unit will work with content providers to ensure that these materials are accessible.

The Division of Continuing Education will be responsible for coursework they host, facilitate or offer. The Division of Continuing Education will work with content provider to ensure access to these materials.

5. Governance of this Policy:

The Information Technology Executive Committee (ITEC) is responsible for this policy, including adoption, modification and change. Changes to this policy are to be widely reviewed by the campus, including the University Information Technology Support Services (UITSS) Committee, the Campus IT Security Committee, the General Counsel, and the Technology Committee for Information and Instructional Planning (TCIIP), prior to being taken to ITEC for their final approval.

Questions concerning this policy may be directed to Patrick J. Burns, Associate Vice President for Information and Instructional Technology, Patrick.Burns@Colostate.edu, 970.491.5778.

Appendix:

Phases for Implementation

I. One year from implementation date of this policy, the following web pages should be compliant with the CSU Web Accessibility Standards:

The unit that provides training for WebCT shall develop a WebCT course development template that meets the Web Accessibility Standards. Other training resources should be identified and encouraged to include the Web Accessibility Standards in their web page design courses.

II. Two years from implementation of this policy, the following web pages should be compliant with the CSU Web Accessibility Standards:

III. At the beginning of the third year, the ADA Coordinator and the director of the Assistive Technology Resource Center will convene a committee to:

Additionally, that committee will review the following web pages to assess whether they can and should be made accessible:

Furthermore, that committee shall assess progress on integrating Web Accessibility Standards into all web design courses and web page training workshops. That committee shall produce a report containing an assessment of progress and recommendations for changes to this policy, and forward that report to the Information Technology Executive Committee (ITEC) for its consideration.