Accessibility Procedures

This is a supporting document to the UALR Web Accessibility Policy.

Process

New public-access Web pages are checked for compliance by Computing Services before links from the UALR Web site to those pages are made. Internet content that does not pass the Priority 1 Guidelines will not be linked.

Computing Services runs campus-wide accessibility checks approximately every six months. Departments or programs not in compliance with Priority 1 Guidelines will receive a warning and will be given two weeks (for online course content) or four weeks (for public-access Internet content) to make the Internet content accessible. After that time, if necessary changes are not made the links to the content may be deactivated, and notification will be sent. For online course content when a student with a disability is enrolled in the class, the goal is to have materials available to this student at the same time the materials are available to other students. It is understood that in some circumstances a short delay may be unavoidable. Access to course content through an alternative means should be used when there is a delay in making the course content accessible online. Technical assistance is available through Computing Services. Faculty and staff should plan ahead to make Internet content, whether it’s a public-access Web site or course information, accessible from the initial stages of design. Failure to do so may result in emergency retrofit projects to make Internet content accessible to students with disabilities who enroll in an online course.

Online course material must be accessible to students with disabilities at the same time it is available to any other student enrolled in that program. Because of staff limitations, assistance may be limited for emergency projects. An exception to the above is that for complex graphics a simple alt tag may be used instead of a more detailed one until a student with a disability enrolls in the course. For example, the alt tag might read, “Graph showing an increase in sales. If a disability accommodation is needed, contact the instructor immediately.” Once made aware that a student needs a disability accommodation, the instructor should refer that student to the Disability Resource Center, and work closely with them in creating more detailed descriptions and/or tactile graphics. Another exception is that transcripts for online course video streams will not be produced until a student who needs them is enrolled (contact the Disability Resource Center).

In the event that inaccessible off-campus sites are required for a course, faculty will work with the Disability Resource Center in determining how best to make that information accessible. The solution may be as simple as copying and pasting the information into a word processing program.

Faculty are required to include the current Disability Statement on each syllabus.

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Policy History

Soon after the original policy went into effect on September 29, 1998, Computing Services ran accessibility checks on all existing Web sites. In October of 1998, departments were advised on how to make the necessary corrections and assistance was offered to anyone who needed it. Periodic checks have been run since that time and persons responsible for inaccessible Internet content were notified and corrections were made. These current policy changes reflect the need to explicitly include online course content and to streamline the process for ensuring compliance. Other changes include separating policy from process; adding information about resources and technical assistance; and updating outdated information.

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Additional Recommendations

Web Design Classes

According to the law, state, federal, and federally funded institutions’ Internet content, and Web sites must be accessible. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that faculty and staff who teach classes on Web design inform their students about these legal requirements and accessibility guidelines.

Going Beyond Priority 1 Guidelines

Priority 1 Guidelines satisfy minimal accessibility standards (see Quick Tips section below). However, UALR strongly encourages going beyond these minimal requirements. It is recommended that Internet content providers adhere to the Priority 2 and Priority 3 Guidelines. For more information go to W3C/WAI or contact Computing Services (see Technical Assistance Available on Campus, below).

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Helpful Resources

Summary of Priority 1 Guidelines

This brief document explains the basic requirements of the Priority 1 Web Content Accessibility Guidelines in terminology that may be more clear to many designers.
View Summary of the Basic Requirements of the Priority 1 Guidelines

Quick Tips to Make Accessible Web Sites^{[See footnote 1]}

For Complete Guidelines & Checklist: www.w3.org/WAI/

Images & animations: Use the alt attribute to describe the function of each visual.
Image maps: Use the client-side map and text for hotspots.
Multimedia: Provide captioning and transcripts of audio, and descriptions of video.
Hypertext links: Use text that makes sense when read out of context. For example, avoid “click here.”
Page organization: Use headings, lists, and consistent structure. Use CSS for layout and style where possible.
Graphs & charts: Summarize or use the longdesc attribute.
Scripts, applets, & plug-ins: Provide alternative content, in case active features are inaccessible or unsupported.
Frames: Use the noframes element and meaningful titles.
Tables: Make line-by-line reading sensible. Summarize.
Check your work: Validate. Use tools, checklist, and guidelines at http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG

Self-Assessment Tools

: AccMonitor is a tool that allows UALR Computing Services to check all sites on UALR’s Internet servers and generate reports that list accessibility problems. AccVerify is a software application that can be downloaded to your PC. It allows you to both check your site and make repairs. Both are products of HiSoftware and are made available to UALR faculty, staff, and administrators through Project PACE with a grant from the Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education (Award #P333A990056)..
View UALR Accessibility Reports | View Instructions for Downloading AccVerify
: The A-Prompt software tool examines Web pages for barriers to accessibility, performs automatic repairs when possible, and assists the author in manual repairs when necessary.
Learn more about A-Prompt
: This free service will allow you to test web pages and help expose and repair barriers to accessibility and encourage compliance with existing accessibility guidelines, such as Section 508 and the W3C’s WCAG. The report can be customized to include the guidelines to which you wish to conform.
Try Bobby Online
: The Cynthia Says™ portal is an online validation tool that is powered by HiSoftware Technology. The user can customize the tool to check for compliance to the preferred guidelines. This tool only checks pages already on the Internet. It does not check local files.
Try Cynthia Says
: WAVE 3.0 provides a more visual output in its accessibility report. A good tool for those who are new to Web accessibility, it also provides you with the option of installing WAVE into the toolbar of your browser. WAVE can check both URLs and local files.
Try WAVE 3.0 Accessibility Tool
: The W3C Markup Validation Service checks HTML documents for conformance to W3C HTML and XHTML Recommendations and other HTML standards. This tool allows you to check pages on the Web or HTML documents still on your hard drive.
Try the W3C Markup Validator

Accessible Design Resources


: This site provides a variety of resources related to Web Accessibility including an accessibility checklist and and easy to follow introduction to creating accessible Web pages.
View UALR Project PACE Web Resource on Web Accessibility

: The Trace Center provides an extensive list of resources related to Web accessibility.
Trace Center’s Resource on Designing More Usable Websites
: This online training offers three separate tracks that target Developers, Trainers, and Coordinators. It covers the whys and hows of accessibility as well as offering suggestions for training and working with others on implementing accessibility within an organization.
Log in to WebAIM 2003 Online Training
This comprehensive training package is made available to UALR faculty and staff through Project PACE with a grant from the Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education (Award #P333A990056).
: It is the goal of WebAIM (Web Accessibility in Mind) to improve accessibility to online learning opportunities for individuals with disabilities through the dissemination of training and materials. This site includes an extensive number of tutorials and resources on Web Accessibility.
Learn more about WebAIM
: WAI, in coordination with organizations around the world, pursues accessibility of the Web through five primary areas of work: technology, guidelines, tools, education and outreach, and research and development. [from WAI website]
Learn more about the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)

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Technical Assistance Available on Campus

Aaron Baker
Web Services Coordinator
Office of the Provost
569-3204
adbaker@ualr.edu

Daniel Spillers
Project Manager
Computing Services
569-3345
djspillers@ualr.edu

Melanie Thornton
Director
Project PACE
569-8410
mpthornton@ualr.edu

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Campus Plan For Web Accessibility Communication and Training

The Provost will send a message to all full-time faculty and staff the 3rd or 4th week of each fall and spring semester providing information about the Web Accessibility Policy. This will include resources, technical assistance, and training available.
Department chairs and directors are responsible for communicating to their faculty and staff that accessibility requirements will be met when designing or modifying Internet content, including content in online courses.
Information and training will be provided to new department chairs during their orientation.
Information and training will be provided for department chairs during their fall meeting or other regularly scheduled meetings.
More in-depth training sessions will be held for faculty and Web designers during fall faculty professional development days.
Information and training will be available on request for individual departments or colleges.
The WebAlM Online Training Course is available at any time: http://www.ualr.edu/pace/webaim/. This training package is made available through Project PACE with a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education.
Accessibility information is already being provided as a part of all STaR WebCT training on campus.
Accessibility information is already being provided as part of Computing Services Web design courses.

[1] © W3C (MIT, INRIA, Keio) 2001/01 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, European Research Consortium for Informatics and Mathematics, Keio University (2001). Quick tips to make accessible websites. Retrieved October 21, 2003, from the Web Accessibility Initiative Website: http://www.w3.org/WAI/References/QuickTips/.

Updated 3.13.2008

University of Arkansas at Little Rock

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