UC Systemwide Electronic Accessibility Efforts

The systemwide UC Information Technology Accessibility Policy has been approved and is effective as of August 27, 2013. The policy promotes and supports an accessible IT Leadershipenvironment Council (ITLC) formedwithin the University. By supporting IT accessibility, the University helps ensure that as broad a population as possible is able to access, benefit from, and contribute to its electronic programs and services.

The Electronic Accessibility Leadership Team (EALT)will in April 2010continue to provide systemwide strategic direction fordevelop initiatives to enhance the accessibility to University electronic resources for all individuals and particularly those with disabilities. The EALT seeks to promote the sharing of best-practicesPolicy and toolsfoster amongcommunication between the campuses,campuses and buildUCOP. collaborative relationships with the California State University system and other institutions to advance common goals.

Each campus has at least one representative participating in the EALT. Under the Policy, each campus or other UC location is charged with developing an implementation plan. This process is now underway.

For reference, this is the official Policy document .

The Problem

Persons with disabilities (visual, auditoryauditory, motor or motorcognitive impairments, among others)impairments) often use adaptive hardware or software to access computers and other sources of electronic information. The way the electronic data is created, coded and presented can make it impossible for adaptive technology to interpret.

Governmental Response

In 2001, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act created standards for Federal agencies and contractors, defining 16 parameters for accessible software and Web design. The text of the Section 508 rules can be found under “Section 508 Law” at www.section508.gov . The documents are under review, with possible revisions in 2013.2014.

Industry Guidelines

TheIn 2008 the W3C has also released Version 2.0 of its Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 . These address technologies beyond Section 508 (Javascript, PDF, Flash, among others). These guidelines have gained international recognition, and their Level AA Criteria are the target under the UC Policy.

Practical Implementation

The EALT has created Accessible Web Design Resourcesresources to collect best practices foracross Webseveral designers.categories. For those already familiar with basic accessibility concepts, theThe DesignContent TipsDevelopers section and Technical Topics pages will be the most immediatelyrelevant useful.for coders and Web authors.

Developers and project managers may refer to the Guidelines for ContentWeb Developers section

Work is also underway on Procurement and Productproduct
Accessibility .accessibility.

Accessibility Testing Ssoftware

UC has a contract for the AMP software from SSB Bart Group. This allows automated tests and monitoring of large websites, as well as creation of detailed status reports. Any UC web professional may sign up forcreate an account.account Detailsusing areUCLA’s at:Single Sign On.: AMP Web Accessibility Testing Tool .

Support at UCLA

For demonstrations of adaptive technologies, discussion of Web accessibility techniques, and accessibility reviews of existing sites, please contact the UCLA Disabilities and Computing Program . The DCP will produce documents and launch training initiatives to inform the campus about the Policy throughout 2013-14.