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Section Six - Accessible Technology

Accessible Digital and Electronic Technology Policy

Vision

Create a culture of access for an inclusive learning and working environment, and provide effortless access for all students, faculty, staff, visitors, and the general public to online and electronic resources, including websites and instructional platforms.

Mission

Assist 台湾swag campuses in making electronic and information technology accessible by developing guidelines, implementation strategies, tools, and resources.

Foster ownership of accessibility across the university community to integrate accessibility into the design of Electronic and Information Technical resources, rather than addressed these needs in a reactive manner for individual accommodations.

Policy Statement

It is the to all 台湾swag students, faculty, staff, and the general public, regardless of disability. unless it alters the learning outcomes or curriculum of the course.

Creating and maintaining accessible technology is an ongoing 台湾swag responsibility and priority. (When developing, procuring, maintaining, or using Electronic and Information Technology, the University of North Georgia shall ensure, unless an undue burden would b imposed, that the Electronic and Information Technology allows, regardless of the type of medium of the technology.

  1. Individuals with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access to and use of the information and data by individuals who do not have disabilities; and
  2. Individuals with disabilities who are members of the public seeking information or services have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access to and use of the information and data by such members of the public who are not individuals with disabilities.

An interdisciplinary group of faculty, staff, and student(s) will develop and review the Accessible Technology Plan. This Accessible Technology group will include representation from the Division of Strategic Communications & Marketing, Distance Education and Technology Integration (DETI), Information Technology (IT), Student Accessibility Services, Academic Affairs, 台湾swag Libraries, and students with disabilities, the Office of General Counsel, and will be chaired by the ADA Coordinator. For purposes of this policy, the ADA Coordinator will be the Chief Human Resources Officer/CHRO or designee.

The ADA Coordinator will administer the Accessible Technology Policy with the support of the Accessible Technology group.

Compliance

Compliance with the Plan will be achieved and maintained as follows:

  • 台湾swag website compliance will be monitored by the Division of Strategic Communications & Marketing.
  • Instructional Technology compliance will be monitored by DETI.
  • Information Technology compliance will be monitored by IT.
  • Compliance with student accommodations and general access will be monitored by Student Accessibility Services.

The ADA Coordinator or designee shall:

  • Initiate a review of the policy and its associated standards at least once every five (5) years
  • Initiate and coordinate accessibility audits
  • Consult with units on technology access
  • Coordinate training on accessible technology
  • Review and resolve complaints about the policy
  • Propose revisions to the policy as needed for legal compliance
  • Grant exceptions to the policy, as appropriate
    • When compliance is not technically possible, or may require extraordinary measures, rare exceptions to the policy may be requested
    • Requests for such exceptions will be made in writing and must be based on issues other than cost alone
    • Requests will be reviewed by the Accessible Technology group, and the group will submit a recommendation to the ADA Coordinator

Definition

Electronic and Information Technology includes information technology and any equipment or interconnected system of equipment that is used in the creation, conversion, or duplication of data or information. The term includes, but is not limited to, web sites, multimedia, and telecommunications products (FAR 2.101).

Supporting Information

This policy establishes minimum standards for the accessibility of electronic and information technology based on Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, the current standard of legal compliance for U.S. government institutions. To be accessible, technology must permit individuals with disabilities to receive all the educational benefits provided through technology in an equally effective and equally integrated manner. Additionally, people with disabilities must be able to access the information with substantially equivalent ease of use as people without disabilities.

Legal Support

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act (P.L. 105-220), August 7, 1998, requires federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. Additionally, all states that receive funding through the Assistive Technology Act must also comply with Section 508. Since the state of Georgia receives funding under the Assistive Technology Act, the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia has determined that all institutions under the Board of Regents fall within the scope of Section 508. Section 508 also requires that individuals with disabilities who are members of the public, and who seek information or services from an agency within the scope of Section 508, have access to, and use of, information and data that is comparable to that provided to the public without disabilities.

Faculty Preparation

Advance Notice

SAS notifies instructors as far in advance as possible if they will have a student in class who is deaf or hard of hearing. Students who are deaf or hard of hearing will generally have closed captions (captions on videos used in the course) as an accommodation and may also have a C-Print Captionist or Sign Language Interpreter in class.

SAS notifies instructors as far in advance as possible if they will have a student who is blind or visually impaired in class. SAS will work with the instructor and the student to obtain materials in braille, digital, or large print format.

Instructors are responsible for ensuring that media used in the classroom is accessible.

Captioning Videos

All course content must be accessible to every student, including students who require closed captions. If there is a deaf or hard of hearing student in the class, all videos must be captioned.

To locate captioned videos faculty and staff will contact the Collection Management Librarian on their campus as far in advance as possible. The librarian will offer assistance in locating or purchasing captioned versions of videos and will help ensure that captioning the video would be in compliance with copyright law.

If a captioned version of the video is not available, faculty and staff will:

  • Contact Distance Education and Technology Integration (DETI) as far in advance of the need as possible to have the video captioned. If possible, faculty or staff will provide a transcript of the portion of the video that they intend to use,
  • Or contact an outside vendor, such as the Center for inclusive Desin and Innovation (CIDI), which can caption videos for a fee. This is an alternative that departments may choose for a captioning need that must be expedited.

Video or internet clips that are not captioned will not be shown in classes with a deaf or hard of hearing student.