At UAA, valuing diversity is integral to excellence. The UAA 2027 Strategic Plan emphasizes that we will create a culture of equity and inclusion by embracing our diversity. Diversity maximizes our potential for creativity, innovation, educational excellence and outstanding service to our communities. We honor diverse experiences and perspectives—including differences in ideas, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, culture, nationality, age, disability, veteran and socioeconomic status—and strive to create welcoming and inclusive learning environments where all are treated with respect. This policy establishes accessibility standards to ensure access to the University’s web and online content, regardless of an individual’s physical or developmental abilities. UAA websites are expected to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

Policy Statement

To ensure access for persons with disabilities and narrow equity gaps, UAA websites, regardless of how or where published, shall meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). University websites must comply with WCAG 2.1, Conformance Level AA. These internationally recognized guidelines establish standards of accessibility for information in a web page or web application, including information such as text, images, and sounds, as well as code or markup that defines architecture and presentation of web and online content.

Applicability

This policy applies to all websites used to provide university programs, services or activities, which were acquired, developed, distributed, used, purchased or implemented by or for any UAA unit. This policy does not govern instructional materials and academic coursework provided in an online format which may be covered in other policies. This includes:

• Official web pages and associated web-based applications (see Web Page Requirements and Time Frames below) including:
  • Sites hosted in the official UAA IT website infrastructure
  • Sites hosted outside IT infrastructure where the responsibility for the platform and content is carried by a university employee
  • Websites or web-based applications provided by contract with a vendor to provide university services
• Electronic documents posted on UAA websites
  
  • Any documents created or obtained, and disseminated after the effective date of this policy.
  • Electronic documents created or obtained prior to the effective date of the policy and that are disseminated on a web page must comply according to the time frames specified below for web page requirements.
• Multimedia posted on UAA websites
  
  • Any multimedia created or obtained, and disseminated after the effective date of the policy
  • Multimedia created or obtained prior to the effective date of this policy and that is disseminated on a web page must comply according to the time frames specified below for web page requirements.

Web Page Requirements and Time Frames

All new and revised web pages, website templates, and website themes published on or after the effective date of this policy must comply with WCAG 2.1, Conformance Level AA.

• All new and revised web pages must indicate in plain text a method for users having trouble accessing the site to report that inaccessibility.
• When contacted and offered technical assistance, units with identified high priority legacy pages must cooperate with the Associate Director of Student Web Experience to make their web pages consistent with WCAG 2.1, Conformance Level AA. Units will be notified if their legacy pages have been deemed high priority and will be provided technical assistance, as needed. High priority pages are identified as:
  • The top 20% of web pages most frequently visited based on analytics data
  • Pages required for participation, funding, disability-related services, and other key pages needed by people with disabilities not already in the top 20%
  • Other pages determined to be of the most importance in providing university services online (e.g. core institutional information)

Legacy Content

Units with legacy content not deemed high priority are encouraged to phase in changes by identifying issues and improving the accessibility of their pages. Units should remove barriers and narrow equity gaps by making legacy content accessible and bringing it into compliance with WCAG 2.1, Conformance Level AA.

The institutional decision of what constitutes low priority legacy content is to be made by the Associate Director of Student Web Experience in consultation with the affected unit and others with relevant perspective or expertise. Ultimate delineation of priority legacy content rests with the Chancellor or their delegated authority. Nothing stated in this section should be construed as permission to not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.

Grievance Procedure and Reporting

Any person can refer to the university’s Accessibility Grievance Process as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Persons who would like to report a website accessibility grievance may do so through the Accessibility Grievance Process. 

Noncompliant Content

When a web content editor receives a complaint about content accessibility on a UAA website they manage, the individual or department has 30 calendar days to address the complaint by submitting a plan to fix the issues within a reasonable time frame and with action steps that will be taken if the timeline is not met. This plan will be reviewed and approved by the Associate Director of Student Web Experience and Chief Information Officer (CIO). If the content accessibility issue is not addressed within 30 days, the Associate Director of Student Web Experience reserves the right to take the website offline until the issue is resolved.

Individuals found to be repeatedly posting or distributing web content in violation of this policy may be required to complete additional training or repeat an accessibility training program. Subsequent violations may result in the suspension of access to create, edit, or publish web content and/or other disciplinary action in accordance with university policy.