The Americans with Disabilities Act mandates that UC Santa Cruz, as an educational instutition, make its programs, services, and activities accessible to, and usable by, people with disabilities. When faculty and staff use the Internet to provide information, they are required to make that information accessible to those using adaptive technology.

In an effort to improve the accessibility of campus web content, a Web Accessibility Subcommittee (which reports to the Web and Portal Readiness Committee) has been created. Their charge is as follows:

• Establish and publicize a web accessibility policy based on Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, including enforcement mechanisms and a timeline for compliance;
• Perform an assessment of the UCSC site to assess the extent to which campus web content is inaccessible, determine the most common areas of non-compliance with the accessibility guidelines, and identify sub-sites most in need of improvement; (results of the assessment are now available for revue).
• Develop and provide training and tools targeted to problem areas and core services;
• Reassess the site and provide further assistance where problems persist.

Resources

Section 508 Guidelines: The federal government maintains a web site to educate the public about Section 508. One of their secondary pages lists the rules for accessible web content.

New as of September 2002: "Beyond ALT Text: Making the Web Easy to Use for Users with Disabilities" is a usability study done with people who use adaptive technology. UCSC's Division of Business and Administrative Services has purchased a site license, allowing campus constituents only to download the PDF as needed.