The Law
According to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, any electronic information or technology that we develop, purchase, maintain or use must provide equitable access and use for individuals with disabilities. The access and use must be comparable to that provided to individuals without disabilities. To learn more visit the U. S. General Services Administration 508 website.
Definition of Accessible
"Accessible" means a person with a disability is afforded the opportunity to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as a person without a disability in an equally effective and equally integrated manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use. The person with a disability must be able to obtain the information as fully, equally and independently as a person without a disability. Although this might not result in identical ease of use compared to that of persons without disabilities, it still must ensure equal opportunity to the educational benefits and opportunities afforded by the technology and equal treatment in the use of such technology. (Office of Civil Rights in the Resolution agreement with South Carolina Technical College System, 2/18/13)
Universal Design
Universal Design, or Inclusive Design, is the design and creation of environments both physical and digital that can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people regardless of their age, physical stature, preferences, disability or ability. It should be a fundamental goal to design environments that meet the needs of all people. Incorporating the needs of all people results in spaces, products and service that are useful, beneficial and enjoyable for all.
Developing your electronic materials using Universal Design principles is easy and simply, good design. To learn more review the Universal Design tab at the top of this page.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Many institutions for higher learning and the eLearning community at large have adopted the criteria for accessibility of online content outlined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) set the bar for creators and developers of web content, which covers eLearning web-based platforms such as Moodle. To read more about WCAG 2.1 visit the W3C website.
Third Party Materials
When you require materials provided by a third party (e.g. a publisher textbook supplement site) ensure the materials you choose are accessible. If materials are not accessible provide an accessible, equitable alternative. Contact CAT with questions or for further direction as needed.
At Otterbein, we value inclusion on all levels and making our websites and digital content accessible to all people is one aspect of that mission. Having well designed, simple, organized and consistent content assists all people who access our website and digital learning platforms. Having documents that are machine readable assists not only people with vision issues, but also English language learners, people with processing challenges and dyslexia to name a few.