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In accordance with the American with Disabilities Act and Florida Atlantic , Â鶹ŮÀÉ ("Â鶹ŮÀÉ") is committed to providing reasonable accommodations. As part of this commitment, Â鶹ŮÀÉ affords equal access and opportunity to University students, employees, and job applicants with disabilities. As part of this commitment, the University seeks to ensure that no qualified individual with a disability is excluded from participation or denied the benefits of services, programs, or activities of the University, or subjected to discrimination or lack of access by the University. Qualified individuals with disabilities may be entitled to reasonable accommodations and/or equal access to programs and services that can include a change or exception to a rule or policy.

Accessible Technology Information

Â鶹ŮÀÉ (Â鶹ŮÀÉ) is obligated to comply with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). Title II of the ADA has specific requirements about how to ensure accessibility of web and digital content. Â鶹ŮÀÉ's website designers, developers, content creators, departmental website managers must ensure that websites and content they manage and create are accessible to users with disabilities.

What may be considered characteristics associated with web and digital accessibility? 

• Vision impairments. People who are blind or have low vision may use either audible devices such as screen readers or tactile devices such as braille tools.
• Dyslexia. People with dyslexia may use audible devices and software that highlights words and phrases. 
• Physical disability. People with physical disabilities affecting their use of hands can experience difficulties using a mouse or keyboard, and may need assistive technology to help.
• Hearing impairments. People who are deaf or hard of hearing may use audio devices or caption transcription.

How can you review your website and digital content?

• Conduct a manual review. Tools such as Accessibility Insights from Microsoft, WAVE, or web browsers with built in accessibility tools can help review to review websites and digital content.
• Test navigating your content with your keyboard. Accessibility checkers such as WAVE, Silktide, or Microsoft Accessibility Checker may help determine if the website is navigable without a mouse.
• Use accessibility checkers. Accessibility checkers such as Accessibility Insights from Microsoft, WAVE, or web browsers have built in accessibility tools.
• Get help - the Office of Information Technology (OIT) or Office of Student Accessibility Services (SAS)

What checks should be considered for websites and digital content? 

The following items are checkpoints Â鶹ŮÀÉ designers, developers, content creators, and department website managers can use to help identify the digital accessibility content that will need to be fix.

Checkpoints for Webpages

1. Navigation. Are there keyboard mechanisms in place that allow users to bypass and skip blocks of content on the webpage?
2. Keyboard navigation. Are there keyboard mechanisms in place that allow users to navigate all the webpage menus, links, buttons, and other controls by only the keyboard?
3. Popups. Are pop-up menus, documents, tools, and other content accessible? 
4. Color contrast. Is the contrast between text and background colors sufficient? 
5. Flashing and Flickering content. Have you removed and avoided using flashing and flickering content? Flashing and flickering content may trigger seizures.
6. Auto Updating Content. Can graphics and webpage carousels be paused or avoid these features? 
7. Enlarge Text. Are content scales operable when text is enlarged? 
8. Finding Content on the Webpage. Does the website have navigation tools that offer multiple ways to find content.
9. Tab and Read Order. Are the tab and read order logical and intuitive? 
10. Webpage and Document Titles. Do the headings form an outline of the page content?

Checkpoints for Audio and Video Content

1. Captions. Does your webpage include recorded videos with captions for people who cannot hear the audio? 
2. Audio description. Does your webpage include recorded videos with visual content that include audio descriptions? 
3. Transcription. Does your webpage provide recorded audio transcripts?
4. Live captions. Are captions available for your live meetings and events?

Checkpoints for PDF Documents

1. PDF creation best practice. It is best to start with creating a document in Microsoft Word using an accessibility checker, then convert to PDF. Are you using Microsoft Word with an accessibility checker to create your documents? 
2. PDF checks. Are you using Adobe Pro to check your PDF document's accessibility? 
3. Tab and Read Order. Are the tab and read order logical and intuitive? 
4. Titles. Does your webpage or document include titles that describe the topic or purpose? 
5. Navigation. Are there keyboard mechanisms in place that allow users to bypass and skip blocks of content in the PDF?

Where can I get help? 

Â鶹ŮÀÉ has community members in OIT and SAS eager to help and support web and digital accessibility concerns. These departments hosts a wide variety of trainings and workshops focused on web and digital accessibility. Feel free to contact OIT and SAS for information about training workshops and resource information. 

Helpful Tools and Resources

• Adobe Acrobat Pro Accessibility Checker is a resource from Acrobat that has built in accessibility features.
• Office 365 Accessibility Checker is a resource from Microsoft that uses built in accessibility checker in Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and other Office 365 products. 
• PAVE Web Tool to Check PDF Accessibility is a free web based service that helps check PDFs for accessibility. 
• WAVE is an online tool that evaluates web page accessibility and shows results. 
• Accessibility Insights is a tool from Microsoft that checks accessibility.
• Colour Contrast Analyser is a software application that is available in Windows and Mac versions. Helps check foreground and background color combinations. 
• WCAG Contrast Checker for Firefox is color contrast check that flags color combinations that fail WCAG color contrast requirements.
• Alt Text tools such as Image Accessibility Creator is a resource provided by Arizona State University to help draft Alt Text and Long Description for images and complex graphics and charts. 
• Screen Readers such as NVDA is a free open source screen reader for Windows. Narrator is Microsoft's screen reader, which is built into Windows. VoiceOver is Apple's screen reader, which is built into Mac and iOS devices. 

ADA Accessibility Committee

Purpose

The ADA Accessibility Committee was established by the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX (OCR9). The primary mission of this committee is to prevent physical facility accessibility issues or address them as they arise or are identified. This includes, but is not limited to, barrier removal in existing facilities, and development of policies to ensure compliance with codes and standards in facilities for future design.

The philosophy of this committee is to positively influence the University by setting the standard on meeting the needs of people with disabilities, not just meeting the minimum accessibility standards required by law. The University is committed to making all reasonable efforts to ensure all Â鶹ŮÀÉ campuses are truly accessible to all people.

Protocol

The ADA Accessibility Committee is chaired by the ADA Coordinator and as a general rule meets monthly. In addition to addressing accessibility issues which require an immediate response, the Committee also

• Makes policy recommendations which corresponds with the University's goal of meeting the needs of people with disabilities,
• Identifies maintenance issues that affect campus accessibility, and
• Updates the University's transition plan

We encourage a diverse committee to accurately represent the University and the disabled community, and we welcome your input.

ADA Compliance

Â鶹ŮÀÉ is dedicated to the philosophy of equal opportunity to all goods, services, benefits, facilities, and privileges for all in the most integrated setting. The University is committed to providing an environment free from discrimination, protecting the rights and dignity of potential and current employees, students, and visitors regardless of disability status. Â鶹ŮÀÉ works to ensure that individuals with disabilities are treated fairly and equal to individuals without disabilities in all University activities including, but not limited to, employment, academia, services, benefits, social events, activities, and research on any of Â鶹ŮÀÉ’s campuses.

Â鶹ŮÀÉ complies with all federal, state, and local laws and guidelines that provide individuals with disabilities protection, including, but is not limited to: , as amended through 1998,  , as amended, Ìý,Ìý , and  which require that otherwise qualified individuals may not, on the basis of disability, be denied access to, participation in, or the benefits of any program or activity operated by the University.

It is further the policy of the University to enable individuals with disabilities to participate as independently as possible, facilitating enhancement of campus life and enrichment of the University community as a whole. People with disabilities must be full members of the educational community. Â鶹ŮÀÉ recognizes that traditional methods, programs, and services may not accommodate the needs of some individuals with disabilities. It is important to keep in mind that each person's situation is unique and must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Discrimination against a qualified individual with a disability, in any form, undermines the mission and values of the University, negatively affects the careers, education and experiences of the entire Â鶹ŮÀÉ community, and will not be tolerated. Each member of the University community has the responsibility to ensure that this policy is enacted in their daily practice.