An accessible IT environment generally enhances usability for everyone. By supporting IT accessibility, the University helps ensure that as broad a population as possible is able to access, benefit from, and contribute to its electronic programs and services.
University of California Office of the President
ITS (Information Technology Services) brought together a team of Advisors, Core members and Specialists to create guidelines and resources to help all at UCSF meet our digital accessibility policy.
The policy is that our digital communications and services be just as accessible to persons with disabilities as our facilities and programs are. UCSF is inclusive from the core. The technology of the internet, once a revolution of inclusivity, with all its innovations, now inadvertently can exclude users with disabilities.
To help keep to our policy and values while innovating to meet the demands of UCSFs mission, we offer Digital Accessibility:
- Guidelines: How to meet the criteria
- Training: Classes, videos, online training, events and tailored to your department presentations and training
- Advice: How to plan, use the resources of UCSF and work with vendors
The “digital” of digital accessibility refers to communication that is digitally transmitted, for example: web, apps, emails, PDFs, etcetera. It does not include physical accessibility like alternatives to stairs and automatic door openers. Information about physical access can be found at UCSF Disability Resources.
Universal Design
Our content should engage WCAG 2.0’s 4 Principles and 12 Guidelines, commonly referred to by the acronym POUR: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust: Although these are for the web, the ideas can apply to all digital documents, so they are referred to often.
Perceivable
Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive.
- Text-based alternatives for non-text content
- Alternative options for time-sensitive media
- Simpler layout options for complex information
- Multimedia that allows people to see and hear easily
Operable
User interface components and navigation must be operable.
- Functionally accessible through a keyboard
- Enough time for people to view content at their own pace
- No flashing images that could induce seizures
- Intuitive navigation that grants easy access
Understandable
Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable.
- Text content must be legible and comprehensible
- Predictable functionality for web-driven content
- Logical structure to help users avoid or correct mistakes
Robust
Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.
- Current standards for web accessibility are met
- Information is appropriately classified and tagged
The Many Benefits of Digital Accessibility
At the heart of the UCSF accessibility policy is the concept that accessible websites benefit every site visitor with well-designed, easy-to-navigate sites.
As an educational institution, health care provider and employer, we compete for the attention of professors, potential students, patients, new hires, and others. If one of them (for example, a talented School of Medicine master’s program applicant) cannot read our application page, we run the risk of losing that applicant to a university that delivers fully accessible content.
- Enhanced SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Search engines rank structured content more highly
- Socially responsible: As a public entity, UC is held to the highest standards of access
- Cleaner navigation: Works without a mouse
- Ease of use for all users: Expanded user control
- Device independence: Desktop, laptop, mobile, tablet, etcetera
- More inclusive workplace: People with disabilities constitute 5-10% of our workforce
- Bimodal presentation: Can improve speech perceptibility
- Allows for more cost effective online interaction: Reduces calls and visits
The Laws ADA, 504, 508 and How They Relate to WCAG
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 require that public universities provide qualified individuals with disabilities equal access to their programs, services, and activities unless doing so would fundamentally alter them or impose an undue burden.
In addition, Section 508 of the same act requires federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. Thus, public universities must provide equally effective access to information to people with disabilities, independent of the format.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are part of a series of web accessibility guidelines published by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the main international standards organization for the Internet.
WCAG 2.0 is a stable, referenceable technical standard. It has 12 guidelines that are organized under 4 principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. For each guideline, there are testable success criteria, which are at three levels: A, AA, and AAA.
Meeting WCAG 2.0 also fulfills the web requirements for section 508, so generally web developers use WCAG 2.0 as the standard.