Policy Changes - April 2003
World Wide Web Accessibility Policy Revision - Official Release Announcement
In December 2000, UW-Madison developed and adopted a policy concerning
World Wide Web Accessibility that demonstrated the University's commitment
to making information and communications technologies accessible to individuals
with disabilities. In October 2001 the policy was updated to support the
University's effective use of emerging technologies. Our ultimate success
in achieving accessible information and communication technologies requires
a continual coordination of programmatic needs, technologies and services.
The policy is therefore reviewed regularly to ensure its effectiveness
in an environment of rapidly changing technology. A recent review has
resulted in a second revision. Changes are minimal and are intended to
clarify and simplify the policy. The revisions do not fundamentally alter
the intent, purpose or practice of the policy. The Second Revision Effective
Date is May 1, 2003.
Issued by:
Melany Newby Vice Chancellor for Legal and Executive Affairs, ADA
Coordinator; Annie Stunden Chief Information Officer, Director, Division
of Information Technology
Revision Highlights:
- Focus on the Section 508 Web Design standards. Language in the prior
UW policy point #1 referred to Section 508 standards 1194.1 through
1194.22. In the revised policy standards 1194.1-1194.22 is removed.
This change doesn't impact the rules that web designers follow. Section
508 as written for the Federal Government contains many subsections
that provide guidelines for procurement, statements about exceptions
and software design. The UW chooses to focus this policy on web design,
thus the language in the policy has changed to focus on the web design
portion of Section 508.
- Removal of page creation and page update dating information. The UW
policy point #3 required that designers include a date that the page
was created and a date the page was last updated. This requirement has
been removed.
- Removal of policy point #5. Point #5 had stated, "Faculty shall
make known if a course uses Web sites requiring graphical user interfaces,
interactive screens, visualization tools, or use of audio material to
demonstrate or explain key instructional material. In these cases, it
is recommended that individuals with disabilities consult with faculty
for academic guidance. "
This language was removed. Faculty on this campus have resources that
can assist them with the use of technology. The resources on campus
such as DoIT's Academic Technology Solutions can assist faculty with
the implement of technology used for instruction on the web. This is
not addressed in the policy.
- Policy point #6 addressed text-only web sites. This point has been
removed. Section 508 Standard (k) refers to text-only pages. Removing
this point eliminated repetition.
Summary:
The revisions to the policy should have a minimal effect on design. If
you have questions or concerns about the policy revisions, please contact
your department's technical staff or feel free to contact the DoIT Help
Desk for a response from DoIT.
Return to the introduction of the UW Policy.
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