Federal compliance requirements for digital accessibility

— By Margo Griffith, ADA/504 coordinator

As you prepare for the academic year, please ensure digital accessibility of your websites and social media accounts. Educational institutions have Federal requirements to ensure equal access to the digital environment (learning management systems, web content and social media) for all individuals including the UAF community and the public.

Websites and social media pages must:

• Meet WCAG 2AA standard,
• Contain required language in footers,
• Provide contact information in the case content is inaccessible,
• Have accessible contents including images, videos, forms, documents, and third-party resources/portals, and
• An internal written protocol for the site’s maintenance containing
• Designated individual (admin) responsible for the account,
• Accessibility check process and practice for remediating inaccessible items.

To assist you in ensuring UAF is using best practice and is compliant with Federal regulations, UAF's University Relations has posted website standards, resources to assist with web and social media services, the required language for web footers, and tools with training for running accessibility checks. 

When partnering with University Relations or OIT in creating websites and social media accounts many of these requirements are addressed for you. However, if you create or utilize a third-party vendor for your page and social media accounts, you have a much greater responsibility to ensure these requirements are in place and maintaining the page. I strongly encourage you to work with University Relations or OIT for efficiency and the best outcome in meeting these standards.

For more information about accessibility, in general, please visit the Equity and Compliance Accessibility and Accommodations page.

Thank you for your efforts in making UAF an inclusive and welcoming place for all individuals.Stay tuned for further information on digital accessibility.