My latest University Business column is now available in the September issue as well as online (on the new UB website powered by Drupal!): “Web Accessibility: Required, Not Optional”
In this column, I explain why you should focus on web accessibility ASAP.
Not just because it’s the right thing to do for your users with a disability (even if it is, obviously), but because it’s the law. And, the lawyer of the National Federation of the Blind, Daniel Goldstein, has made clear he is on a mission to make things change for the better in higher education – even if it requires filing formal complaints against universities and colleges who don’t comply with the law:
Until colleges put procedures in place to ensure purchases comply with the law, stop offering grants to faculty to develop online courses without a plan to make those courses accessible, fix their websites, and implement policies to ensure those websites stay accessible, warned Goldstein, they will be at risk of further liability.
I’ve compiled a lot of facts, stats and talking points in this 1,400-word column to help you make the case for web accessibility at your institution.
So, make sure you share the link or print it for your boss. It will make you look good and well-informed as web accessibility will be the talk of the town at both the High Ed Web and the EDUCAUSE conferences next month.
