NCDAE Accessibility Newsletter - November 2012

Featured Article: Recent Legal Issues in Higher Education and Web Accessibility

This blog post provides an overview of recent legal complaints and resolutions that affect web accessibility in higher education.

http://ncdae.org/blog/recent-legal-issues/

Web Accessibility Law in Higher Education

This post provides a quick glance at the three most significant laws regarding web accessibility in higher education- Section 508, The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Section 504.

http://ncdae.org/blog/web-accessibility-law/

Legal Costs Can be Big to Defend Inaccessible Web Content in Postsecondary Education

The cost that may result from legal action is a strong incentive for institutions of higher education to improve their efforts to make web content accessible for those who benefit from it. This article outlines some of the costs incurred when litigation is the last resort.

http://ncdae.org/resources/articles/legalcosts.php

A Framework for Including Web Accessibility Efforts in Your Reaffirmation Materials

In an ongoing effort to help institutions capitalize on their web accessibility efforts, GOALS has developed a Template for Institutional Web Accessibility Activities that can be used to promote accessibility efforts during reaffirmation of accreditation. This template is based on the Best Practices for Institution-Wide Web Accessibility featured in September's Newsletter.

http://ncdae.org/goals/accreditation/template.php

Featured Resource: IT Accessibility Video

The Access Computing project recently presented a video entitled "IT Accessibility: What Campus Leaders Have to Say." This video features presidents, CIOs, and IT staff from institutions in higher education presenting the need for technology to be accessible for all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnsB6YCHVXA&feature=youtu.be

In the News

How Accessible are Google Apps?

Although Google continues to improve the accessibility of their applications, The Access Technology Higher Education Network (ATHEN) has found that many accessibility issues still need to be addressed.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2012/11/14/how-accessible-are-google-apps/

Making the Digital World Accessible to Everyone

High profile companies in the UK, Australia, and the Unites States have been sued for inaccessible content on their websites, and yet web accessibility is still seldom mentioned in the media.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dominic-tarn/making-the-digital-world-_b_2157270.html