Impact of Accessibility Laws on Universities

Over the years, numerous federal and state laws have sought to mandate telecommunications accessibility. The proliferation of web multimedia has outpaced accessibility initiatives, however, leaving many disabled students more disadvantaged than ever before. Many higher education institutions have been reactive, not proactive, in their response to these developments and thus we may find ourselves at a disadvantage as accessibility laws tighten.

As we work towards coordinating accessibility within our university it can be time consuming, laborious, and sometimes overwhelming. Furthermore, the spectrum of disabilities makes it difficult to create educational content that is universally accessible. However, we have no choice but to tackle this challenge head on.  After all, in the age of online education, proper accessibility accommodations are what make the difference between a student’s success and failure.

The Center for EIR Accessibility webpages is my commitment to provide accessibility information and solutions that helps our staff and faculty work towards being inclusive to making online courses, videos, websites, and documents usable by people and our students of all abilities and disabilities.

Lydia Harkey

EIR Accessibility Program Manager