Information anytime, anywhere has been the stated goal of distributed information services. We accept this goal and want to extend it: Information anytime, anywhere-- and for anyone. Accordingly, we offer proposals intended to help Web designers, software developers, and other members of the University community who create and disseminate electronic information resources reach the widest possible audience.

This report proposes policies and practices designed to create an infrastructure for digital accessibility, beginning with the adoption of the "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines" published in May 1999 by the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative. Accessible design is universal design. Thus, creating an infrastructure for digital accessibility will serve students, faculty, and staff with disabilities. It will also serve the needs of anyone on- or off-campus, including people with disabilities and other members of the public, who needs access to the University's online information and services, whether they use a desktop computer, a handheld device, or a telephone. Thus a department head on her way to a conference across the country might use her cellphone to call Web Central and have it read aloud up to date information from the Provost's site. A student who has lost the use of his hands uses his Accessibility Preferences diskette to log in to a computer in the SMF, where he checks his email and sends a message to the message-board on a class Web site. A Finance instructor emails a set of charts and graphs for the next day's PowerPoint lecture to braillegraph@uts.cc.utexas.edu (a fictitious address), where a student employee runs a program that automatically converts the files to Braille; the converted files are delivered to the classroom at the beginning of class.

The University has experienced explosive growth in network usage over the past decade. We have gone from 711 static IP addresses in 1990 to over 36,000 today (IT Quicknotes, no. 69, May 24, 1999). Clearly driven by the Web, much of this fifty-fold expansion has taken place since the initial release of Netscape Navigator in November 1994. Since the campus "State of Computing" conference in 1997, moreover, Administrative Computing, ACITS, and the General Libraries have been explicitly committed to an aggressive effort to put University resources and services on the Web. This campaign has succeeded remarkably well: Web Central now houses more than 400,000 pages addressing every aspect of University activity from applying for admission or employment to taking tests, participating in class discussion, and conducting scholarly research. More than a million email messages traverse Utnet each day. And the push to conduct more and more University business online continues unabated as employees validate their high-assurance electronic Ids and the Center for Instructional Technologies and instructional technology units based in the schools and colleges work to help faculty make effective use of multimedia to support teaching and learning.

The Information Technology Coordinating Council has concluded that successful continued growth requires coordination and planning-- that we can no longer afford the ad hoc approach upon which we have generally relied in the past. Hence the ITCC has supported the writing of a network master plan, the adoption of standards for technology-enhanced classrooms, and the development of policies governing technology-enhanced learning in general and distance education in particular.

The report of the Task Force on Accessible Electronic Information is part of the same process. Most of the materials now on UT Web servers have been produced and published without regard to their accessibility. In our haste to take advantage of new multimedia technologies and get materials online, we have sometimes inadvertently hindered disabled students, faculty, and staff from pursuing their chosen careers, wiping out gains made slowly and painfully by the disabled community over decades. (For example, the Task Force heard anecdotal reports of blind students who were advised to drop mathematics courses because they depended heavily upon graphs or other visual aids, while others were required to write extra research papers in lieu of participating with their classmates in an online "chat" that did not provide speech output.) This not only exposes the University to unacceptable legal risks: it also imposes significant opportunity costs, depriving the University community of potentially valuable intellectual and social contributions. As the Web and other electronic media (especially digital multimedia) become increasingly the vehicles of choice for teaching, learning, and administration, whether locally or at a distance, we must take accessibility actively into account.

Accessibility is not a property that inheres to specific electronic documents. Accessibility arises through the interaction of document structure, document content, software, hardware, and other features of the environment, including the person with a disability who is working with electronic materials.

Electronically disseminated materials are accessible if individuals who have disabilities can use the materials as effectively and to the same purpose for which other members of the University community do so, e.g., participation in scholarly inquiry or class discussion or the preparation of a budget spreadsheet.

Thus it is crucial to note that these recommendations are in no way intended to replace, displace, or substitute for the arrangements whereby individual students, faculty, or staff members secure adaptive or assistive equipment or other services from state agencies or from the University itself. On the contrary: our goal is to create an environment in which those devices and services can work to maximum effect, by ensuring that Web pages, software, and hardware take advantage of recognized standards for accessibility. This is what we mean by creating an infrastructure for digital accessibility, and it is in this spirit that we offer our recommendations. The "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines" and other standards (see Appendices) are not clubs with which to beat University Web developers and software designers over the head; they are tools to aid in creating aesthetically appealing, intellectually interesting, technically rewarding electronic materials that reach a large audience.

Adoption of the recommendations contained in this report will represent a strong, proactive move by the University of Texas at Austin to exert national leadership in extending the benefits of higher education to all.

To establish an infrastructure for enabling accessible electronic information at the University of Texas at Austin. That is, to develop policies and implement practices that, together with adaptive and assistive technologies employed by individual students, faculty, and staff, enable members of The University community who have disabilities to access and use electronically disseminated academic and administrative materials as effectively as other members of the community who do not have disabilities.

All electronically created or distributed materials and related tools relevant to the conduct of University business shall be accessible to all members of the University community, including people who have disabilities, who have reason to use them.

Such electronic materials and tools include, but are not limited to:

• course-related Web sites (including distance-learning courses); Web sites serving administrative purposes; course schedules and catalogs; online catalogs, indices, and archives produced and maintained by the General Libraries and other University collections, including research collections;
• instructional software, including simulation and modeling software;
• productivity software, including word processors, spreadsheets, databases, presentation tools, Web-authoring tools, Web browsers, electronic mail programs, teleconferencing, and online tests and examinations;
• computer-based presentations in support of lectures, meetings, briefings, etc.;
• materials supporting instructional or administrative activity and staff training, including digitized video, digital audio, electronic mail messages, graphs, charts, and other content-laden images; and
• computer hardware and electronic communications devices such as digital telephones, pagers, fax machines, and the like.

The following will become effective September 1, 2000 or six months after the Accessibility Coordinator has releasaed the Accessibility Toolkit desribed below, whichever is sooner:

1. All new departmental and administrative materials published on departmental or Web Central servers will follow the most recent edition of the World Wide Web Consortium's "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines."

These guidelines, which will continue to evolve as technologies change, are an official Recommendation published by the World Wide Web Consortium, the parent organization of the Web Accessibility Initiative after extensive public review and comment. As of May 1999, the most recent release is version 1.0. The authors explain the guidelines' function:

"These guidelines explain how to make Web content accessible to people with disabilities. … However, following them will also make Web content more available to all users, whatever user agent they are using (e.g. desktop browser, voice browser, mobile phone, automobile-based PC, etc.) or constraints they may be operating under (e.g., noisy or noiseless surroundings, under- or over-illuminated rooms, in a hands-free environment, etc.). … These guidelines do not discourage content developers from using images, video, etc, but rather explain how to make multimedia content more accessible to a wide audience." ("Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0," http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/)

2. Previously published materials should be revised to follow the "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines" whenever the layout or content of such materials are substantially altered.
3. All technology-related purchase orders released through the UT Purchasing Office include verbiage requiring vendors to confirm that the hardware and/or software meets relevant Federal and State accessibility requirements. Vendor shall provide supporting documentation.

1. Hire an accessibility specialist to coordinate support for accessibility initiatives campuswide. See Appendix for Job Description.
2. Establish distributed, centrally coordinated facilities for on-demand production of academic and administrative materials in alternative formats such as Braille, audio tape, etc., as required by students, faculty, and staff participating in University activities. Examples include Braille versions of meeting agendas, charts, maps, and graphs used in classes; etc. (Specific details to be determined by the standing committee on accessibility described below.)

1. Deans, Directors, and Division heads of all University of Texas at Austin units that produce electronic documents shall be responsible for ensuring that such units address accessibility requirements.
2. Individuals designated as responsible for accessibility shall receive appropriate training and support. They will interface with the standing committee on accessibility described below. Trained personnel from CIT, TeamWeb, the General Libraries, and other units will be available to assist in achieving accessibility goals.
3. CIT, Team Web, the General Libraries, and other groups and individuals that provide training to Web authors will incorporate units on accessibility and the accessibility Toolkit (see below) into training workshops. Instructors who teach Web-authoring or software development as part of organized academic courses are strongly encouraged to include accessibility issues in their curricula, and will be offered appropriate training.
4. Web developers may verify formal adherence to the "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines" by using such automated tools as BOBBY (http://www.cast.org/bobby) and taking corrective actions as necessary. However, selected users should perform additional accessibility testing. Software developers should arrange for appropriate testing by users with disabilities.
5. Provide an "Accessibility Toolkit" to aid students, faculty, and staff in preparing and/or using electronic materials. The Accessibility Toolkit will include, e.g., information about campus facilities available for the use of students, faculty, and staff with disabilities, and the Accessibility Checklist and QuickTips cards provided by the Web Accessibility Initiative (see Appendix). In addition, the Toolkit will include materials to facilitate the routine production of accessible electronic documents. These tools will change as time goes on; they might include, for example, Cascading Style Sheets to support a variety of output devices such as Braille embossers and speech-based browsers as well as laser printers, LCD projectors, and conventional computer screens, mobile phones, pagers, etc. (Note: information providers will not be required to use the Accessibility Toolkit if they prefer other ways to accomplish the goal of producing accessible electronic materials.)
6. Establish a standing Committee on Accessible Electronic Information to facilitate creation and dissemination of accessible electronic information. This Committee will review and update accessibility standards on a continuing basis, solicit input from members of the University community, and recommend changes in policy or practice as needed to address new challenges as they occur. The committee will maintain a Web site to provide the University community with up to date information about he availability and location of computer facilities for faculty, students, or staff who have disabilities. Because of its focus on electronic information on the one hand and its concern for faculty and staff as well as students, this committee will have a narrower focus than the existing President's Committee on Students with Disabilities, as well as broader representation. The committee will include representatives from the President's Committee on Students with Disabilities as well as students, faculty, and staff representing both providers and consumers of electronic information.
7. Proposals and specifications for internally funded instructional technology projects will include a section explaining how the project will meet accessibility requirements.
8. Purchase Orders, lease agreements, etc., will contain language requiring vendors to certify that their product(s) satisf(y)ies meet(s) the Accessibility Guidelines specified in Part 1193 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (http://www.access-board.gov/telecomm/html/telfinal.htm) will apply. Supporting documentation supplied by vendors may include such documents as the Software Accessibility Checklist, the IT Equipment Accessibility Checklist, and/or the ITM Equipment Accessibility Checklist as published on the United States Department of Justice Web site (http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/508)
9. Utejas job application forms will include items about experience with adaptive and assistive technologies.
10. Request textbook publishers to voluntarily supply, free of charge, electronic versions of materials adopted for instruction, to be reproduced in alternative formats in keeping with current Texas law concerning K-12. The University will provide necessary assurances respecting copyright. Seek appropriate changes in enabling legislation.

The Task Force on Accessible Electronic Information will recommend a policy to ensure that electronically-disseminated academic and administrative information and computer-based work and learning environments are accessible to all members of the University community, including those who have disabilities, according to the standard of "reasonable accommodation" established by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Task Force will further recommend a realistic, achievable, cost-effective plan for University-wide implementation of the policy on accessible electronic information. The Task Force will present its recommendations to the Information Technology Coordinating Council by May 31, 1999.

The Task Force will identify best practices in the area of accessible electronic information and work environments. Where possible, the goal will be to enable The University to take advantage of existing, off-the-shelf solutions and materials that can be adapted easily or in a cost-effective way to meet the needs of UT community members who have disabilities. The Task Force will also note areas where there is no clear agreement as to what constitutes "reasonable accommodation" within the terms of the ADA, or where no off-the-shelf solutions exist. The Task Force will identify opportunities for The University to gain recognition for its leadership in the field of accessible electronic information.

Susan Bradshaw, Office of General Counsel

Gene I. Brooks, Graduate Student

Adrienne Diehr, Law Library

Michael Gerhardt, Office of Services for Students with Disabilities

Andrew Greer, Administrative Computing Services

Rita Handrich, Employee Assistance Program

Betty Huffman, Texas Commission for the Blind

Mark McFarland, Director, Electronic Information Programs, General Libraries

Ann Neville, Undergraduate Library

Penny Seay, Director, University Affiliated Programs

John Slatin, Director, Institute for Technology and Learning (Chair)

Stefan Smagula, Center for Instructional Technologies

G. Morgan Watkins, Associate Director, ACITS

John Wheat, Administrative Computing Services

Judythe Wilbur, Center for Instructional Technologies