Website Accessibility Policy & Procedures

Scope Details

This policy affects all members of the William Jewell College community.

Policy Summary

William Jewell College is committed to ensuring that its websites are accessible to students, prospective students, employees and visitors with disabilities. This policy describes the process and guidelines which will govern the College’s efforts to provide accessible websites; establishes a Website Accessibility Coordinator to oversee those efforts; and outlines the process by which individuals may seek assistance with or file complaints related to website accessibility issues.

The College’s websites are a major source of information for students, employees and third parties. Acknowledging that the College is engaged in web development and web publication for these constituencies, the College has adopted this policy to establish minimum standards for website accessibility.

For purposes of this policy, the term websites refers to the collection of pages that the College or College units makes available online through the World Wide Web for purposes of conducting official College business. This policy does not apply to unofficial websites published by an employee, a student or by an organization not sponsored or controlled by the College.

Policy

In meeting its nondiscrimination obligations under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, the College has developed this policy to help ensure that individuals with disabilities are able to acquire information and perform online tasks through the use of the College’s websites.

Website Accessibility Coordinator
The College has designated a Website Accessibility Coordinator to oversee the implementation of this policy. The Website Accessibility Coordinator’s contact information is provided below.

In addition to overseeing the implementation of this policy and the College’s web accessibility efforts, the Website Accessibility Coordinator will maintain resources, including training resources, to assist individuals in complying with this policy when creating or managing web content.

Website Accessibility Guidelines 
The College is committed to ensuring that College website content created or revised after the effective date of this policy is compliant with the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or WCAG 2.0, Level AA.

The College will assess College websites on a periodic basis as necessary to determine compliance with WCAG 2.0, Level AA and will engage in necessary remedial efforts within a reasonable period of time of the completion of such assessments. Assessments will include a review of legacy website content developed prior to the effective date of this policy. Individuals can also request that legacy website content be made available when content is inaccessible using the procedure for reporting an accessibility barrier outlined below.

Exceptions 

In certain circumstances, exceptions to this policy may be granted. This policy does not require adherence to WCAG 2.0 when compliance is not possible or would constitute an undue administrative or financial burden or result in a fundamental alteration. The College will make determinations on the applicability of these exceptions on a case-by-case basis. Individual content creators or approvers may request exceptions to this policy by contacting the Website Accessibility Coordinator. When an exception is appropriate based on these criteria, the College will provide equally effective alternative access to the information.

Procedures

The Website Accessibility Coordinator and/or his or her designee will work with other College business units as necessary to provide and publicize resources, including training, in support of web accessibility. The Website Accessibility Coordinator and/or his or her designee will oversee training on website accessibility for all developers and content approvers for the College websites.

College employees or business units who hire third-party vendors to provide website services are strongly encouraged to use vendors with a proven commitment to website accessibility. If a vendor is unable or unwilling to provide written assurance that its services will be accessible to individuals with disabilities, the hiring employee or unit can consult with the Website Accessibility Coordinator regarding alternative solutions.

Individuals who experience a barrier related to College website content should contact the Website Accessibility Coordinator. Complaints regarding website accessibility can be filed by contacting the Website Accessibility Coordinator or by completing the form available at www.jewell.edu/accessibility. Current students who encounter a barrier related to College web content may also contact the Office of Accessibility Services to coordinate technical assistance and/or individual accommodations.

The Website Accessibility Coordinator will review a submitted form or other information provided by a complainant. The Website Accessibility Coordinator or a designee will assess the complaint and the web content issue. The Website Accessibility Coordinator or a designee will determine a means to resolve the accessibility issue, in most cases within 30 days of receiving the complaint. The resolution will be communicated to the complainant. If the determination is made that there is not an accessibility barrier, this will also be communicated to the complainant.      

Individuals may also raise a web accessibility complaint through the College’s Non-Discrimination Policy. Complaints made under that policy will be addressed by the Website Accessibility Coordinator in coordination with Accessibility Services/Compliance Director.

Contact Information

Web Accessibility Coordinator:
Cara Dahlor, Director of Marketing 
dahlorc@william.jewell.edu

ADA/Compliance: 
Accessibility Services
accessibilityservices@william.jewell.edu