Office of the Assemblies

The Assembly adopted Resolution IV.

EA R4: Cornell Commitment to Web Accessibility<br />Abstract: This resolution calls for the University to adopt a Web Content Accessibility Policy to be applied to for all new websites and to legacy websites upon major update. <br />Sponsored by: Jeramy Kruser, Research and Technology Transfer Representative, Employee Assembly<br />Reviewed by: Personnel Policy Committee, MM/DD/YYYY<br />Whereas, worldwide there are 285 million people with visual impairment, 275 million people with moderate-to-profound hearing impairment, and many more with physical, speech, cognitive, neurological disabilities or a limited understanding of English; and <br /> <br />Whereas, in 1990 the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in areas of public life, was passed; and <br /> <br />Whereas, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 states, “No otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States…shall…be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance or under any program or activity conducted by any Executive agency…”;<br /> <br />Whereas, under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a federal law which provides action to the promise of the ADA, federal agencies are required to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities, and standards are provided; and  <br /><br />Whereas, the Cornell motto reflects our inclusive goal of “... any person ... any study”; and <br /> <br />Whereas, The University’s Equal Education and Employment Opportunity Statement declares that Cornell is “committed to assisting those persons with disabilities who have special needs related to their educational pursuit or employment” and prohibits discrimination on this basis; and <br /> <br />Whereas, The Campus Master Plan states that, “Cornell’s campus shall contain a diversity of inviting, accessible and safe places, for social and culture interaction, recreation, athletics, and passive enjoyment by faculty, staff, students and visitors...”; and <br /> <br />Whereas, Cornell’s websites are one of our most visible communications tools, and any site on the Cornell.edu domain is a representation of the university, reflecting our competency, values, and standards; and  <br /><br />Whereas, in order to meet our stated institutional commitment to accessibility, our web administrators, content providers, and developers need institutional support and a set of published standards to work from when creating new web sites and remediating legacy sites; and<br /> <br />Whereas, an inaccessible website can exclude faculty, staff, prospective and existing students, and their families, due to their abilities or the method they use to access the web; <br /><br />Be it therefore resolved, the Divisions of University Relations, Cornell Information Technologies, and Human Resources by August 1, 2017 will set, publish, and disseminate to all levels of University personnel, an Accessibility Policy for all websites on the Cornell.edu domain which will: <br />1. set a baseline standard to meet either Section 508, or WCAG 2.0 AA Standards<br />2. require all newly created sites to meet these standards <br />3. require all legacy sites to be remediated for conformance upon any major update<br />4. Using the model for IT Security exemptions, provide a process for exemption of sites for which conformance would impose an undue burden<br /><br />Be it further resolved, Cornell Administration, in consultation with the Department of Inclusion and Workforce Diversity, the ADA Coordinator Team, the Divisions of University Relations, and Cornell Information Technologies, will name and/or identify an office or person(s) as a point of contact on campus to handle reporting, assist with procedures, and periodically assess the resources needed to ensure successful implementation of the policy<br />  <br />Be it finally resolved, the Divisions of University Relations and Cornell Information Technologies will: <br />1. Revise the Brand Book to include accessible templates for items including but not limited to presentations, videos, posters, and digital media;<br />2. Provide and make readily available information on making digital information accessible and using automated tools to check the accessibility of content.<br />3. Provide guidance, incentive, and encouragement to all University academic, administrative, and business units, aiming for the highest level of conformance in all possible cases. <br />4. Provide tools to all University academic, administrative, and business units to perform standardized self-evaluations of conformance.<br />5. Compile annual surveys from all University academic, administrative, and business units for their level of conformance, making the survey results available to the Assemblies. The first survey is to be completed before January 1, 2018.<br />6. Set a goal for domain-wide conformance exceeding 85% within 5 years.<br />7. After this goal is reached, refer any non-exempt sites falling below 75% conformance to the administrator for remediation or exemption.<br />8. Re-evaluate exemptions at least once per year.<br /><br />Adopted by Vote of the January 21, 2016, <br /><br />Respectfully Submitted,<br />Jeramy Kruser, Research and Information Technology Transfer Representative<br />