Current through all regulations passed and filed through September 16, 2024
(A)
Policy statement.
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Title II of the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibit discrimination on the basis of
disability in programs and activities by public universities receiving
financial assistance from the U.S. department of education. Youngstown state
university (YSU) is committed to ensuring that communication with university
constituents with disabilities, including students, prospective students,
employees, guests and visitors, with hearing, visual and manual impairments, or
who otherwise require the use of assistive technology to access information, is
as effective as communication with those without disabilities.
The university will ensure that all
computer software and systems for public use will permit all persons with
disabilities to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions,
and enjoy the same services with substantially equivalent ease of use as those
without disabilities.
(B)
Purpose. All
digital content must be accessible to university constituents and must adhere
to the digital accessibility standards referred to in paragraph (E)(2)(e) of
this rule.
(C)
Scope. This policy applies to all digital content,
excluding digital content intended for private use only. Digital content
includes:
(1)
University web pages and linked information;
(2)
All online
learning content, including documents posted in all learning management
systems, (e.g., "Blackboard"); and
(3)
Distance
education and e-learning tools and materials.
(D)
Definitions.
(1)
"Official university web page" - an official university
web page is any web page created by the university, its departments, colleges,
or other administrative offices for the official business of the university.
This includes Maag library, academics, athletics, student newspaper, and
student groups and associations.
(2)
"University-related web page" - a university-related web
page is any web page created by or linked from a web page created by faculty,
staff, students and/or registered student organizations that are either:
(a)
Linked from an
official university web page;
(b)
Stored on one of
the university-controlled web servers;
(c)
Created in
support of university businesses and courses; or
(d)
On servers
contracted by the university.
(3)
"Content editors"
- authorized university faculty, staff, or student employees trained by the
information technology services (ITS), YSU web team, and/or cyberlearning
department on the digital accessibility standards and on the approved content
management system such that they are approved to maintain a department or
office web page.
(4)
"Digital accessibility training" - required training
conducted by staff of the ITS, YSU web team, and/or cyberlearning and
departments for all content editors and faculty prior to having authorization
to publish digital content on the university website, web pages, or any
university digital platform.
(5)
"Digital
accessibility coordinator" - staff member authorized to coordinate and
implement the digital accessibility policy.
(6)
"Digital
accessibility standards" - YSUs digital accessibility standards are drawn from
W3C web accessibility initiative (WAI) and section 508
standards.
(7)
"Implementation timeline" - plan for the university to
be fully compliant with the digital accessibility standards.
(E)
Parameters.
(1)
Each administrative unit, department, or office,
through an authorized content editor, is responsible for ensuring that digital
content is accessible. In addition, all software and IT systems purchased shall
produce accessible products and documents and/or shall be compatible with
assistive technology.
(2)
Content editors may develop and maintain official
university web pages and are responsible for their content subject to the
following requirements:
(a)
Software used to develop official university web pages
will be limited to packages approved by ITS.
(b)
Official
university web pages must run on ITS servers or servers contracted for by
ITS.
(c)
All official university web pages and related
university web pages and all digital content must strictly adhere to the
digital accessibility standards.
(d)
The digital
accessibility coordinator shall provide direction and guidance on standards to
be followed for accessibility of all digital content. The standards shall be
posted on the digital accessibility web page. The digital accessibility
coordinator is responsible for developing and implementing a plan to monitor
all university digital content for adherence to digital accessibility
standards. The digital accessibility coordinator is authorized to disable any
digital content found to be in violation of the digital accessibility
standards.
(e)
All official and university-related web pages and all
digital content must adhere to:
(i)
Applicable copyright laws.
(ii)
Applicable state
of Ohio and federal laws and rules.
(iii)
Rule
3356-4-09
of the Administrative Code, "Acceptable Use of University Technology Resources"
(where appropriate).
(iv)
Digital accessibility standards.
(f)
The
use of university symbols (i.e., YSU word mark, YSU logo, university seal, and
Pete the penguin) and related information should adhere to the university's
graphic identity standards from the office of marketing and
communications.
(g)
Registered student organizations use of the university
name must adhere to article III, paragraph (D)(17), of "The Code of Student
Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct."
(h)
The following are examples of content prohibited from
display on either official university web pages or university-related web
pages, including all digital content:
(i)
Unauthorized
solicitation or endorsement for for-profit business ventures.
(ii)
Activities that
involve a conflict of interest (rules
3356-7-01
and
3356-7-19
of the Administrative Code).
(iii)
Adult content
(including banners).
(iv)
Any content covered by rule
3356-4-13
of the Administrative Code, "Sensitive information/Information Security," such
as credit card numbers.
(v)
Software or media (i.e., photographs, audio, video,
etc.) not authorized for distribution, regardless of the purchase price or
copyright status.
(i)
All university
computer labs shall provide equal access afforded by technology for all users,
including users with disabilities. The university shall make assistive
technology available at all student computer labs and shall provide a notice of
accessibility that includes contact information for questions, inquiries, or
complaints.
(F)
Procedures for
creating and posting accessible digital content.
(1)
Authorized
content editors and faculty may develop and maintain official university
websites or pages and digital content.
(2)
Administrative
units, individuals, and organizations requesting ability to place digital
content on the university website or the university course management system
must contact the university website manager at YSU web team in order to be
trained and become an authorized content editor and/or faculty.
(3)
If any digital
content is determined to be in violation of the parameters in this policy,
including the digital accessibility standards, an effort will be made
beforehand to discuss the violation(s) with the content editor or faculty and
to correct any errors. The digital accessibility coordinator has the authority
to disable any digital content from the university servers if in his/her
discretion such action is necessary.
(G)
Purchasing
accessible software compatible with assistive technology. It is the policy of
the university to ensure that all IT software and systems purchased meet the
digital accessibility standards by producing accessible products and documents.
The software or systems shall permit persons with disabilities to acquire the
same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services
with substantially equivalent ease of use as those without disabilities. See
computer software accessibility purchasing standard that will be placed into
the terms and conditions and request for proposal documents provided by the
office of procurement services.
(H)
Reporting
violations.
(1)
All accessibility concerns with any university digital
content should be directed to the digital accessibility coordinator for prompt
resolution. Any person desiring to make an anonymous complaint with regard to a
violation of this policy or any federal or state law with regard to digital
accessibility may do so by reporting violations through a confidential
mailbox.
(2)
In addition, any person desiring to file a formal
complaint for digital accessibility issues may contact the Title II/section 504
coordinator for students or the Title II/section 504 coordinator for employees.
The university grievance policy can be found at university grievance policy.
The contact information for individuals serving in those roles on behalf of the
university can be found at the university's web page dedicated to accessibility
compliance.
Replaces: 3356-5-14
