Our Progress and Plan
Texas A&M University believes in providing equal access and opportunities to discover, communicate, and apply knowledge and skills. We understand that user preferences and modes of access to digital resources vary by individual, and we are committed to providing campus resources that can be accessed and utilized by everyone.
Report an issue or request an accommodation
If you are unable to access Texas A&M websites or digital resources, we ask that you report the issue. You may also request that an alternate format or method to access the information. Reasonable efforts shall be made to accommodate individuals with enabling software, assistive devices, or other means. Personal information exchanged in an effort to receive a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act will be treated in a confidential manner.
If you need information regarding ADA support for other services, see University Risk and Compliance designated ADA contacts.
Standards, responsibilities and commitment
Texas A&M is dedicated to utilizing accessibility best practices and universal design principles in order to improve learning outcomes and access for everyone. The accessibility standards we follow are the W3C Worldwide Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1), Level AA.
Our commitment involves:
- The support of central administration, academic deans and departmental stakeholders
- Collaboration among key campus departments and support organizations to promote universal design concepts and accessibility compliance
- Centralized Web testing and validation of sites originating from Key Public Entry Points
- Procurement processes that factor in accessibility requirements
- A Digital Accessibility Officer who serves as the point person for campuswide accessibility compliance and consulting
- An IT Accessibility website, targeted communications, accessibility training, and a network of accessibility advocates who promote best practices
Progress
Governance and best practices
- Assembled an IT accessibility working group to guide compliance with ADA Title II.
- Created an IT accessibility strategic plan with measurable objectives.
- Promoted accessibility best practices through consultations and presentations.
Web accessibility compliance
- Expanded our Web Accessibility Compliance Initiative to promote campus partnerships.
- Aligned with industry standards to evaluate campus websites and applications.
- Leveraged leading automated scanning tools to monitor key university websites.
- Created a protocol with risk scores, templates, and manual and automated testing.
- Performed manual testing of critical university websites and applications.
- Created a protocol for home and landing page comprehensive assessments.
Procurement
- Developed a scoring system for Accessibility Conformance Reports which aids in compliance reviews.
- Created a paperless IT accessibility exception workflow, realizing savings through automation.
- Built the Accessibility Conformance Evaluation (ACE) tool to house current exceptions.
- Streamlined accessibility conformance reviews by launching exception registers.
- Engaged in a joint project to incorporate accessibility into the AggieBuy system.
- Tested essential security and resource sharing applications prior to purchase.
- Incorporated accessibility into business processes to optimize its impact across campus.
Training and resources
- Created a Digital Accessibility web page of commonly used academic resources.
- Compiled role-based training opportunities for our campus community and recently expanded recommendations to be published soon.
- Expanded Digital Accessibility Knowledge Base articles with targeted information and step-by-step tutorials.
- Launched an IT Accessibility Glossary with references for campus stakeholders.
- Revamped existing web accessibility training for a more interactive experience.
- Expanded our website to include documents, captioning, and procurement.
Communication and collaboration
- Started an Accessibility Innovator program for our campus community including bimonthly meetings, presentations, a Teams channel for engagement, and an affiliated SharePoint website.
- Developed a communications plan for accessibility team initiatives.
- Engaged in projects with other units, the A&M System, and its members.
- Assisted in creation of accessibility training module for The Texas A&M University System.
- Collaborated to create online resources as part of the Accessibility/UDL task force of the the A&M System Council on Academic Technologies and Innovative Education (CATIE).
Reporting
- Established roles and responsibilities for key areas of digital accessibility compliance.
- Outlined methods to obtain digital accessibility metrics for key compliance areas including procurement, web and application assessments, course content, library resources, and emerging technologies.
- Explored ways to monitor and promote internal compliance including periodic testing, regular reporting, professional development, contract requirements, and vendor engagement.
Upcoming initiatives
- Outline methodologies to monitor websites, web applications, and social media for compliance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards.
- Establish and publish digital resource procurement guidelines for the university to include roles and responsibilities; training materials; vendor engagement; and documentation and assessment.
- Launch a Digital Accessibility Essentials course focusing on seven key skills to improve access.
- Create additional Knowledge Base articles and tutorials including a captioning decision tree to assist campus stakeholders with captioning videos.
Accessibility policies
Texas A&M, as part of The Texas A&M University System, maintains policies regarding accessibility of digital resources in accordance with Texas Administrative Code, Title 1, Chapter 206 and Chapter 213 as well as Texas Government Code 2054, Subchapter M in accordance with Section 504 and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act Title II. Additional policies include:
- The Texas A&M University System Regulation 29.01.04 - Accessibility of Digital Resources (pdf)
- Texas A&M University Standard Administrative Procedures (SAPs) for digital accessibility
Exceptions
If after evaluation of all available resources and options it is determined that compliance with technical accessibility standards for a particular digital resource is not possible due to unavailability of alternative products or services, or if compliance with technical accessibility standards would impose a significant difficulty or expense to Texas A&M when considering its entire budget, an exception request can be initiated by personnel at the respective unit by filling out the electronic IT Accessibility Exception Request Form.
- Requests must include a description of the accessibility issue, justification for the exception, and a plan for alternate means of access.
- An exception request must be routed through the digital accessibility officer, unit dean or vice president, and the university president or designee. If approved, an expiration date is assigned.
- An approved exception request is not an exemption from making digital resources accessible. Instead, it is documentation of temporary acceptance of risk until the digital resource or associated service can be brought into compliance through modification, substitution with a comparable digital resource, or discontinuation of use due to end of life (EOL).
Contact
The Digital Accessibility Officer (DAO) is the central point of contact concerning accessibility issues and solutions for our institution's digital resources. The DAO responds to concerns, complaints, reported issues, DIR surveys, and Digital Accessibility Exception Requests and facilitates training and consulting services on matters related to accessibility.
Contact the Digital Accessibility Officer.
Did you know?
- In the United States, about 55 million people have a disability (src: 2010 U.S. Census).
- About 1 in 5 Americans have some kind of disability (src: 2010 U.S. Census).
- The percentage of people affected by disabilities is growing as our population ages.
- Two popular, free screen readers are VoiceOver (Mac OS and iOS) and NVDA (Win).
- Good accessibility practices can improve the search ranking of your website.
- Form fields without labels can cause problems for some assistive technology users.
- Low color contrast makes content difficult to see, especially for users with low vision.
- Documents linked on a website need to be accessible too (e.g., PDF and Word files).
- Audio content, like podcasts, need transcripts for deaf or hard of hearing users.
- Online videos should be captioned for deaf or hard of hearing users.
- Using HTML tags correctly is very important for accessibility.
- Descriptive link text helps make a website more accessible. Avoid using "Click here" or "Read more."
- A "screen reader" is an application that reads content aloud to a user.
- There is no "alt tag" in HTML. "Alt" is an attribute used with the img tag.
- HTML uses the alt attribute to provide a text description of an image.
- Alt text should describe an image, if the purpose of the image is to convey information.
- If an image is a link, the alt text for the image should explain where the link goes.
- If an image is only being used for decoration, the alt text should be null (i.e., alt="").
- If a table has headers, using header tags (<th>) will make the table more accessible.
- An accessible website is one that can be navigated and understood by everyone.