Documents Contributed by ECAR and American Disabilities Act

Federal law requires higher education entities to ensure that qualified students with disabilities have equal access to programs and services, including those that use information technology. In 2004, ATHEN, the Access Technologists Higher Education Network, an association of 96 professionals who are responsible for IT accessibility at their higher education institutions, conducted a study to identify current practices in staffing, procedures, funding, and policy related to IT accessibility. This bulletin presents the findings of that study and discusses the implications for higher education.

Many campus Web pages are not accessible for students or faculty with disabilities. As the Web has become a vital part of institutional information dissemination, this can impact the accessibility of courses, libraries, and student services. This Research Bulletin discusses Web accessibility issues, Web page authoring and repairing tools, as well as legal issues.