Policies & Procedures

IT9002.1 Web Accessibility Procedure

Procedure:	Web Accessibility Procedure	Procedure No.:	IT9002.1
Authority:	College President	Associated Policy No.:	IT9002
Procedure Owner:	VP Academic Affairs	Responsible Party:	IT Services
Approved:	July 1, 2021	Revised:	(DATE)

Purpose

The purpose of this procedure is to outline the accessibility requirements and procedures for ensuring web-based content, college webpages, and web-based information and applications developed, procured, maintained, or used for all SUNY Broome Community College programs, services, and activities are accessible, in order to ensure equal, effective, and inclusive access.

Statement of the Procedure

SUNY Broome Community College is committed to ensuring equal access to information presented online. The college is also committed to ensuring that all individuals have an equal opportunity to participate in the programs, services, and activities at the college, which are accomplished through web content, web-based applications, and websites. As part of this commitment, the college will ensure its website(s), web content, and web-based applications are universally accessible. This procedure provides the guidelines to ensure web accessibility is achieved.

Related Policies

IT9002 Web Accessibility Policy

To Whom It Applies

This procedure applies to SUNY Broome websites and digital content created by the college and its employees or affiliates for publication on the college website or its web-based applications. The Office of Marketing and Communications is responsible for ensuring the SUNY Broome website is accessible. Any individual who creates text content, documents, files, or visual imagery they intend to have published on the SUNY Broome website or shared on any SUNY Broome-affiliated social media channels are responsible for making their content web accessible, per the college’s accessibility standards. Faculty and staff utilizing websites, web content, and web-based applications, including third-party applications, for the use of instruction, or the offering of programs and services, are responsible for ensuring content is accessible.

General Guidelines

To ensure all content created for publication on the college website, the college will follow guidelines outlined within the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Level AA Conformance.

To ensure the college’s website is accessible, all major design or technical changes are first completed in a staging environment prior to deploying the changes on the live website and will be tested via manual and/or automated means, to ensure that WCAG AA standards are followed.

MarCom will provide guidance to web content editors on how best to maintain accessibility on web pages they have access to edit. MarCom will also create annual maintenance schedules with web content editors to review content for quality, accuracy, and accessibility. Additionally, to ensure consistent user experience, which provides for accessibility for all users, including those with disabilities or situational barriers, SUNY Broome web pages will be designed with consistent layouts and content structure. Main content and menus should be on the same location on all pages to create a consistent user experience across the college website. This applies to all non-academic and academic websites and webpages. These guidelines will be reviewed during annual webpage reviews conducted by MarCom with the appropriate stakeholders.

Web Content Editors’ Responsibilities

Web content editors must review MarCom’s “Accessibility Practices for Web Content Editors” guidelines before they’re granted access to edit, and must review these guidelines annually as part of a mutually agreed upon web maintenance schedule with MarCom.

MarCom will coordinate with the appropriate content stakeholder, creator, or web content editors to provide access to guidance on how they can make their content accessible if it is found to be in accordance with SUNY Broome’s accessibility policies, and may deny publishing inaccessible content on the SUNY Broome website and/or SUNY Broome-affiliated social media channels until the content creator is able to provide an accessible version.

Web content editors who create text content, documents, files, or visual imagery that they intend to have published on the website or shared on social media are responsible for making their content web accessible per SUNY Broome’s accessibility policies.

Web content editors are also responsible for supporting adherence to the College’s accessibility policies. If a web content editor has content intended to be published on the SUNY Broome website that they did not create, and that content is found to be inaccessible, the web content editor should request that the content creator adjusts their content to be accessible prior to it being published on the website.

It is the responsibility of individuals creating original content to be posted on social media platforms utilizing an account representing SUNY Broome to ensure the content’s accessibility as outlined within this policy is followed.

All materials used on college websites or applications used in course instruction must be made accessible and follow requirements as outlined within the Web Accessibility Policy. Information technology products purchased or required by students to access programs, services, or activities must be accessible and undergo an electronic and information technology (EIT) accessibility review following established college procurement policies and procedures, including a review of the vendor’s Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT). EIT utilized within the LMS or required for student access to programs or courses is required to be accessible, or to provide equally effective alternate access if accessibility is deemed by the college’s procurement EIT accessibility review processes to not be feasible. Instructors may request an accessibility review by Instructional Designers, of their course at any time; a review of courses utilizing college identified rubrics will occur on a regular basis following course assessment schedules. The Assistant Dean for Distance Learning and Professional Development will coordinate with the faculty member and the EIT Procurement Committee for third-party tools utilized within the LMS, identified by either faculty or Instructional Designers during the course review process to undergo an accessibility review, including a review of the VPAT.

Annual Web Maintenance

Each portion of the website will undergo an annual review to ensure accessibility and WCAG AA compliance. MarCom works with stakeholders for each portion of the website to arrange for an annual review of its content. MarCom will scan applicable pages for accessibility issues, correct them, and communicate corrections to the appropriate stakeholder. If accessibility issues with content, including videos, not created by MarCom are identified, MarCom will inform the appropriate stakeholder and request that an accessible version is provided. Inaccessible content will be removed from the website.

Highly trafficked pages created for the college website are scanned by an automatic accessibility checker. MarCom will monitor accessibility reports and correct accessibility issues as detected. MarCom will provide the EIT Officer with a report outlining accessibility issues detected and their resolution. The EIT Officer in turn will share reports with the EIT Advisory Council and appropriate stakeholders develop recommendations as needed.

At least once annually, MarCom will perform an annual scan on SUNY Broome subsites to test for general usability and logical keyboard tabbing order. Inaccessible content or features will be brought to the attention of the appropriate stakeholder with guidance provided for remediation. It is the responsibility of the content creator to ensure content is made accessible.