Parkford University Accessibility Policy Mission

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The Education Group of Parkford University is committed to ensuring equal access to information for all. We support creating an environment where a person with a disability can acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions and enjoy the same services as a person without a disability, and be able to do so in an equally effective manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use. Our accessibility policy follows established benchmark standards for the accessibility of web-based products and services considered necessary to meet this goal and ensure compliance with applicable state and federal regulations.

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Parkford University Policy

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The University will develop, procure, maintain and use information and communication technology that ensure people with disabilities have comparable access to them.

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All new or modified online content and functionality, including the education platform features, will be accessible to people with disabilities as measured by conformance to the benchmark standards set forth below, except where doing so would impose a fundamental alteration or undue burden.

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In the event of a fundamental alteration or undue burden, the University will nevertheless provide equally effective alternate access. Alternate access will ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that persons with disabilities are afforded an equal opportunity to obtain the same result, to gain the same benefit, or to reach the same level of achievement, in the most integrated setting appropriate to the person’s needs. The University is committed to provide information where you can perceive, operate and understand.

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Benchmark Standards

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Parkford University adheres to these universally accepted benchmark standards established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) in meeting accessibility commitments.

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• W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA

• W3C’s Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) 2.0 for software used to create web content; Level AA

• W3C’s User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) 1.0 for user agents supplied by the University, including media players.

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To achieve compliance with these standards, the University will use the following specifications and best practices (among others):

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• Web Accessibility Initiative Accessible Rich Internet Applications Suite (WAI-ARIA) 1.0

• W3C’s MathML 3.0 specification for digital mathematical and scientific notation

• The DAISY Consortium’s Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY) Standard or the International Digital Publishing Forum’s (IDPF) EPUB 3 specification for digital publications and documents

• W3C’s Guidance on Applying WCAG 2.0 to Non-Web Information and Communications Technologies (WCAG2ICT) for non-web software and content.​

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Understanding the four principles of accessibility

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The guidelines, put forth by W3C, are organized around the following four principles, which lay the foundation necessary for anyone to access and use web content. Anyone who wants to use the web must have content that is:

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1. Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive that isn't invisible to all of their senses.

2. Operable: User interface components and navigation must be operable.

3. Understandable: Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable.

4. Robust: Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies, and remain accessible as technologies and user agents evolve.

 

Accessibility & Usability Specialists

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Parkford University designated Accessibility & Usability Specialists within the Disability Services Department to work with Accessibility Leadership to ensure the policies are adopted and supported.

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Accessibility & Usability Specialists work in conjunction with the Office of the Provost and Apollo Information Technology. They retain responsibility for monitoring the University’s compliance with accessibility requirements and ensuring University websites and applications are as accessible as possible to the widest range of users using the guidelines found in this policy.

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The Accessibility & Usability Specialists shall be responsible for providing guidance to Parkford University and its departments on accessibility relative to the requirements of this policy, and training on accessibility as necessary and appropriate. They can be reached at

 

AccessibilitySupport@mcclairin.university