Texas Tech University

For Faculty

Why Online Accessibility Matters at Texas Tech

By Kirsten Morris, eLearning Accessibility Services

Students are the focus of instruction at Texas Tech. Any faculty or staff who work with students recognizes the obligation to provide the best educational opportunity possible. One aspect of this includes attention to the accessibility of TTU courses.

The overall goal of online accessibility is that:

"Individuals with disabilities are able to independently acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services within the same timeframe".

Resolution Agreement, University of Montana (OCR Reference No. 10122118), March 2014

Additionally, there are several legal regulations that drive the progression towards accessibility in online environments in higher education. There are three primary federal regulations that govern accessibility at Texas Tech:

  1. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): This law requires "equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities". As the overreaching law regarding accessibility, this law asks public institutions like Texas Tech to make sure that content we offer does not discriminate, but rather can be accessed equally by all students.
  2. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973: Like the ADA, this law prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities but is specifically related to institutions that receive federal financial assistance.
  3. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): This law refers specifically to educational institutions. It requires that schools provide a free appropriate education for students. Any costs associated with providing this education cannot be passed to the student with the disability.

Together these laws create a framework defending students with disabilities. Texas Tech honors these mandates by providing the best education to all students.

One way that Tech is meeting these standards is through Student Disability Services. With more than 2,000 students registered for their services, the SDS staff are providing a wide variety of services and programs to enhance the learning opportunities for students with disabilities.

Another support system at TTU is the eLearning Accessibility Services at TTU eLearning & Academic partnerships. eLearning Accessibility Services is a place where online instructors can receive guidance, training, and assistance with making their online instructional materials fully compliant with the laws mentioned above.

As web-accessibility expert David Berman says in his blog post, "Web Accessibility Matters: Why Should We Care," "This is the decade we shift towards accessibility. This is the decade we do better business, we do better civilization, by all learning how to create a more accessible Web" (2013, May 13).

Resources:
A Guide to Disability Rights Laws
Student Disability Services Website
Online Accessibility Lab 

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in the February 2018 issue of From Anywhere and has been updated for accuracy.