Responsible Office: Academic Affairs
Policy Administrator: Chief Academic Officer
Scope: |Faculty |Staff

Approved By: Office of the President

Approved Date: 4/28/2026

Effective Date: 4/28/2026

Category: Faculty and Staff

Description/Purpose:

Statement of Commitment Saint Francis University is committed to making our digital materials accessible. "Accessible" means that all individuals, regardless of their abilities, can access our electronic information and educational opportunities fully, independently, and in a timely manner or with substantially equivalent access and ease of use. We actively work to identify, prioritize, and remove accessibility barriers in our digital platforms, applications, and electronic resources. Our efforts include ongoing assessment of our information technology, implementation of universal design principles, and continuous improvement of our accessibility standards.

Procedures:

Consequence:

Details:

Digital Accessibility Standards

Toward meeting the university's commitment to accessibility, Saint Francis University expects university information technology and digital content to conform to applicable digital accessibility standards to the fullest extent possible.

For the purposes of this policy, the digital accessibility standards (or "the Standards") are The World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1, Level AA Conformance (WCAG 2.1 Level AA Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) for digital content, websites, and web-based applications and services.

Scope

This policy applies to all electronic content as well as information and communication technology acquired, developed, distributed, used, purchased, or implemented by or for the university and used to provide university programs, services, or activities.

All academic and administrative units are responsible for ensuring that any technology used in connection with the university's programs and activities is accessible to individuals with disabilities. The department, program, or unit that controls the user content of a digital system is responsible for ensuring that such content is accessible to individuals with disabilities.

• New or substantially revised content. All content that is created or undergoes substantial revision after the effective date of this policy is required to conform to the Digital Accessibility Standards. In addition, site owners who manage university websites that are maintained, upgraded, or updated by vendors are required to ensure that the vendor-provided design, code, and content meet the Digital Accessibility Standards when the contract is entered into or renewed.
• Existing content. Units must establish a plan and timeline for reviewing and remediating existing content to bring it into compliance. Priority should be given to high-impact and frequently used materials that support core academic, administrative, and student service. If the university receives a request from or on behalf of a person with a disability for access to existing content that is not yet accessible, the university will provide access to that content in an alternative, accessible format as promptly as possible while the permanent remediation is completed.

LMS Accessibility

Course content and files uploaded to the Learning Management System (LMS) should meet the Digital Accessibility Standards.

• Each file attachment should be remediated or corrected using university software to the extent possible.
• All PDFs must be properly tagged. No scanned PDFs are permitted, unless the proper Optical Character Recognition (OCR) process has been completed.
• All video and audio media have closed captions or a timed transcript.
• All images have alternative text.
• URL links have meaningful text that describes the website instead of showing a long web address. For example, see the final rule in the Federal Register. Here "Federal Register" is the clickable link to the article.
• Color contrast, text size, and spacing promote easy viewing.
• Table headers and columns are appropriately labeled.
• Pages, assignments, discussions, etc. have meaningful titles, more than just numbers.

Procurement (VPAT)

Vendors and third-party providers of software and digital materials, such as textbook companion software, should complete a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) and provide it to IT services before procurement. The VPAT must contain sufficient detail and explanation to convey how the product meets digital accessibility requirements.

Monitoring & Support

Units are responsible for monitoring and reviewing content to meet accessibility standards. Department Chairs will receive a yearly report for accessibility scores of files uploaded to the LMS. All faculty and departments should use the university provided accessibility remediation tool reports in the LMS to ensure that each file has exhausted all options within the remediation tool and university software to correct identified issues.

The Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) provides training, support, and resources to faculty on the university provided accessibility remediation tool and meeting digital accessibility standards within the LMS. T

he Center for Academic Success assists eligible students in receiving services as determined by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Approved by the Faculty Senate on 4/14/2026 and by the University President on 4/28/2026.