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Buffalo State University EIT Accessibility Five-Year Plan

1.1 Infrastructure (WAS)

Objective/Milestone

Plan Year

Activity/Steps

Resources/Materials

Status Check

Outcome

Identify roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders involved in creating web content

1

  1. Identify key stakeholders
  2. Generate list of roles

 

In progress

List of roles and responsibilities per stakeholder

Revise/review roles and responsibilities as needed 

2-5

  1. Revise existing roles/responsibilities
  2. Revise as needed

 

 

 

1.2 Communication (WAS) 

Objective/Milestone

Plan Year

Activity/Steps

Resources/Materials

Status Check

Outcome

Utilize the Daily Bulletin to connect with target audience to announce changes to web accessibility policy and reminders to ensure proper web accessibility on campus sites.

1-5

  1. Identify any needed changes to existing web accessibility policy
  2. Develop web accessibility reminders for the campus

community

 

 

In progress

Create a consistent form of

communication with our campus community to ensure our web accessibility policy is followed

Develop a form for users to submit any web accessibility

concerns they may encounter across any campus sites.

1

Develop an online form for users to submit accessibility concerns.

TeamDynamix to create a web form

In progress

A working form for submission and tracking of web

accessibility complaints

1.3 Training/Resource Allocation (WAS)

Objective/Milestone

Plan Year

Activity/Steps

Resources/Materials

Status Check

Outcome

Through our Drupal website training sessions, train and stress various specific accessibility concerns.

1-5

  1. Audit current training procedure to ensure proper accessibility training is taking place
  2. Modify training sessions to include more information on web accessibility

 

Ongoing

A training session that covers our

largest accessibility concerns

Develop an internal web accessibility guide which web users can reference and check against to ensure their sites are compliant

2-3

  1. Using EIT materials as a guide, develop content for the site
  2. Design for the site
  3. Develop and build the site into the Drupal content management system
  1. Server space
  2. Developers to create the site (Marketing and Communications)

 

Testing standards created 

1.4 Monitoring Compliance (WAS)

Objective/Milestone

Plan Year

Activity/Steps

Resources/Materials

Status Check

Outcome

Use the site governance tool to generate reports on campus websites to check for compliance with web accessibility standards

1-5

  1. Generate a report for every on- campus website yearly and provide reports as requested by departments and offices.
  2. Provide reports to Primary Web Contact (PWC) for each site
  3. Provide support to help departments and office sites to come into compliance.
  4. Work with the Digital Content Accessibility team to correct inaccessible documents. (PDF,

Office, etc.)

 

  1. Continued use of a site governance tool
  2. Financial support for the site governance tool

Ongoing

Reports provided to PWCs and sites remediated where needed.

Objective/Milestone

Plan Year

Activity/Steps

Resources/Materials

Status Check

Outcome

Manually check for accessibility concerns prior to launch of new sites

1-5

Use various tools to check for proper web accessibility

Screen reader

Ongoing

Ensure accessibility of websites 

Work with vendors across our campus to ensure all campus websites are compliant

1-5

  1. If working with a new vendor, ask for VPAT or how they address web accessibility
  2. Work with vendors to ensure that any complaint on campus is addressed 

 

Ongoing

All campus websites, whether developed on campus or through third party vendor are compliant

Using the SUNY EIT guidelines as a reference, develop a checklist for site users to use to ensure their website is accessible

1-5

Create a checklist for web content editors

 

In progress

A checklist for content editors to check for accessibility

1.5 Roles & Responsibilities (WAS)

Marketing and Communication team

  • Develops guidelines
  • Monitors compliance
  • Reviews roles and responsibilities

Department and Office content editors

  • Follow guidelines to create accessible content
  • Review content for accessibility
  • Remediate out of compliance content

External Vendors

  • Review content for accessibility
  • Remediate out of compliance content

2021 (WAS) SUNY EIT Report Challenges & Barriers 

What are the challenges/barriers to Web Accessibility Standards (WAS) plan implementation?

Reliance on Third-Party Vendor Technology: Buffalo State College relies upon third-party technology to host digital content. Website managers are required to work diligently to ensure vendor commitment to providing accessible software and documentation of compliance. 

Resources: Buffalo State College’s website is comprised of over 150 subsites that are managed and maintained by individual departments or third-party organizations. Performing an internal audit requires a significant investment in time and resources from Marketing & Communications

Education: Website editors include faculty, staff, and students, many of whom are not aware of Buffalo State College’s web accessibility standards. Regular training and ongoing education are required to ensure web managers conform to accessibility standards. Turnaround and changing roles within departments creates inconsistency and a lack of accountability, along with knowledge of accessibility standards. 

Culture: Top-level leadership must communicate that digital accessibility is an ethical and legal priority for all website editors. Accessible websites can assist in attracting students, improve the educational experience for all, and make Buffalo State College’s digital presence more intuitive and attractive to end-users.

Campus departments need to adhere to college-wide branding for digital accessibility to maintain a cohesive look and ensure accessible content. 

Buffalo State logo
E. H. Butler Library, SUNY Buffalo State
1300 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo, NY 14222
Phone: (716) 878 6300
Fax: (716) 878-3134
Accessibility Policy

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