The Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) passed the Electronic Information and Technology Accessibility Policy (external link) (EIT) in October 2020.
The Purpose of the EIT Accessibility Policy is to establish standards for the accessibility of EIT considered necessary to ensure compliance with applicable local, state, and federal regulations and laws. CSCU is committed to designing, developing, and procuring EIT that is accessible for individuals with disabilities.
Accessible means that a person with a disability is afforded the opportunity to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as a person without a disability. Access should be in an equally effective and equally integrated manner, within the same time frames, and with substantially equivalent ease of use. This means that regardless of disability, every person has an equal opportunity to participate in Charter Oak State College’s electronic and information technology (EIT).
Accessible content allows the widest range of users possible to engage with information. It is part of sound pedagogy, removing barriers to student learning. Providing accessible websites, course content, and electronic documents allows everyone in the Charter Oak State College community to obtain information regardless of their individual needs.
The CSCU EIT Policy covers all digital content including websites, online course content, multimedia, software and hardware, and IT procurement processes.
Information and communication technology, or ICT, includes digital content, like websites and multimedia and technologies like software and hardware. As there are countless digital touch points at Charter Oak State College, there is a continual effort and commitment to accessibility. Which means that no one person or department can make them all accessible in the letter and spirit of the law. The CSCU EIT Policy Charter Oak State College, to take actions that include the following:
- Recognize EIT Accessibility as the responsibility of all administrators, faculty, and staff.
- Develop, purchase, host, and/or acquire, to the extent feasible, content (instructional, promotional, media, etc.), web pages, websites, hardware, and software products and services that are accessible to individuals with disabilities.
- Develop an Accessibility Implementation Plan to promote ongoing, inclusive access for individuals with disabilities.
- Form a Digital Accessibility Committee to oversee the Accessibility Implementation Plan.