This website was created to educate the campus community about digital accessibility, emphasizing the importance of making digital content and tools accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. This site covers accessibility principles, best practices, and resources to ensure that digital environments are inclusive and usable for everyone.
ADA and Title II
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has finalized a rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandating that digital content and services of public higher education institutions be accessible to individuals with disabilities. This rule requires compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA standards.
Key Requirements
- Accessibility Standards: Institutions must ensure all digital content (including text, images, videos, and interactive elements) is accessible. Making content accessible may involve tasks such as providing alternative text for images, captioning videos, and ensuring compatibility with screen readers.
- Scope: The rule applies to all digital services offered by public higher education institutions, such as course registration systems, online learning platforms, financial aid information, and other essential services.
- Implementation Timeline: April 24, 2026: For institutions in jurisdictions with populations of 50,000 or more.
Digital Access at S&T
Ensuring digital accessibility means providing equal access to online resources, educational materials, and all digital services. Just as we make physical spaces accessible, our digital environments must also be inclusive. This planning guarantees everyone can benefit from our resources.
Moreover, digital accessibility is a legal requirement and a civil right. Inaccessible web content can hinder equal access to information and create barriers. By prioritizing accessibility, we foster inclusivity and compliance while also enhancing the usability and adaptability of our digital content.
Missouri S&T is committed to ensuring access to its digital resources. We will routinely assess our content to ensure compliance and provide accommodations when needed as we work to remediate identified issues.
Because the creation of digital content is a widely distributed task, ensuring ongoing compliance requires widespread sharing of knowledge. This site can assist you in making any content accessible by default, and provide the resources needed to remediate any content in need of updates.
Digital Accessibility Task Force
The S&T Digital Accessibility Task Force was created to help our campus meet these requirements by the deadline. In partnership with UM System, the taskforce will help set priorities, communicate with campus, develop training materials and work with others across campus to make sure we meet our accessibility goals.
- Co-chair: Carol Tohlen, accessibility and testing
- Co-chair: Kimber Crull, marketing and communications
- Project manager: Lisa Martellaro, marketing and communications
- Renee Brumett, university libraries
- John Cook, information technology
- Brooke Durbin, information technology
- Jeff Jennings, online learning and educational innovation
- Perry Koob, information technology
- Susan Murray, teaching and curricular excellence
- Ryan Smith, marketing and communications
- Simone Waldon, Staff Success Center
- Josh Woehlke, marketing and communications
- Sammatha Yelton, human resources.