As students settle in to their physical and virtual seats for the semester, administrators at public and private institutions of higher education are already scurrying to prepare for the next academic year. This is true from both a course planning as well as internal compliance perspective. An area currently meriting extra attention is digital and web access for students with disabilities.
The clock is ticking, because in July 2010 the Department of Justice (DOJ) released a notice of proposed rulemaking for website accessibility under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 42 U.S.C. Section 12101. After delays, the rules are anticipated in 2018. This impending regulatory change, as well as two recent actions involving edX and Harvard University over the accessibility of online course offerings, has many schools contemplating appropriate digital accessibility plans.
