UNIVERSITY POLICIES
Accessibility Policy
The University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) is committed to making its web sites accessible and usable to all users. The purpose of this policy is to establish minimum accessibility and usability standards for all official University web pages intended for the public. The University has adopted the web accessibility standards of Section 508 Subsection 1194.22 of the amended Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Technical standards that guide compliance are provided by the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative. Section 508 represents the minimum accessibility standards for UTPA's web pages and web authors are encouraged to go beyond this whenever possible. Curricular pages are not included within the scope of this policy.
UTPA is required by Texas Administrative Code: Title 1, Part 10, Chapter 206, Subchapter C, Rule §206.70, effective September 1, 2006, to have all new or redesigned web pages that contain official University information intended for the public, comply with the established accessibility standards. It is encouraged that web authors examine existing web sites to meet the accessibility standards as well.
Web sites shall be checked for accessibility when they are linked from the University homepage. Existing web pages will be brought into compliance as concerns or complaints are initiated.
Exceptions: Where compliance is not possible, or may require extraordinary measures, written requests for exceptions may be considered by the university's ADA Coordinator. Whenever possible, the ADA Coordinator will help the publisher of the page in finding accessible solutions.
Web Accessibility Link
The University homepage and key public entry points must also include an "Accessibility" link to this page http://www.utpa.edu/policies/accessibility/ that contains the University's accessibility policy and contact information for the University's Accessibility Coordinator.
Web Accessibility Responsibility
Web authors in each unit responsible for designing, developing and maintaining web pages must ensure that their web pages meet the University's accessibility standards. Units with large web sites containing official University information should establish priorities for ensuring access according to the web pages being used or requested most often.
Web Accessibility and Usability Testing
New or redesigned web pages must be tested by the web page owners using one or more §508 or equivalent validation tools in conjunction with manual procedures to validate §508 compliance. To ensure that University web sites are designed with consideration for the different types of Internet connections and platforms, web authors are responsible for testing their sites for usability. Additional information and links to resources can be found in our Standard Operating Procedures.
PDF Accessibility
Some information on this site may be in the form of Adobe Acrobat® PDF documents. Refer to Adobe's website for information regarding tools to allow access to PDF files for people with disabilities. Adobe has a free conversion tool on their website where you can go to request conversion of a PDF document to either HTML or plain text. More information can be found on Adobe's Accessibility site.
Web Accessibility Coordinator
If you use assistive technology and the format of any material on this website interferes with your ability to access the information, please contact the University's Accessibility Coordinator using the information provided below. To enable us to respond in a manner most helpful to you, please indicate the nature of your accessibility problem, the preferred format in which you wish to receive the material, the web address of the requested material, and your contact information.
| accessibility@utpa.edu | |
| Phone | 956-381-2100 |
| Fax | 956-381-2150 |
| Mailing Address | ADA Coordinator Office of the President The University of Texas - Pan American 1201 West University Drive Edinburg, TX 78539 |
Additional Resources
UTPA's Disability Services office provides a wide range of accessibility services to students. Computers with screen readers like JAWS, screen magnifiers, Braille output and other assistive technologies are provided. UTPA's policy concerning accommodations of individuals with disability can be found here http://www.utpa.edu/hop/files/pdf/I8248317.pdf. 
Additional information about accessibility programs in Texas is available from the Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities at http://www.governor.state.tx.us/disabilities/.
Definitions:
Accessibility: Web design criteria which support access that is not dependent on a single sense or ability, such as vision or hearing.
Key Public Entry Point: A Web page that is specifically designed for members of the general public to access official information (e.g., the governing or authoritative documents) from the University.
Curricular Pages: Web pages that are part of faculty’s personal web space and pages in the learning management system.
Homepage: The main page or entry point to a web site.
Usability: Web design criteria that support user performance, ease of navigation, and understandability.
Web Page: A document specifically designed for members of the public to access official information from an agency via the Internet.
Web author: The webmaster or web developer in charge of coding the web page.
Adobe Acrobat Reader: Download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) document above.
