A: Yes. Both Federal and State law require institutions of higher learning to provide accessible web pages.

A: Many reasons. First and foremost is that it benefits your web site visitors. Making an inaccessible web site means that a potential customer, prospective student, faculty member, etc. might not be able to get the information you are trying to share. You are posting information on your web site with the intent of sharing information, so why would you make it impossible for visitors to use it?

Second, web site accessibility is the law. While we might sometimes think of state mandated requirements as bureaucratic hoops we are forced to jump through for no reason, web accessibility is something to take seriously. The nationwide retailer Target, for example, was sued by the National Foundation for the Blind because their web site was found to be not accessible.

A: As defined in TAC §206, a generally accessible website is a state web site that provides for graceful transformation, and making content understandable and navigable. By contrast, a web page is considered "accessible" under state law if it "... can be used in a variety of ways and that does not depend on a single sense or ability."

A: Both state administrative code and federal law require websites to be accessible. A distinction is drawn between pages that are used for instruction and pages that are used for information. State administrative code, "TAC §206 - State Web Sites" applies to informational pages. Pages that are used for instructional purposes must be accessible under both Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title 2 of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Links to each are available on the accessibility requirements page of this site.

A: Section §508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was re-authorized in 1998 and included web accessibility requirements that were later developed into a set of §508 Accessibility Guidelines. While these guidelines explicitly refer to pages used in instruction, state and university guidelines use §508 as the foundation upon which they were built, so in effect §508 applies to all university web sites.

A: "Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §206 - State Web Sites" is an administrative law which outlines requirements for state of Texas web sites in four distinct areas: Accessibility/Usability, Privacy/Security, Required Policies, and Linking/Indexing of state web sites. The statute was published in the Texas Register on March 15, 2002 and was has been updated several times. Links to the text can be found on the accessibility requirements page of this site.

A: As defined by TAC §206, a Key Public Entry Point (KPEP) is a web page that a state agency or institution of higher education has specifically designed for members of the general public to access official information (e.g., the governing or authoritative documents) from the agency or institution of higher education.

A: Yes. The accessibility policy can be viewed from the university accessibility policy page on this site.

A: The university accessibility policy outlines the minimum accessibility and TAC requirements for all general web resources. If your website is used for instructional purposes, you may be required to provide additional accessibility features to ensure that A&M students with disabilities are afforded "effective communication" in their academic pursuits. However, we encourage all site authors to go beyond the mandated minimums and create sites that are accessible in the spirit as well as the letter of the law.

A: Yes. To begin with, this website has valuable information, tutorials, and links to resources that can help guide you. The WEBACCESS listserv is also a valuable way to get answers quickly from the university webmaster community.