Providing accessible digital content for everyone, including people with disabilities, supports the University of Iowa's obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Accessible content ensures that all individuals can fully and effectively participate in university programs and services.

Mission

The Digital Accessibility Liaisons program strengthens our capacity to provide accessible content by promoting awareness, understanding, and practical skills within local units. Liaisons serve as champions for accessibility in their organizations while collaborating as a community of practice to share knowledge and grow expertise across campus.

How the Program Works

At the core of the Liaisons program is localizing accessibility awareness and practice in each Liaison’s sponsoring unit. Digital Accessibility Liaisons are appointed by their unit leadership to take part in the Liaisons program. Your participation in the Liaisons cohort constitutes an assignment from your supervisor or unit leadership.

Participation and Structure

The Digital Liaisons initiative is offered through the Office if Civil Rights Compliance. Monthly meetings are convened by the Digital Accessibility Coordinator.

Digital Accessibility Liaisons act as embedded accessibility advocates who understand their unit’s unique needs and workflows. They receive specialized training in accessibility practices and bring that learning back to their home units, helping to integrate accessibility in ways that reflect those needs.

Depending on the needs of the unit, the Liaison might:

• Serve as a unit's first point of contact for accessibility issues;
• Perform basic testing and remediation of unit technologies and tools;
• Escalate accessibility issues knowledgeably and effectively;
• Oversee the Siteimprove Accessibility module for unit websites;
• Coordinate other accessibility efforts depending on the needs of their unit

Liaisons are asked to complete Accessibility 101, a foundational training module in ICON designed to introduce digital accessibility concepts as they apply at the University of Iowa.

Each individual who provides, assigns, procures, develops, selects, or oversees a digital asset is accountable for the accessibility of that asset. This includes service owners, faculty and staff, content providers, web and application developers, and others who provide digital technology to conduct university business. 

Within their local units, Digital Accessibility Liaisons may be asked to assist in their colleagues’ efforts to provide more accessible content. For complex accessibility issues. Liaisons may also request expedited support through the Digital Accessibility Coordinator.

Under the Liaison support model, a unit identifies one or more individuals to act as a local point of contact for accessibility issues. Liaisons, along with their unit leadership, IT staff, or other stakeholders, determine the scope and scale of a Liaison’s support. 

Through standardized training, monthly meetings, and self-paced learning, Liaisons build skills and knowledge to support accessibility issues within their unit. Colleagues in the Liaison’s unit can contact the Liaison directly with accessibility questions or support needs and the Liaison can address the issue or escalate to the Digital Accessibility Coordinator. This approach removes support bottlenecks by decentralizing Tier 1 accessibility support requests.