Summary: This article describes Baylor College of Medicine’s commitment and actions to address website accessibility issues for users with disabilities such as auditory, cognitive, learning and neurological, physical, speech and visual.
Approving Authority: Office of Communications & Community Outreach, Institutional Web Management
Last Updated: Nov. 14, 2018
Purpose: With diversity and inclusiveness among its core values, Baylor College of Medicine is committed to making its website accessible to all.
Scope: This governance applies to all webpages and applications within the bcm.edu domain.
Definitions
Accessibility is the term used to describe the practice of removing barriers which prevent interaction or access to websites by people with disabilities. Various methods of design, development and tools are used to enable equal access to information and functionality.
Responsibilities
Web editors are required to undergo content management system training, which includes accessibility features.
Guidelines
Testing: Baylor’s Institutional Web Management conducts ongoing accessibility testing to ensure compliance with best practices and standards as defined by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act.
Monitoring
Pages are monitored on a regular basis to make sure that content on the site is as accessible as possible to all visitors.
Training
As part of its training program for new web editors, Baylor’s Office of Information Technology web team addresses accessibility and emphasizes the importance of accessibility features such as:
- Concise, informative titles
- Proper use of headings and other formatting elements such as lists
- Appropriate, descriptive alternative text for photos, charts and graphs
Additional Information
*Note: Policies cited in the Digital Governance document (approved by the Board and published in March 2019) supersede any previous agreement, policy and/or guideline.
Contact
Cognizant Office: Office of Communications & Community Outreach, Institutional Web Management: pa-webteam@bcm.edu
General questions should be directed to the Digital Governance Subcommittee.
