 |
 |
The University of Nottingham Staff & Educational Development Unit |
Search suspended |
 |
|
Web forum > Resources > Accessibility - Why is it important? (1 of 10) | ||
 | ||
The University clearly recognises a moral obligation not to exclude people with disabilities. Indeed the University's Disability Statement explicitly states that "Our aim is to provide a high level of support and guidance from the moment you first enquire to the moment you graduate." Since the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (SENDA) came into force in September 2002, there is also a legal obligation to ensure that a University does not "discriminate against a disabled person by treating him or her less favourably than others for a reason relating to their disability" (ref). Discrimination is said to occur when the University fails to make a "reasonable adjustment" and the student is placed at a substantial disadvantage compared to other students. An article from DISinHE - 'Disability Legislation And Implications for Technology in Higher Education' - provides a useful guide to this issue. Common methods of web site building do not have a good record in taking account of the needs of disabled users. As a result, web sites are often built using designs and coding that make the site inaccessible for students, or others, with commonly recognised impairments. For example, design decisions based on the visual appearance of a site may have enormous impact for those with mobility difficulties, or partial vision. There is almost always an alternative design that achieves a similar visual effect, but without creating barriers; that is an accessible web site. Along with usability and marketing led approaches, accessibility is one of a set of user-oriented issues currently emerging within the field of web authoring and design. For an example of software providers' current sensitivity to user-oriented issues see Jacob Neilsen's Flash: 99% Bad article and Macromedia's subsequent (almost immediate) response. |
|
|
|
| |