Accessibility vs. Accommodation

We need to make a clear distinction between accessibility and accommodation.

  • Accessibility is Proactive. It is how we respond to the needs of populations, not individuals. It is rooted in our efforts to comply with Section 508 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and its later amendments.
  • Accommodation is Reactive. It is how we respond to the needs of individuals, not populations. It is rooted in our efforts to comply with Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and its later amendments.

Accessibility Team

Accessibility is everyone's responsibility -- all university faculty and staff are responsible for ensuring the accessibility of the services and resources they provide.  The following people have important roles or can provide support for accessibility concerns. 

  • Crissy Magee, ADA/504 Coordinator with Office of Civil Rights, Title IX & ADA Compliance.
  • John Jones, Director of the Media Resources Center. Provides guidance for a wide variety of media-related issues including web accessibility.
  • Isabel Medina-Keiser is Director of Disability Services. Oversees ADA accommodations for students.
  • Stacia Boden, University General Counsel, provides legal guidance to the work of the committee.
  • Carolyn Speer, Director of the Office of Instructional Resources, provides guidance and training for instructional staff and for other issues, as do many members of her team.
  • Heather Merchant, Senior Educational Accessibility Specialist and part of the OIR team, provides course, software, and tool accessibility reviews and audits. 
  • Ali Levine, ITS Applications Training lead, provides software training the includes accessibility 
  • Caleb Wilson, Digital Content Marketing Manager in MRC-Web Services, provides training on the university's content management system, which includes accessibility.
  • Jeremy Webster, Website Manager for MRC-Web Sevices, provides PDF remediation and accessible PDF training
  • Training is also provided by Human Resources and The Office of Diversity and Inclusion through MyTraining.
  • The Faculty Senate is establishing a permanent Accessibility Committee. An Ad Hoc committee has been meeting, and is the source of the Faculty Senate Statement on Accessibility.  

Report an Accessibility Problem

Have you discovered a problem with accessibility on campus? Use this form to report the issue and we will make sure the information is passed on to the team that needs to address it. 

Please describe the issue.