Wheelchair ramps and expanded entryways usually spring to mind when thinking about providing access for individuals with disabilities. But what about expanded entry to your Web site? Can all of your students benefit from the information there, or just the able-bodied?

"How useful is the video developed by the admissions office to illustrate the application process for a student who is legally blind?" asks NASFAA regulatory expert Jennifer Martin in her recent Student Aid Transcript article, Access and Accessibility.

Schools may employ the latest media and technology to improve outreach, but when accessibility is overlooked, it can create barriers for individuals with disabilities. It can also violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Title IV Program Participation Agreement requires schools to comply with civil rights statutes -- including those relating to discrimination on the basis of a physical handicap -- and this covers institutional Web sites.

"Web site accessibility is a requirement for entities that receive federal funds, such as Title IV aid," writes Martin. "It's not just a good idea, it's the law."

Indeed, not only must the student aid office comply, the entire university must be in compliance. Fortunately, in December 2008, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) published new standards for Web accessibility. Martin describes the four principles underlying these standards as follows:

• Perceivable: Users must be able to perceive the information presented -- it can't be invisible to every one of their senses.

• Operable: Users must be able to operate any and all interfaces.

• Understandable: Users must be able to understand the information and the operation of the user interfaces.

• Robust: Users must be able to access the content as technologies advance.

By meeting all of these principles, the institution can ensure that individuals with disabilities can use its Web-based services.

Access and Accessibility further describes the W3C Guidelines and offers tips for measuring success and finding additional resources as well as the W3C's own site, www.w3c.org. Because NASFAA membership applies to the entire institution, financial aid professionals should feel free to download a copy of the article to share with other offices at the institution.

"The release of the new accessibility standards gives financial aid administrators the opportunity to work with other campus offices to ensure that the institution's Web content meets W3C guidelines," writes Martin. "Financial aid administrators should contact their institution's information technology office to determine if it is aware of the new guidelines."

Access and Accessibility is one of the many exceptional articles you will find in the current issue of NASFAA's Student Aid Transcript magazine.

By Linda Conard
NASFAA Director of Development

Posted 09/10/09 to www.NASFAA.org. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited. Please submit Web site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org.