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Digital Accessibility Policy

Effective Date: 2026-03-13
Last Revision Date: 2026-03-13

Introduction

Reed College is committed to ensuring that all community members have equal access to all aspects of college activity. This commitment is based on the college’s long-standing belief in the importance of an inclusive environment. Accessible web content allows people with disabilities to fully participate in the academic program, employment, and other activities of the college. Additionally, Reed must comply with applicable laws regarding digital accessibility, including Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Definitions

• Accessible
  Compliant with the standards set by this policy.
• College Activities
  All operations of the college.
• Digital accessibility
  The degree to which individuals with disabilities have independent and timely access to and use of web content.
• Web content
  Also referred to as digital content. The information and sensory experience to be communicated to the user by means of a user agent, including code or markup that defines the content's structure, presentation, and interactions. Examples of web content include text, images, sounds, videos, controls, animations, web applications, and conventional electronic documents such as PDFs or Word Docs.
• Archived web content
  Web content that was created before the adoption of this policy; is retained exclusively for reference, research, or recordkeeping; is not altered after the date of archiving; and is clearly identified as being archived.
• Mobile applications
  Software applications that are downloaded and designed to run on mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets.
• User agent
  Any software that retrieves and presents web content for users.
• Conventional electronic documents
  Web content or content in mobile apps that is in one of the following electronic file formats: portable document formats (PDF), word processor file formats, presentation file formats, and spreadsheet file formats.

Governance and Responsibilities

• The Chief Information Officer is responsible for this Policy.
• The Digital Accessibility Steering Committee is responsible for advising, resourcing, and communication related to this Policy.
• When compliance is ambiguous, the Digital Accessibility Lead within IT is responsible for making a final determination about whether content is in technical compliance with accessibility standards.
• IT will evaluate vendors’ ability to comply before purchase through the technology adoption process.
• Each staff unit is responsible for any content or applications they create or make available.
• Faculty are responsible for the content of their own courses.

Scope

The college’s expectation is that all web content and mobile apps, and content contained therein, as well as social media posts and electronic documents created by, or made available through, Reed College, excluding those specifically listed as exceptions in this policy, are compliant to the fullest extent possible with the digital accessibility standards identified in this policy. Content, applications, or products provided by vendors to the college must also comply with this policy.

Content that is not in scope

There are types of content that are not required to be in compliance with this policy:

• Pre-existing archived web content created before the adoption of this policy, that are retained only for reference, research, or recordkeeping, that are not being used to participate in the activities of the college.
• Pre-existing social media posts, created before the adoption of this policy.
• Individualized, password-protected documents that are shared directly with the recipient.
• Conventional electronic documents created before the adoption of this policy that are not in active use and are never updated.
• Content posted by a third party is not required to comply with this policy unless the third party is providing web content due to contractual, licensing, or other arrangements with the college.

Policy Exceptions

In the rare event that compliance with this policy would constitute a fundamental alteration to the program or activity, or an undue administrative or financial burden for the college, as determined by the Digital Accessibility Steering Committee, an exception may be made.

Individuals or groups may request an exception to this policy for a specific application, product, or document by filling out the . Exception requests will be reviewed by the Digital Accessibility Steering Committee. Decisions by the reviewing body are final.

Standards

Web content and mobile apps in scope (see above) must meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)  2.1 AA to comply with this policy.

Policy Review

Reed IT and the Digital Accessibility Steering Committee will review this policy and update it if necessary once each calendar year. Reed IT or the Digital Accessibility Steering Committee may at any time make updates to this policy in order to stay in compliance with local, state, or federal law.