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Accessibility Policy

Links

  • Many links have title attributes which describe the link in greater detail, unless the text of the link already fully describes the target page.
  • Link references are written out to make sense out of context.

Multimedia

  • Content images used in this site include descriptive ALT attributes. Purely decorative graphics include null ALT attributes.
  • Content tables used in this site include descriptive ALT attributes for summary purposes.
  • Purely decorative graphics are often coded as background images to content elements.

Text

  • This site uses relative font sizes, compatible with the user-specified "text size" option in visual browsers.

Visual design

  • This site uses cascading style sheets for visual and print layout.
  • If your browser or browsing device does not support style sheets at all, the content of each page is still readable.

Printed pages

  • Clicking the "print this page" link will display a stripped-down version suitable for printing. This is accomplished by using a style switcher to exchange a print style sheet for the screen one.

Software

The University of Houston-Downtown website has been tested for viewing in the latest versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Opera for the Windows Operating System, and Chrome and Safari for the Apple Operating System.

Other helpful software is below.

  • JAWS, a screen reader for Windows. A time-limited, downloadable demo is available.
  • Lynx, a free text-only web browser for blind users with refreshable Braille displays.

Services & Tools

Outside References

  • Texas Administrative Code Chapter 206 accessibility guidelines.
  • Texas Administrative Code Chapter 213 accessibility standards for institutions of higher education.
  • U.S. Federal Government Section 508 accessibility guidelines. Note the 508 guidelines are being refreshed and are currently under review.
  • Dive Into Accessibility, an excellent guide which relates each rule to the type of person it helps. (We would like to thank the author for allowing others to use his accessibility statement.)
  • W3 accessibility guidelines, an in-depth explanation of the reasons behind each guideline.
  • W3 accessibility techniques, which explains how to implement each guideline.
  • W3 accessibility checklist, a busy developer's guide to accessibility.

Compliance Exceptions and Exemptions Handling

Exceptions

  • An exception request shall be submitted to the president or chancellor of an institution of higher education for each electronic and information resources development or procurement, including outsourced development, which does not comply with the standards and specifications described in Chapter 206 and/or Chapter 213 of this title, pursuant to §2054.460, Texas Government Code.   
  • An approved exception shall include the following:
    • a date of expiration
    • a plan for alternate means of access for persons with disabilities
    • justification for the exception including relevant cost avoidance estimates
    • signature of the executive director of the agency
  • Institutions of higher education shall maintain records of exception requests according to that institution of higher education's internal accessibility policy.
  • The department shall establish and maintain a list of electronic and information technology resources which are determined to be exempt from the standards and specifications of all or part of Chapter 206 and/or Chapter 213 of this title.

Exemptions

A list of electronic and information technology resources which are determined by UHD to be exempt from the standards and specifications of all or part of Chapter 206 and/or Chapter 213 of this title are listed below:

  • There are currently no accessibility compliance exemptions.

UHD Website Information & Contacts:

Related resources