Harriet Lewis, University secretary and general counsel, issued this message to the York University community:
This is a reminder that effective Jan. 1, 2014, the Information and Communications Standard of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) will require that York University’s Internet websites and content follow regulations that require new content to conform to World Wide Web Consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, initially at Level A and increasing to Level AA.
Specifically, WCAG is a technical standard which defines methods to make web content easily accessible to persons with disabilities. This standard will be applied to York University’s [web] content in a phased approach. As of Jan. 1, 2014, any new website, any new content, or any current website undergoing more than a 50 per cent refresh, must conform, in its entirety, to the Web Content Accessibility guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 level A.
Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. If you would like additional information regarding the WCAG Guidelines and/or how to make and keep your websites compliant, please consult the resources at York University’s AODA website.