Digital Accessibility Liaisons

A Digital Accessibility Liaison (DAL) is a staff or faculty member designated by each academic or administrative department to serve as the primary point-of-contact for digital accessibility. The DAL Community of Practice promotes and supports the university’s digital accessibility efforts, ensuring that departmental digital content, systems, and communications meet accessibility standards.

The primary responsibilities of a DAL include:

1. Communication and Coordination
   • Act as the liaison between the department/unit and the University’s Digital Accessibility Coordinator (DAC).
   • Share university-wide updates, guidelines, and resources related to digital accessibility with departmental staff and faculty.
   • Communicate departmental accessibility concerns or needs to the DAC.
2. Awareness and Training
   • Promote awareness of accessibility best practices in digital content creation (e.g., documents, websites, multimedia, and learning materials).
   • Encourage colleagues to complete accessibility training and utilize university-provided resources and tools.
3. Monitoring and Support
   • Assist the department in reviewing its digital content and identifying areas for improvement related to accessibility compliance.
   • Provide guidance on how to correct or improve accessibility issues, referring complex matters to the DAC as needed.
4. Policy Alignment
   • Help ensure departmental practices align with Kutztown University’s Digital Accessibility Policy and relevant state and federal regulations (e.g., ADA, Section 504, Section 508).
   • Maintain awareness of institutional accessibility initiatives and assist with documentation or reporting as requested.

Role Limitations

The Digital Accessibility Liaison does not directly remediate, or update content created by others.  Each content owner (faculty, staff, or department) remains responsible for ensuring their own materials, websites, and documents meet accessibility standards. The DAL’s role is advisory and facilitative providing information, direction, and support, not direct content editing or remediation.

Reporting Structure

DALs work collaboratively with the Digital Accessibility Coordinator and report accessibility activities or issues within their assigned area as part of the university’s overall accessibility compliance efforts.

Kutztown University established the Digital Accessibility Policy and the DAL role in response to updated federal regulations under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), published April 24, 2024. These regulations require public universities to ensure their websites, mobile apps, and digital content meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA. This ensures equal access for all users, including individuals with disabilities, and helps the university avoid legal and financial risks.

No. The DAL can be any staff or faculty member. It is recommended that the DAL be someone in a 12-month position, as accessibility work continues year-round. However, departments may select the most appropriate individual for their needs.

This involves helping to evaluate departmental websites, documents, and digital tools to ensure they meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards. DALs may use checklists, automated tools, or collaborate with the Digital Accessibility Coordinator for more complex reviews.

DALs help ensure that departmental digital content remains accessible as it is updated or replaced. This includes ongoing monitoring and remediation of accessibility issues. DALs are not responsible for remediating or updating content created by others.

Accessibility training is available through several university and external resources:

• In-person and online trainings
• Resource Guides & Quick Tips
• Digital Accessibility Community of Practice Collaboration
• Support Office Hours
• Online Resources

The initiative will be implemented in phases beginning with digital accessibility training for DALs followed by the development of a collaborative plan to assess digital assets in each area. The results of the assessment phase will be used to develop a project plan tailored to focus on public facing digital assets including websites, applications, student facing digital documents, and multimedia content.  In conjunction with DALs, training will be available to enable faculty and staff who are not DALs to address accessibility issues with their content. 

The DAL Community of Practice collaborates with the Digital Accessibility Coordinator, DSO, faculty, IT staff, and other DALs across campus. They may also participate in university-wide accessibility initiatives and meetings.

The primary support contact will be KU's Digital Accessibility Coordinator Cherish Prazeres. Issues that require escalation will be communicated to appropriate staff by Cherish and/or Troy Vingom, CIO.

Cherish Prazeres
Digital Accessibility Coordinator
prazeres@kutztown.edu
484-646-4155

Troy Vingom
Chief Information Officer
vingom@kutztown.edu
610-683-4152