[Athen] ADA and new agreement - naccessible online learning product

[Laurie Vasquez]

http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/louisiana-tech-u-settles-with-u-s-over-claims-that-it-violated-disabilities-act-2/63583?cid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

July 23, 2013<http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/louisiana-tech-u-settles-with-u-s-over-claims-that-it-violated-disabilities-act-2/63583>
 by Nick DeSantis <http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/author/ndesantis>
Louisiana Tech U. Settles With U.S. Over Claims That It Violated
Disabilities Act

Louisiana Tech University will pay a student a total of $23,543 in damages
and make its Web sites and course materials more accessible in order to
resolve allegations that it violated the Americans With Disabilities Act,
the U.S. Department of Justice
announced<http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2013/July/13-crt-831.html> on
Tuesday.

In an agreement with the department, the university settled accusations
that it had violated the law by using an online-learning product that was
inaccessible to a blind student—a complaint similar to those on many
campuses.<http://chronicle.com/article/Blind-Students-Demand-Access/125695/>
The
department said the student had been unable to gain access to class
materials for almost a month into the university’s quarter, putting him so
far behind in his work that he felt forced to withdraw from the course.

The Justice Department said that, in a subsequent course, the university
had been accused of failing to provide the student with accessible
materials in a timely manner. The agreement also settled those allegations.

The department said the university, which is part of the University of
Louisiana System, had agreed to use course content and Web pages that meet
certain standards for online accessibility. The university will also make
accessible Web pages and materials created since 2010, and will train its
employees on the requirements of the law.

A university spokesman said the institution wanted to meet the needs of
sight-impaired students and looked forward to doing so.
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