[Athen] Lift Assistive?

[Thompson, Rachel]

Hi, esteemed list. 

One of the web decision makers on our campus is asking for opinions on the Lift Assistive tool. It has been in use on our campus for a long time as a way to produce a text-only version of web pages. 

I know text-only does not mean accessible and I think tools like this give our web teams the erroneous feeling that content is accessible when it is not. I also hate the lack of equity with separate-but-equal approaches. 

If our web resources are created to meet WCAG 2.0 AA (our goal), is there a reason to keep our Lift Assistive license? 

If you have an opinion or have faced similar questions, could you please share?

Much obliged,
Rachel

Dr. Rachel S. Thompson
Director, Emerging Technology and Accessibility
Center for Instructional Technology
University of Alabama