Web Accessibility Policy
Michigan Virtual, formally Michigan Virtual University, is a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization established in 1998 and provides online education and training to Michigan’s K-12 community. Michigan Virtual recognizes the importance of and is committed to providing equal opportunity to the educational benefits and opportunities afforded by technology and has adopted this Web Accessibility Policy to ensure that our websites are accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of technology or ability. This policy implements several initiatives to increase the accessibility and usability of our websites following generally accepted and available standards and guidelines. Michigan Virtual agrees to take the following actions.
- Conform all existing and new web content produced by Michigan Virtual to meet the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Level AA conformance, or updated equivalents (Referred to throughout as WCAG 2.0).
- Designate a Web Accessibility Coordinator with the authority to coordinate and implement the Web Accessibility Policy.
- Direct Michigan Virtual administrators and staff to ensure that any free, third-party content used by Michigan Virtual adheres to the web accessibility policy.
- Ensure that any content-acquired through contracts with third-party vendors will also adhere to Michigan Virtual’s web accessibility policy, and where applicable, the contract language will include specific language acknowledging adherence to the Michigan Virtual web accessibility policy.
- Provide annual training to any Michigan Virtual staff responsible for creating or distributing online content to students, employees, guests, and visitors with disabilities on the Web Accessibility Policy, the WCAG 2.0 guidelines, and their roles and responsibilities to ensure content is accessible. This training will be facilitated, in whole or in part, by an individual with sufficient knowledge, skill, and experience to understand the WCAG 2.0 standards and/or through high-quality online resources designed by such individuals.
- Under the direction of the Michigan Virtual Accessibility Coordinator, conduct, or retain professionals knowledgeable in WCAG 2.0 guidelines, to conduct annual internal accessibility audits of electronic information technology against the WCAG 2.0 guidelines with students, teachers and staff in usability testing and develop a plan to address identified issues. Accessibility checks will be incorporated into the publishing workflow for all new content as well as review of third party content. All problems identified in the review will be documented, evaluated, and, if necessary, remediated within a reasonable period of time.
- Inform all Michigan Virtual employees, visitors and users of Michigan Virtual websites of the Web Accessibility Policy, as well as their right to report violations of this policy, contact the Web Accessibility Coordinator with any accessibility concerns, and/or file a formal complaint through its Web Accessibility grievance procedure. The Michigan Virtual web accessibility policy will be posted in logical and readily-identifiable locations on our websites.
- Review the policy annually and document the last reviewed date on the website.
As we make progress toward meeting our goal of ensuring accessibility of our websites, we invite you to submit any questions, concerns or suggestions you may have about accessibility to our Web Accessibility Coordinator:
