Information Technology Policy for People with Disabilities

Dublin City University is committed to ensuring that the IT environment is designed, as far as possible, to meet the individual needs of people with disabilities.

DCU will endeavour to ensure that its IT environment is accessible to all individuals with disabilities.  This includes all aspects of teaching and learning, research, administration and general access to computing, library and electronic resources, both on-campus and remote access.

The spirit of this policy is framed under the legislation which exists covering this area, namely, The Equal Status Acts 2000 and 2004, The Employment Equality Acts 1998 and 2004 and The Disability Act 2005.

Individuals with disabilities will be responsible for making their needs for Assistive Technology known to the University.

For the purpose of this policy the definition being used is the one provided under the Equal Status Acts 2000 and 2004, where disability is defined as:

1. The total or partial absence of a person’s bodily or mental functions, including the absence of a part of a person’s body.
2. The presence in the body of organisms causing, or likely to cause chronic disease or illness.
3. The malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of a person’s body.
4. A condition or malfunction, which results in a person learning differently from a person without the condition or malfunction.
5. A condition, illness or disease, which affects a person’s thought process, perception of reality, emotions or judgement or which results in disturbed behaviour.

An accessible product or service is one which can be used by all its intended users, taking into account their different abilities. A user’s ability to make inputs and perceive outputs may be varied. Barriers to access occur when the design of the technology fails to allow for the variations in user’s abilities (taken from the IT Accessibility Guidelines of the National Disability Authority (NDA).

The scope of this policy includes all IT related products and services covered by the

NDA IT Accessibility Guidelines, including specifically :

• Web Design
• Public Access Terminals
• Telecoms
• Application Software

DCU will endeavour to ensure that all new systems implemented within the University conform to all applicable NDA IT Accessibility Guidelines at, at least priority one.

For further information, please contact:

Disability Service

Tel: 01 700 5927

Fax: 01 700 8661

E-Mail: disability.service@dcu.ie

ISS

Tel: 01 700 5007

Fax: 01 700 6697

E-Mail: helpdesk@dcu.ie

Human Resources Department

Tel: 01 700 5149

Fax: 01700 5500

E-Mail: personnel.applications@dcu.ie