Enterprise Information Technology Services Press Release
The University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

WRITER: Darrell Rainey, 706/542-5359, drainey@uga.edu
CONTACT: Bert DeSimone, 706/542-5359, bert@uga.edu

Web site accessibility tool moving to centrally managed University System of Georgia service May 31

ATHENS, Ga.— Since February 2005, UGA has provided a Web accessibility tool that dynamically creates text-only versions of UGA Web sites. This tool— Lift Assistive from Usablenet Inc.— eliminates the need to generate, store, and maintain text-only versions of Web sites and makes Web pages instantly more accessible to persons with disabilities.

Using text-only mode, visitors can navigate all pages and all content without having to view graphical pages.

Beginning May 31, the UGA service will transfer to the University System of Georgia (USG) service.

"The change will take place completely behind the scenes," said Bert DeSimone, EITS Communications Officer. "While it has been noted during testing that there are very minor differences in the layouts, the USG service generates highly accessible versions of UGA Web sites and associated pages."

DeSimone went on the say that partnering with USG to provide this service will ensure that UGA Web site views for persons with disabilities will be consistent across all schools within the system.

"As Lift Assistive is a commercial software package, there is an annual charge for its use," said DeSimone. "Availing ourselves of the USG service reduces costs for UGA, making Lift Assistive an even more cost-effective component in our Web accessibility strategy."

Details regarding use of Lift Assistive can be found on the following Web site:

http://tt.uga.edu

Please note that the link to the USG service is:

http://text.usg.edu:8080/tt/your_site's_name.uga.edu

It is recommended that the 'usg' URL be used for all new links; however, sites currently linking to 'http://tt.uga.edu/tt/your_site's name.uga.edu' will automatically be redirected to the 'usg' service.

Transcoded pages also include a tool section by default, allowing visitors to customize the page by changing font size, page colors, and other functions.

Providing equal access to Web sites for persons with disabilities is required by federal law, as outlined in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. For more information on Section 508, see:

http://www.section508.gov

About EITS
The Office of the Chief Information Officer and Enterprise Information Technology Services (EITS) are committed to the mission of UGA as a land-and-sea-grant institution where academics come first and the research extensive university community encourages research efforts at the undergraduate and graduate levels. To that end, under the direction of the University´s Chief Information Officer, EITS endeavors to provide a robust, reliable, and secure information technology infrastructure, maintain essential production services, and offer world-class support.