Disability Accommodation
Students & Employees: ADA Laws
The Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 prevents discrimination against qualified individuals on the basis of disability. Title II ADA requires newly designed and constructed or altered state and local government facilities, public accommodations, and commercial facilities to be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 applies to employers and organizations that receive financial assistance from any federal department or agency. Section 504 forbids organizations and employers from excluding or denying individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to receive program benefits and services.
Reasonable ADA Accommodations for Employees and Applicants Requiring Accommodations
The ADA requires that employers provide
reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities who are
either employees or applicants for employment, except when such
accommodation would cause an undue hardship. An ADA accommodation is any
change in the work environment, or in the way things are customarily done, that
enables an individual with a disability related to a medical condition to enjoy
equal employment opportunities. A reasonable accommodation will allow an
employee to do his or her job despite having a disability. Employees
and applicants may call to make arrangement to talk to the Director of ADA
compliance should they have any questions about accommodations or the
interactive process.
Employees seeking ADA
accommodations must submit medical documentation and when applicable a position
description to the Director of ADA Compliance. All the information
provided by the individual is confidential. The Director will begin the
interactive process with the employee to determine the limitations created by
the disability. Then the Director will determine whether or not the employee
can perform the essential functions of the position with or without a
reasonable accommodation. The University may deny a
reasonable accommodation that creates an undue hardship or creates a direct
threat to the individual.
If you have any questions about disabilities, accommodations, work place
barriers, physical barriers, ADA training, web accessibility, grievances or
simply want an opportunity to chat with the Director of ADA Compliance, please
don’t hesitate to contact the ADA
Compliance Office. We are always ready to assist you.
Please Note: ADA Accommodations for UNF events are provided by the
coordinator of that specific event; please contact your event's coordinator if
ADA Accommodations are needed. |
American Disability Act (ADA) Compliance Office Contact
1 UNF Drive,
Building 6,
Room 1314
Jacksonville, FL 32224
Phone: (904) 620-2870
Fax: (904) 620-2585
ADA Compliance Webpage
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DRC Accommodations and Valuable Opportunities for Current and Prospective UNF Students with Disabilities and Veterans
Current and Prospective Student
Accommodations
The Disability Resource Center (DRC) provides
reasonable accommodations to current and prospective students with
disabilities. Reasonable accommodations are modifications or adjustments to the
tasks, environments or to the way things are usually done that enable
individuals with disability equal opportunity to participate in an
academic program. Broad categories of accommodations include changes to
the application process to ensure an equal opportunity to apply for program
enrollment, changes that enable a student with a disability to perform the
essential functions of the academic program, and changes that enable a student
with a disability to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of the program.
Reasonable accommodations will be provided unless to do so would fundamentally
alter the nature of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, and advantages
offered by UNF. An ADA accommodation may be denied if it results lead to
an undue financial or administrative burden on the institution. Students
may call to make arrangement to speak to a member of the DRC should they have
any questions about accommodations or the interactive process.
The type of reasonable accommodations the
university can provide depends on the individual needs of a student with a
disability. The student is advised to disclose the disability,
provide the appropriate documentation to the DRC and request a reasonable
accommodation. It is the responsibility of students who seeks
disability-related accommodations and services to provide written documentation
of their disabilities. Documentation provided to the DRC will be kept confidential. The
DRC staff will determine whether the student is eligible for services and
if so, coordinate appropriate accommodations and services based on the
documentation provided in addition to consultation with the student and other
professionals, as appropriate.
Providing accommodations based on disability
does not compromise the essential elements of a course or curriculum;
nor does it weaken the academic standards or integrity of a course.
Accommodations simply provide an alternative way to accomplish the course
requirements by eliminating or reducing disability-related barriers. Reasonable
accommodations provide a level playing field, not an unfair advantage. The DRC
staff look forward to meeting current and prospective students seeking reasonable
ADA accommodations, please contact our office.
Student Scholarships
DRC staff can also provide you with information
about scholarships for students with disabilities. Please ask for information
about the Johnson Scholarship, Slade Scholarship, and other disability-related
scholarships.
Career Opportunities
UNF students who are registered with the DRC are
eligible to apply for a variety of job-shadowing and internship sites. DRC
staff members collaborate with professionals from Career Services to offer
these exciting opportunities. Contact the DRC for more information.
Additional Assistance for Military and
Veterans
The Military and Veterans Resource Center (MVRC)
provides assistance to military and veteran students in navigating admission,
enrollment and financial aid processes. Led by the Director, the Military &
Veterans Resource Center is the primary campus advocate for military and
veteran students. MVRC works with students to ensure their unique needs are met
by coordinating with offices of various university services.
The MVRC is committed to
ensuring that military and veteran students successfully make the transition
from the military environment to campus life, and are assisted
in their progress toward completing their academic degree. The Center also
provides opportunities for peer to peer support, mentoring and social
networking. We welcome volunteers from the veteran student community to work
with their fellow veterans as mentors to assist them in achieving a successful
academic experience. |
Disability Resource Center (DRC)Office Contact
1 UNF Drive
College of Education & Human Services, Building 57
Room 1500
Jacksonville, FL 32224
Phone: (904) 620-2769
Fax: (904) 620-3874
DRC Webpage
How to Register with the DRC through Clockwork
Veteran's Affairs Office Contact
1 UNF Drive
Military & Veterans Resource Center,
Founders Hall Building 2, Suite 1100
Jacksonville FL 32224
Phone: (904) 620-5131
Fax: (904) 620-5900
Email contact: mvrc@unf.edu
Veteran's Affairs Office Webpage
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UNF ADA Web Accessibility Statement
Mission:
UNF Aims to Meet ADA Web Compliance at WCAG 2.0 Levels A & AA
Web Accessibility and the Law
“The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Pub.
L. No. 101-336, 104 Stat. 327, codified at 42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq.,
prohibits state and local governments, and privately-owned "places of
public accommodation" from discriminating against individuals with
disabilities. 42 U.S.C. § 12182(a). Department of Justice regulations
implementing the statute require that: A public accommodation shall take
those steps that may be necessary to ensure that no individual with a
disability is excluded, denied services, segregated or otherwise treated
differently than other individuals because of the absence of auxiliary aids and
services, unless the public accommodation can demonstrate that taking those
steps would fundamentally alter the nature of the goods, services, facilities,
privileges, advantages, or accommodations being offered or would result in an
undue burden, i.e., significant difficulty or expense.” 28 C.F.R. § 36.303.uses
the term "places of public accommodation," typically it would appear
that the statute was written primarily with physical locations in mind. The
U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Civil Rights ruled that these provisions
applied equally to Internet web sites and concluded that Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (pdf), codified at 29 U.S.C. § 794—which prohibits
discrimination on the basis of disability in federally-funded educational
programs and activities—applies to university web sites. Thus, UNF is mandated
to comply with these laws.
UNF Goal
Our goal is to promote an ADA accessible web
environment for our users to help ensure that as broad a population
as possible may access and benefit from our services. For web content
published by the University of North Florida, it is our goal to comply
with WCAG 2.0 level A &AA success criteria. Documents and archived web content
on UNF's web pages will not be required to be accessible immediately.
However, if an individual needs access to documents or archive pages a request
may be submitted, please use the contact information provided below. Electronic
accessibility is not a one-time effort. Our aim is to fuse into
every internet technology and purchase of technology products accessibility
compliance. It is an on-going effort which will require collaboration
with all departments, continuous work, and support to balance the academic and
administrative needs with the constraints of available resources. Continuity is
imperative for success.
A Short Summary of Best Practices
Web compliance is measured on adherence to WCAG
2.0 level AA success criteria. A quick summary of some of these success
criteria include the following:
- Color is not used as a navigational tool or as the sole
way to differentiate items.
- Descriptive alternative (alt) text for is used
for images, complex images and diagrams.
- The navigation and functional components of a
webpage are not dependent on using a mouse, in other words, they are
keyboard accessible.
- Web contents should be tagged to work with voice-control
systems and transcripts.
- Captions are provided for audio content.
For a complete list of WCAG
2.0 level AA success criteria, please refer to the ADA Web Accessibility
homepage's WCAG 2.0
level AA checklist.
For Questions and Comments about ADA Web Compliance
Contact Either:
ADA Compliance by phone at (904) 620-2870 or by email at rrgonz@unf.edu.
UNF's Webmaster by email at webmaster@unf.edu.
Seeking Employment? Visit the Online Application System (OASys) at www.unfjobs.org
