The Digital Accessibility Policy requires each MSU unit to have a “primary” Digital Accessibility Liaison with the responsibilities listed below. Larger units may designate additional Digital Accessibility Liaisons for each department or internal unit with duties that vary as needed.
The primary Digital Accessibility Liaison for each MSU unit serves as a point of contact for digital accessibility compliance. They attend Digital Accessibility Liaison meetings, participate in the university’s Annual Digital Accessibility Self-Review process, and facilitate communication between their unit and the MSU Digital Accessibility Team. They make sure faculty and staff in the unit know who they are and are willing to answer questions about accessibility or route them to other university teams.
Digital Accessibility Liaisons encourage accessibility awareness and compliance within their unit. They promote resources such as the Digital Accessibility website, the Basic Accessibility Checklist, accessibility training courses, and tutorials. They may develop a communications strategy which provides regular accessibility messaging through existing channels. They also ensure any urgent accessibility issues are promptly resolved or escalated to the Digital Accessibility Team or the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities.
As much as possible, the primary Digital Accessibility Liaison serves as a subject matter expert for digital accessibility. They advise unit leadership and share the Accessibility Dashboard with them. They ensure digital accessibility is considered in the procurement of any purchased websites, applications, or other software platforms. They may evaluate unit websites, social media, or digital materials to ensure they’re compliant. They may also encourage the use of Spartan Ally or even run a Course Accessibility Review Team in colleges and other MSU units with courses.
Some MSU units may want to build the Digital Accessibility Liaison role into an existing position during the hiring process. The responsibilities above were intended to be useful as part of a position summary, although they may require adjustment based on the needs of each unit. The language below reiterates these responsibilities for those looking to add them to a position description:
Serves as the primary Digital Accessibility Liaison for the unit. This includes serving as a point of contact and subject matter expert, encouraging digital accessibility awareness, promoting training and resources, facilitating evaluation of course materials, websites, and other digital content, handling remediation and/or escalation of accessibility issues, working with unit leadership on digital accessibility communication and strategy, and reporting progress at the university level.