What are digital resources and why are we concerned about accessibility?
We use a variety of digital resources (also known as EIR, ICT, and IT*) on and off campus to provide information and services.
What are digital resources?
These include, but are not limited to:
Imagine
When you see an event on a website or email, you might want to add it to your calendar. But if you can't copy and paste the text, you have to type it all out. This is inconvenient for you, but it's a bigger problem for people who are blind because they can't read the text on the event image.
We want to fix these issues to make life easier and more accessible for everyone, including people with disabilities.
Accessible digital resources offer these benefits:
- Improves communication
- Expands learning opportunities in our university community
- Increases job opportunities for current and future faculty and staff
- Enhances participation in programs and activities
- Ensures compliance with federal and state laws, and A&M System regulations
- Makes digital resources more usable, simplifying daily tasks
We want to progressively improve accessibility
We aim to gradually improve accessibility. While many things we use are currently inaccessible, technology advancements can solve some of these issues right now. Our goal is to educate ourselves and the service providers (vendors) we work with to create a more productive and successful community.
* Transitioning away from "EIR"
EIR is an acronym used in the State of Texas and throughout the Texas Administrative Code (TAC). The definition can be found in TAC 206.1 and TAC 213.1:
(9) Electronic and information resources (EIR)--Includes information technology and any equipment or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment used to create, convert, duplicate, store, or deliver data or information. EIR includes telecommunications products (such as telephones), information kiosks and transaction machines, web sites, multimedia, and office equipment such as copiers and fax machines. The term does not include any equipment that contains embedded information technology that is used as an integral part of the product, but the principal function of which is not the acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of data or information. For example, thermostats or temperature control devices, and medical equipment that contain information technology that is integral to its operation, are not information technology. If the embedded information technology has an externally available web or computer interface, that interface is considered EIR. Other terms such as, but not limited to, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Information Technology (IT), Electronic Information Technology (EIT), etc. can be considered interchangeable terms with EIR for purposes of applicability or compliance with this chapter.
The Digital Accessibility Officer at TAMU-CC is the current Electronic and Information Resources Accessibility Coordinator (EIRAC) per TAC 213.41. This working title change helps our community and service providers talk about digital accessibility more easily.
To avoid confusion, we'll use different terms instead of "EIR":
- ICT (Information and Communication Technology) when talking to vendors. This term is used by federal agencies and in global digital accessibility laws.
- IT (Information Technology) when talking to the TAMU-CC community. It's a common term, but not all IT can be reviewed for compliance. EIR or ICT are parts of IT.
- Digital resources in policies and regulations to cover all products and services that can be reviewed for compliance. This term is used in plain language guidance.