Northern Illinois University
Ethics and Compliance Office
Office of the President

NIU is committed to providing accessible technology, aligning with NIU's inclusive culture, NIU policy and state and federal laws. Accessible technology empowers students, faculty and staff to participate fully in NIU's rich technology environment.

Moving from Accommodations to Accessibility

Accessible technology is a shared responsibility and includes procuring accessible technology, creating accessible documents, and using universal design principles in learning and communication. Universal design makes technology for learning and working usable for everyone, addressing differences in communication and learning preferences and accommodating a wide range of circumstances. 

Learning, Teaching and Working

• Courseware accessibility
  • Blackboard and Blackboard Ally
  • MathML
  • MyLab Math
  • MyNIU
  • PowerBI
  • Qualtrics
  • SAS Graphics Accelerator
  • VoiceThread
• Digital materials
• Office 365 documents
  • Word
  • PowerPoint
  • Excel
• Online classes and meetings
  • Teams accessibility
  • Zoom accessibility
  • Online assignments and assessments
• Outlook email

Benefits of Accessible Technology

• Recruiting and retaining students with disabilities
• Earning a reputation for being a center of excellence for accessibility
• Reducing risk of litigation

Electronic and Information Technology (EIT)

• Hardware (desktop and portable computers)
• Software (installed and web-based applications)
• Operating systems
• Digital documents
• Videos
• Information and transaction machines (kiosks, card readers)
• Copiers and printers
• Documentation and support for EIT (manuals, webpages, support desk)

Accessible Technology Policy and Law

• Accessible Electronic and Information Technology Policy
• Federal Rehabilitation Act - Section 508 Refresh
• Illinois Information Technology Accessibility Act 2.0