Subject: Accessibility for Manitobans Act Accessible Information & Communication Standard
From: Ilana Simon <[email-masked]>
To: Tatjana Blazevska <[email-masked]>, Raman Dhaliwal <[email-masked]>, Ajit Batra <[email-masked]>, Anna Solmundson-Birch <[email-masked]>, Chris Taylor <[email-masked]>, Christian Becker <[email-masked]>, Curtis Shonoski <[email-masked]>, Danielle Ashcroft <[email-masked]>, Dave Fidler <[email-masked]>, Debra Young <[email-masked]>, Debra Young <[email-masked]>, Doris Kuzma <[email-masked]>, Genelee Celestial-Dela Cruz <
Cc: Melni Ghattora <[email-masked]>, Peter Filopoulos <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 29 Feb 2024 19:01:51 +0000

Date: February 29, 2024

To: Rady Faculty of Health Sciences business managers, directors and administrative leads

From: Ilana Simon, Director of Communications & Marketing, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences

Re: Accessibility for Manitobans Act Information & Communication Standard

UM central IST team has launched a new project to meet Manitoba's Accessible Information and Communication Standard under the Accessibility for Manitobans Act. To support this UM initiative, my communications & marketing team is reaching out to the departments, units, colleges we support across the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences to ensure all members of the Rady community are aware of our responsibility to comply with the new standard and the tight deadline.

Background:
Under the Accessibility for Manitobans Act, the University of Manitoba must create online content that is accessible and available to everyone by adhering to guidelines outlined by the Act and by other organizations specializing in online accessibility, such as the World Wide Web Consortium. The deadline for public sector organizations, large municipalities, libraries and educational institutions is May 1, 2024. Read more on UM Today<https://news.umanitoba.ca/project-launched-to-meet-manitobas-accessible-information-and-communication-standard/> (published November 27, 2023).

Action required:

Information and resources related to this UM project have been included in the Rady Weekly emails (sent Feb 5/8/12/20), however we are also relying on business managers, directors and administrative leads to:

1.      communicate this information within your respective areas, with emphasis on ensuring those impacted are informed; and
2.      complete the tasks below and/or assign to the appropriate person(s) in your department/unit/college by the required deadlines.

Below is what is required to ensure your websites/pages comply with Manitoba's Accessible Information and Communication Standard under the Accessibility for Manitobans Act by May 1, 2024:

*       By March 15 - Please audit all your website and/or SharePoint pages and identify all linked documents (PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc.).
*       By March 31 - Please submit one support ticket<https://umanitoba.ca/health-sciences/communications-and-marketing/services#website-development-and-support> per page reviewed, with all current linked documents identified within the single ticket - be sure to include attachments if applicable and the completed audit worksheet for that specific page (see attached).

We created an online accessibility page<https://umanitoba.sharepoint.com/sites/um-intranet-health-sciences/SitePages/online-accessibility.aspx> that includes all of the information you will need to complete the action required. Please familiarize yourself with the following resources before you start:

*       Posting documents online<https://umanitoba.sharepoint.com/sites/um-intranet-health-sciences/SitePages/online-accessibility.aspx#solutions-for-commonly-posted-documents> - this section outlines why we will no longer link documents such as PDFs and what exceptions could be considered.
*       Solution for commonly posted documents<https://umanitoba.sharepoint.com/sites/um-intranet-health-sciences/SitePages/online-accessibility.aspx#solutions-for-commonly-posted-documents> - this section addresses the documents impacted and suggests accessible solutions to help you decide how you plan to share this information.

In addition to reviewing your unit/department/college site pages, please be sure to also review (as applicable) your program pages on the Explore UM site<https://www.umanitoba.ca/explore/> or within your college site. Awards/scholarships/bursaries listed on research, student experience, community and partner pages across your college or Rady Faculty sites.

Training available:

Across our Rady website, a significant number of documents impacted are application forms. Our suggested solution is the MS Forms app that is available to all UM M365 account holders. There are two upcoming training session offered through Learning and Organizational Development (LOD) Services<https://umanitoba.sharepoint.com/sites/um-intranet-health-sciences/SitePages/online-accessibility.aspx#application-forms>. Training is not required to access MS Forms<https://umanitoba.ca/information-services-technology/microsoft-365/microsoft-365-other-tools>; you can access it at any time and the app offers a straightforward interface that enables users to create forms without any coding or design skills. If you benefit from self-directed learning, please refer to the Microsoft Forms help and learning website<https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/forms?ui=en-US&rs=en-US&ad=US>.

The Rady Faculty communications & marketing team will be working with clients to ensure a seamless transition. More importantly, we require your attention to this matter to ensure there is no disruption to leaners/faculty/staff. Documents that have not been addressed will be removed by May 1, 2024 and will remain offline until they are addressed by the client.

If you have any questions related to this overall project or require additional resources beyond what we've linked throughout this message, please refer to the attached email and contact the project lead from central IST.

If you have any general questions, please send an email to [email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]> and a communications & marketing team member will be in touch.

Thank you for your cooperation and support in helping us fulfill our responsibilities to ensure our Rady Faculty websites are accessible and compliant with the new standard by May 1, 2024..

Subject: Project launch - Accessible Information and Communication Standard
From: Rady Communications <[email-masked]>
To: "[email-masked]'" <[email-masked]>, "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2024 21:38:02 +0000

Sent on behalf of René Ouellette, Associate Vice-President (Human Resources) and

Meghan Menzies, Human Rights and Conflict Management Officer

This message is available in alternate formats upon request to Suvojit De, the Project Manager ([email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>)

Dear colleagues,

The university has launched a new project to meet Manitoba’s Accessible Information and Communication Standard HYPERLINK "https://accessibilitymb.ca/accessibility/act-standards/the-accessibility-standard-for-information-and-communication.html"<https://web2.gov.mb.ca/laws/regs/current/047-2022.php?lang=en%22%EF%B7%9FHYPERLINK%20%22https://accessibilitymb.ca/accessibility/act-standards/the-accessibility-standard-for-information-and-communication.html> under the Accessibility for Manitobans Act. This standard aims to help organizations identify, reduce, and remove barriers for everyone trying to access information.

The standard regulation requires public sector organizations, libraries and educational institutions to:

••••••••• Ensure web applications and content are accessible.

••••••••• Inform the public and employees about requesting information in accessible formats.

••••••••• Provide a feedback process for accessible information and communication.

••••••••• Provide training on accessible communication.

••••••••• Document all policies, measures and practice related to accessible information.

The project has identified 12 key actionable sections of the standard in all. The deadline for compliance is May 1, 2024.

Complying with this standard offers many advantages to the university including:

••••••••• Improving accessibility for individuals of all abilities.

••••••••• Removing barriers that exist online, in print, or through technological or interpersonal interactions.

••••••••• Reinforcing the university’s dedication to equity, diversity, and inclusion.

••••••••• Ensuring community members with accessibility needs can provide input to help the university address specific accessibility concerns.

The project team will collaborate with stakeholders to review and update policies, work with website content authors by providing a tool to assess if content meets standards and provide accessibility training on the standard to the university community.

Compliance with the standard is a shared responsibility. Over the next six to seven months, we may ask resources on your teams to fulfil compliance requirements. For example, all digital content authors will need to remediate areas of their website that do not meet the standard, such as PDFs. The project will provide the training and tools to help content authors meet this requirement.

More information about what faculty and staff need to do will be available on the Accessibility hub on UM Intranet in the coming months.

Please feel free to contact the Project Manager Suvojit De ([email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>) with any questions or concerns.

Thank you for your cooperation and support.

René and Meghan