Vireo Accessibility Resources Task Force
In early 2025, the Vireo User Group Task Force on Accessibility Resources was convened to provide general information about the ADA Title II Web accessibility regulations that could be shared with students and advisors as they are working on their ETD submissions. Led by UTSW Medical’s Jon Crossno, this Task Force has been focused on supporting compliance with the new Department of Justice rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that was published on April 24, 2024, requiring that state and local institutions ensure that all web content and mobile applications are accessible by April 24, 2026. Under this rule, Vireo users should comply specifically with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Levels A and AA success criteria and conformance standards.
TDL, the lead developers of Vireo, has worked towards accessibility compliance within the development community through changes to the software. The accessibility requirements also have implications for the actual documents that are submitted by students through Vireo, so the Task Force has aimed to compile and provide resources and practice guidelines to help graduate school staff and students understand what they can do to ensure that their documents meet the new ADA requirements.
To that end, the task force has created a concise, one-page document that highlights some of the most important things to use, and we would like to share that information with you.
VTFAR – ADA Requirements and Vireo.pdf
For more information, and to download the PDF of the one-sheet, see the Task Force’s TDL wiki page (The link is: https://texasdigitallibrary.atlassian.net/wiki/x/BwDh5w)
TDL is grateful to the Task Force:
- Jon Crossno (Chair), UT Southwestern Medical Center and VUG Steering Committee
- Kristin Clark, Texas Woman’s University
- Joe Dobbs, University of Texas
- Jeanne Hoover, East Carolina University
- Susan Hoover, University of Houston
- Shannon Kipphut-Smith, Rice University
