Accessibility Resources at UNI

The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) provides that no qualified individual with a disability be denied access to or participation in services, programs, and activities at the University of Northern Iowa. This act applies to virtually all aspects of campus activities, including employment, student programming, and services provided to the community at large. As part of the University's campus-wide ADA compliance program, this webpage has been developed to link you with the many ADA and disability-related resources on campus.

UNI policy number 13.15: Accommodations of Disabilities, provides guidelines regarding the University’s compliance with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), and other applicable federal and state laws and regulations.

Reporting a Disability-Related Problem

If an employee or student feels their rights under the Rehabilitation Act, the ADA, and/or the ADAAA have been violated, or they encounter difficulty with the accessibility of the UNI website, they may consult with the Office of Compliance and Equity Management and/or utilize the procedures outlined in the Discrimination, Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct Policy. The Assistant to the President for Compliance and Equity Management is the designated ADA/Section 504 Compliance Officer.

Student Accessibility Services

Student Accessibility Services works with students who have disabilities in an effort to coordinate support services and programs that enable equal access to an education and university life. The primary service our office is known for is the determination of eligibility for academic and residence hall accommodations. For more information on the process to request accommodations through SAS, please visit the Student Accessibility Services website.

Office:  118 Gilchrist Hall
Phone: 319-273-2332
Fax: 319-273-5832
Contact: 
Tiffany Dodd, Assistant Dean of Students for Student Accessibility Services 
319-273-2332
Email: accessibilityservices@uni.edu

Workplace Accommodation Services

Human Resources Services is committed to ensuring faculty, staff, student employees, prospective employees, and visitors with disabilities have equal access at the University of Northern Iowa. Our goal is to create an inclusive working environment for all UNI employees.

When a health condition or disability causes difficulty in performing essential job functions, employees may request a workplace accommodation. The process may be initiated by the employee or the employee's supervisor. UNI evaluates each request on a case-by-case basis through an interactive process involving the employee, supervisor, and HRS. More information regarding the workplace accommodations process is found on the HRS website.

Office: Human Resource Services
027 Gilchrist
Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0034 
Phone: (319) 273-6164
For deaf or hard-of-hearing use Relay 711 
Fax: 319-273-2927 
Contact: Melissa Ward - Leave & Accommodations Coordinator - melissa.ward@uni.edu

Information for faculty members about teaching students with disabilities and Student Accessibility Services are available on the Student Accessibility Services website.

Vocational Rehabilitation

Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services works with individuals with disabilities who want to become employed. If an individual is determined eligible for services we assist them to achieve their employment goal by providing such things as tuition assistance, counseling/advising, assistive technology and other services.

Office:  116B Gilchrist Hall
UNI Office Phone: 319-273-6349
Work Cell: 319-429-3815
Contact: Katrina Webbeking (katrina.webbeking@iowa.gov)

Website Accessibility

The UNI website is maintained by Information Technology - Client Services. If you have difficulty accessing the site or have any comments or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact Ben Arnold in IT-Client Services.

The University of Northern Iowa endorses the guidelines of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) as the standard for World Wide Web accessibility and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The standards of the Federal Rehabilitation Act (Section 508) are consistent with the W3C Guidelines and provide achievable, well documented guidelines for implementation. Effective immediately, all new or revised webpages published or hosted by the University must be in compliance with the World Wide Web standards defined in the Federal Rehabilitation Act Section 508, specifically subsections 1194.22 and subsection 1194.31. A revised webpage is a webpage where significant redesign of a page or a major revision of the content of a page takes place.

Reasonable effort must be taken to ensure that legacy webpages are in compliance with these subsections of Federal Rehabilitation Act Section 508.

Other Disability/Accessibility Resources at UNI