The CIO is the driving force for all accessibility efforts.
Any leadership inquiries, high-level legal discussions or mission-critical university-wide conversations about digital accessibility are headed up by the Chief Information Officer and other executives he may appoint to help carry out the mission of the digital accessibility program.
Responsibilities
Report to Leadership and Interested Parties
Report to the University Vice President and Office of Civil Rights (OCR) representative
(when needed) as to accessibility progress and/or issues.
Address Any Legal Conversations
Handle communications and resolution between the legal entities (internal or external)
and the Digital Accessibility Team, when and if the need arises.
Leadership and Delegation
Directly oversee the Director of Digital Accessibility. Approve accessibility program
direction, strategy and new initiatives and help translate the effort into measurable
success metrics.
Communicate With University Leaders
Help educate those in leadership positions at the university regarding the importance
of digital accessibility and what help is needed from their college, division or office.
Push Through Issues
Help the Director of Digital Accessibility take action when a Site Manager is failing
to meet standards.
Engender an Accessibility Culture at USC
Imbue teams, committees, and staff with a desire to serve all users well and consider
accessibility at every turn.
Advise the Accessibility Committee
Participates in Accessibility Committee meetings and activities. Represents the strategic
interests of the University to the committee.
Campuses Outside of the Columbia Main Campus
Many University of South Carolina campuses have their own Chief Information Officers. Those CIOs hold the above responsibilities for their own campuses.
When the Main Campus CIO May Step In
If at any point, a campus needs additional digital accessibility leadership assistance, is falling behind on accessibility compliance or is facing a legal complaint, the CIO from the Columbia Main Campus may intervene in the interest of mitigating risk to the university system as a whole.