What we do
Digital Accessibility Liaisons (DAL) advocate for accessibility in all aspects of campus life. We promote digital accessibility by learning about, sharing and supporting the work of the Digital Accessibility Office (DAO).
Our goals include:
- acting as the main contact for digital accessibility questions and issues in our department or unit.
- communicating digital accessibility policies, standards and related information.
- attending monthly meetings and interacting with fellow liaisons via Microsoft Teams.
- tracking metrics that illustrate improvements to digital accessibility.
Monthly meetings
Our monthly meetings are opportunities to learn about accessibility-related topics. We meet online via Zoom, so it’s easy to join in the conversation during a busy workday.
Liaison leaders plan the meetings based on feedback from liaisons. They invite guest speakers from on and off campus to share their ideas and experiences. Some past meetings included:
- a presentation by the Digital Accessibility Office on alternative text including a video demo of screen readers.
- guest speakers from Caption Perfect, a local live captioning company, about how their jobs have changed since the start of the pandemic.
- guest speaker from George Mason University about its digital accessibility strategic plan and its “accessibility as a service” model.
- assistive technology demonstrations by the North Carolina Assistive Technology Program (NCATP).
Who we are
Each liaison is a volunteer who wants to learn about and promote digital accessibility at Carolina. We have representatives from all over campus and from all types of roles. Liaisons can be anyone who works at UNC including students, instructors and staff.
Liaisons have the opportunity to earn a Digital Accessibility Liaison badge to apply to their email signatures and online profiles.
2024-2025 Leaders
Badge training
THIS TRAINING IS ON HOLD FOR NOW. We hope to start this back up in the Fall 2024. Check here for updates or email digital_accessibility@unc.edu with questions.
The Digital Accessibility Office offers badge training for all current liaisons. We recommend this training to liaisons who want to take on more responsibility in their role. Liaisons who complete this training, its prerequisites and the final project receive a digital badge.
We have a growing number of badged liaisons who use their badge to promote their knowledge of accessibility.
To learn more about the badge training and register:
- Permanent employees should sign up through Carolina Talent
- Temporary workers, students and other affiliates should sign up through LearningStream
Why you should become a liaison
By becoming a DAL, you become your department or unit’s local influencer for digital accessibility. You can help to scale up the DAO’s outreach efforts across campus. You can also grow your knowledge and develop new professional skills.
How to become a liaison
Becoming a liaison is as simple as joining and participating in our Microsoft Teams. We will share meeting information with members of the Microsoft Team each month. You can connect with fellow liaisons, share resources and discuss topics of interest between meetings.