Class meetings are supported through accommodations from Services for Students with Disabilities.Consider the following when determining if an event requires live captions: Live Captioning is a requestable service for university faculty and staff. Synchronous live captions can be integrated into Zoom or provided via a separate browser window for the end user. Live captioning is required for any live, digital, public-facing event across the university (e.g., webinars, seminars, and town halls). This commitment has been endorsed by senior leaders across the university, resulting in the allocation of centralized funds to provide both live and post-production closed-captions to advance the university mission. Captioning provides universal benefit to increase engagement and message clarity and aligns with Virginia Tech’s commitment to inclusion and access as outlined in the Virginia Tech Difference - Advancing Beyond Boundaries. and further demonstrate commitment to IT Accessibility Policy 7215.įor all of these reasons, Virginia Tech requires that all public-facing videos and live events produced by the university include captioning.
By making closed captioning a priority, we successfully meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 (WCAG) criterion 1.2.2. Additionally, captions support Virginia Tech’s Keep C.A.L.M and Caption-On campaign. These include the Americans with Disabilities Act (as amended) including Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (as amended) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as required by Virginia State Law. By proactively considering the need for captions, the university aligns efforts with legal requirements. Virginia Tech is proud to commit to inclusive media for faculty, staff, students, and all audiences who consume video/audio content across our digital platforms.