Video and Audio Accessibility Standard

Utah State University

In accordance with federal law and USU Policy 559, it is the responsibility of all colleges/departments, administrators, faculty, and staff to ensure that video and audio content is accessible to all users.

Note: Anywhere video is mentioned in the standard, the same standard applies to audio files. For audio files, a professional transcript (text file) is equivalent to a professional caption file.

Definitions

Access Restricted
Access restricted video is not available to the public. It is only available behind a login for a specific audience.
Legacy Video
Legacy video includes video published on third-party platforms before July 1, 2022 that is not embedded or linked on a USU website.
Live Video
Live video includes video that is broadcast at the same time it is created.
Machine Captions
Machine captions are generated by an automated service that have not been reviewed by a human to ensure they meet the USU Captioning Quality Standards. Machine captions are not adequate to meet federal or university accessibility standards.
Professional Captions
Professional captions are completed by an approved vendor or edited by USU personnel to meet the USU Captioning Quality Standards.
Recorded Video
Recorded video includes any video prepared previously and made available for on-demand viewing.
Distribution Channels
Distribution channels include any video platforms (e.g. YouTube, Vimeo, Kaltura, Soundcloud, etc.) or social media platforms (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) that are available to the public.
USU Video
USU video includes any video on university public websites or other distribution channels.

Standards

  1. USU video on USU websites must be captioned at the time it is added to a website.
  2. When USU video is hosted on distribution channels:
    1. New video must be captioned when published.
    2. Legacy video should be made accessible as a best practice, but captions are only required when requested. Distribution channels with uncaptioned USU video should include the following statement:
      “Captions are available upon request by sending an email to captions@usu.edu.”
      or for audio recordings:
      “A transcript is available upon request by sending an email to captions@usu.edu.”
  3. Standards for live video are not yet available. Units are encouraged to take reasonable measure to ensure live video is accessible.

Implementation

Below are additional details on implementing these standards for different types of USU video:

Implementation Timeline for Recorded Video

  1. All new USU video published after July 1, 2022 must include professional captions when the video is published.
  2. All existing USU video that is embedded or linked on USU websites must be professionally captioned by July 31, 2022.
  3. Legacy video on third-party platforms should include a way to request captions on every channel that has uncaptioned USU video by July 1, 2022. Once a request for captions has been made, they must be provided within 7 business days.

Compliance

To ensure compliance with these standards, regular (at least annual) reports will be run on known campus video and audio content. If an organization is out of compliance, a report will be shared with a representative from each campus organizational unit designated by each campus Vice President or Dean with an expectation that the issue/s will be resolved within 30 business days.

If issues are not resolved within 30 business days, they will be referred to the Office of the Executive Vice President & Provost.

Exceptions

Any requests for exceptions to the above standards will be reviewed individually by the campus Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) Accessibility Steering Committee:

Accessibility Exception Request

Lack of sufficient funding for any unit, department, or college of the university as the sole reason for an exception will not be considered.

Accommodation Request Option for Access Restricted Video

When USU video is access restricted, captions are not required when the following criteria are met:

  1. Everyone in the target audience is given the opportunity to request captions as an accommodation.
  2. Captions can be provided on the USU video within 7 days of the request.

Our Caption Questions and Support page provides answers to several frequently asked questions. If you have further questions, please reach out for support by emailing captions@usu.edu.