2022 VCA Annual Report - Disability Access and Compliance

The Office of Disability Access & Compliance (DAC) ensures campus compliance with state and federal disability rights law, as well as UCOP and Berkeley campus nondiscrimination policies and practices. DAC connects the UC Berkeley community with the resources, training, evaluative tools, and services that support equal access for disabled students, staff, faculty, and visitors to enjoy the physical campus and participate in university-sponsored non-course-related programs or activities. Their FY21 Operating Results & FY22 Budget can be found here.

Disability Access & Compliance is under the leadership of Ella Callow, JD, ADA Coordinator & Section 504 Compliance Officer.

FY21

Disability Access & Compliance (DAC) completed the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) required Transition Plan as well as a physical audit of campus to identify remaining architectural barriers to disability access. DAC also completed the ADA-required Self Evaluation, a programmatic audit of campus services, activities and programming, to identify remaining barriers to disabled people accessing these programs.

 DAC also took the lead in creating an Emergency Evacuation Planning consultation program for Disabled Students' Program clients.

Physical projects completed during the year included the construction of a new ramp for access to Sproul Hall.

Throughout the year, DAC provided consultation and advisement on 51 cases involving website and procurement compliance under the Information Technology Accessibility Policy.

Image of campus buildings at night

Photo credit: Ranelle Gomez/UC Regents

FY22

Next year's goals include:

  • DAC partnering with each campus department to remediate those barriers to disabled people participating in our programming (utilizing the 2021 Self Evaluation data).
  • Install new ramping, resurface cracked paths of travel, upgrade access in a library and other architectural barrier removal and access projects (utilizing the 2021 Transition Plan data).
  • Increase signage and add geolocation mapping (via 'what3words') to paths in the Botanical Gardens and central campus.
  • Install emergency evacuation signage with identified accessible evacuation routes.
  • Begin a three (3) year project to bring 200 public facing websites into compliance with our Information Technology Accessibility Policy and begin a rolling audit of all other sites, raising awareness of website compliance, and plan for sustained IT accessibility.
  • Expand the Emergency Evacuation Planning Consultation Program to disabled faculty and staff.
Image of campus building at night

Photo credit: Neil Freese/UC Berkeley

FY21 Operating Results & FY22 Budget

Disability Access and Compliance