Welcome to the Event Accessibility Guide page! This page serves as your central guide to understanding faculty roles, responsibilities, and the resources available to support you with SAS for events. Whether you're new to our campus or a returning member of our academic community, this guide will help you understand key information with ease.
University of California, Merced is committed to providing accessible and inclusive programming to all students on and off-campus and has a responsibility to do so under federal and state laws. This guide is intended to provide event organizers and campus administrators with the tools necessary to proactively plan events that are accessible to all attendees.
This statement should be included in all promotional materials and registration communications to ensure participants know how to request accommodations.
- To request an accommodation for this event, please contact [insert program/event contact person] at [insert program/event contact(s), person(s), email address] or [insert program/event contact(s) person by phone number] by [insert date] typically at least one week in advance.
- Ensure all attendees are notified that food will be served.
- Identify who will be supplying the food/beverages for the event.
- Ensure they can provide common allergen free and food sensitivity choices (such as nut free, gluten free, vegetarian, etc.).
- If the event is using a vendor/caterer, ensure they can post the ingredients for their food
Review the physical space ahead of time to ensure it meets the diverse needs of attendees and complies with accessibility standards.
- Identify accessible entrances, ramps, elevators, and accessible restrooms.
- Ensure that the room, seating, and aisle spacing arranged so that attendees who are blind or have low vision, use a wheelchair or other mobility devices can move about safely and independently.
- Ensure the space is set up where attendees are deaf or hard of hearing may need a loop system, reserved seating near the speaker, interpreters or captioning.
- If tables or desks are used, ensure that adjustable-height options are available.
- Program materials should be made available in audio, electronic format (Word format is preferred), or in large print or braille per attendee request.
- Any films or videos, even those embedded in a PowerPoint or presentation, should be captioned.
- Presenters should describe visual aids, graphs/charts, and pictures utilized in their presentation.
If you are unsure how to estimate the cost of specific accommodations (Sign Language interpreters, real-time captioning, assistive listening devices, copies of PowerPoint presentations, large print or braille), Student Accessibility Services can help you estimate the cost to your budget and proactively identify resources. However, Student Accessibility Services is not budgeted to cover the costs associated with event accommodations.
A digital version of this exam can be found here Event Accessibility Guide
