Accessibility 101

Inclusion is constructing one environment that can be used by everyone. That's what eAccessibility is: the creation of electronic materials without obstacles to allow equal access to information for people with all ranges of ability. This means web pages need to be built so people using assistive software or hardware devices can understand and interpret the information correctly. This effort is a great opportunity for our university to support the needs of an ever-growing student population with a wide range of abilities: unlocking opportunities, changing perceptions, and opening doors for everyone along the way.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) have been developed through the W3C process in cooperation with individuals and organizations around the world, with a goal of proving a single shared standard for web content accessibility that meets the needs of individuals, organizations, and governments internationally. WCAG 2.0 is a stable, referenceable technical standard. It has 12 guidelines that are organized under 4 principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. For each guideline, there are testable success criteria, which are at three levels: A, AA, and AAA.
References:

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview
• W3C Standards

• Excel Accessibility Checklist
• PowerPoint Accessibility Checklist
• Word Accessibility Checklist
• PDF Accessibility Checklist
• Website Accessibility Checklist
• Video and Audio Accessibility Checklist
• Digital Course Content Accessibility Checklist

• Microsoft Office Accessibility Center - Resources for people with disabilities
• Use the Accessibility Checker on your Mac to find and resolve accessibility issues
• Make your Word documents accessible