ADA Compliant Website & Documents

Why We Need to Design for Accessibility It is the right thing to do. Helps people CONNECT to Grayson College. It’s the law.

What is ADA Compliance Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 ensures that millions of Americans with disabilities have equivalent access to information regardless of how they access it. Vision Impairment Hearing Impairment Motor Impairment Physical Impairment Psychological Impairment

Webpages & ADA Compliance The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 are becoming the industry standard for accessible websites. The Guidelines outline standards to be met by organizing them according to 4 main principles of accessibility. 4 Principles of Accessibility Perceivable- understood by sight or hearing Operable- how the website operates Understandable Robust

Headings The header tags (<h1><h2> etc.) should be used instead of style elements like font size and bolding. Headers must also be used logically with only one Heading 1 per page and the rest of the headers ordered logically by number. In the CMS, don’t use Heading 1

Images Alt tags provide text to describe images on your web page. Make sure to convey any meaning in the alt tag that the picture would provide for a sighted user.

More descriptive the better. Image tag example Add an image description that matches the image you are using on the page. The More descriptive the better.

Links Links should be accessible for users not using a mouse. Link text should use words that briefly convey what the person will access if they click the link. Don’t use “Click Here,” “More” or the URL as link text Always fill out the Title field for each link you create. Content from Title field will hover above link when moused over.

Link Example

Tables Tables that present data in a column and row format must be appropriately marked up in the CMS. Include a Caption Tag for the whole table. Insert/Edit Table > Select Table Caption check box Insert Caption on New Table

Tables, con’t. Tables are read from left to right and line by line. Any column or row headers must be marked so the content is read correctly. Right-click in the header Select Cell > Table Cell Properties Set Cell Type to Header Set Scope to Either Column or Row

Checking Accessibility in Word, Excel and PowerPoint All 2010 and above Microsoft Office programs have an accessibility checker. Click the File tab in top Ribbon Check for Issues > Check Accessibility

Evaluating Your Document & What to Do Next Take a look at the results Use the Inspection Results dialog to click through all the issues

Tips for Creating Accessible Documents Create proper file names Fill out Document Properties

Tips for Creating Accessible Word Documents Templates solve most problems Create headers to organize content Use Automatic Bullet lists Utilize tabs instead of repeat spacing Add Page Breaks instead of returns Insert images in-line with text Rules from the CMS that Apply Use built-in headers to organize content All Images need Alt Text All links need descriptions Tables need captions Tables need Column and Row Headers Designated

Creating Accessible PDFs Start with a document (Word, PowerPoint) that is already accessible File > Save As > Select Location In the Save as type dropdown select PDF Click Save

Creating Accessible Excel & PowerPoint Files Follow recommendations for creating accessible Word Docs Avoid blank rows for formatting Give all sheet tabs unique names that describe what is in the sheet PowerPoint Follow recommendations for creating accessible Word Docs Use slide layouts Place proper titles in proper places Don’t insert text boxes Use arrange tool to order elements

Video The goal is that all new produced videos need to include closed captions that are synchronized to appear when the audio is heard. If a video has visual content that cannot be understood through audio alone, an audio description will make your video accessible to users who are visually impaired. Transcripts of videos are helpful for making the them accessible to people who have disabilities

ADA Compliance Resources Academic Accommodation Services: http://www.kumc.edu/accessibility Download a Copy of this Presentation: http://www.kumc.edu/cms-training