Western Oregon Web Accessibility Guidelines

Introduction

Western Oregon University web accessibility guidelines have been created to fulfill Western Oregon University’s on-going commitment to establish and maintain a learning environment free of barriers. In order to achieve such an environment, these guidelines have been designed to provide accessible web material to all persons regardless of physical, mental, or technological ability.

Legal Requirements

Web accessibility guidelines have also been created to meet ethical and legal standards set by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998. These laws prohibit Western Oregon University from discriminating against individuals with disabilities and require all material intended for presentation to the general population to be presented in an accessible format for anyone.

Best Practices to Address the Needs of Persons with Disabilities:

Auditory Limitations or Deafness:

• Provide transcripts of audio content and Closed Captioned or Full Text transcripts for video materials where applicable.
• 3Play Media (http://www.3playmedia.com/): cost effective technique for Captioning video content.

Cognitive Limitations:

• Do not use flashing or strobe content.
• Provide easy-to-use controls and navigation schemes.
• Employ consistency in labeling and navigation, where possible.
• Use the clearest, simplest language appropriate to the content.
• Provide control over all time-based media (i.e., slideshows).

Visual Limitations or Blindness:

• Use well-structured and semantic HTML.
• Use meaningful ALT attributes on images.
• Do not use tables for layout purposes.
• Properly linearize content, especially forms.
• Provide sufficient contrast between foreground and background elements.
• Avoid using pop-up windows.
• Label all form elements.
• Do not use Flash™ for navigation and avoid using it in other places, where possible.
• Provide access keys and “skip to content” links.
• Use WAI-ARIA landmarks where possible.
• Position hidden content of-screen instead of using “display:none.”
• Provide additional guidance and controls using of-screen content (i.e. descriptions of the page layout and available access keys).
• Provide transcripts of audio content and Full-Text transcripts or Captioning for video materials where applicable.
• Do not use flashing or strobe content.
• Provide easy-to-use controls and navigation schemes.
• Employ consistency in labeling and navigation, where possible.
• Use the clearest, simplest language appropriate to the content.
• Provide control over all time-based media (i.e., slideshows).

Development tools

While creating websites, developers throughout the WOU –System should adopt and exceed the web standards established by the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) for the creation of online content. Specifically consult the W3C’s page on accessibility (http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG/)

Web applications and tools for developers include:

• Vischeck (http://www.vischeck.com/): Simulates colorblind vision.
• Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool (WAVE) (http://wave.webaim.org): Accessibility evaluator.

A number of plugins are available for the Firefox web browser (http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/?from=getfirefox) in testing your website’s compliance with accessibility guidelines:

• AInspector for WCAG Accessibility Evaluation (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ainspector-wcag/): Easy to use and provides clear, actionable results.
• WCAG Contrast Checker (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/wcag-contrast-checker/): Tests to see if elements on the page provide enough contrast to be visible to those with impaired vision.

Additional Resources

• W3C Accessibility (http://www.w3.org/standards/webdesign/accessibility.html)
• Designing for Screen Reader Compatibility (http://webaim.org/techniques/screenreader/)

Non HTML documents

Many types of document types may not be accessible to screen readers including the following:

• PDF’s
• Word documents
• Power Point
• Flash or streaming video

Sometimes the software used to create specific file types includes features which allow a user to add accessibility functionality. The problem is that many times using these features properly takes longer than creating the original document.

The easiest method for making a document accessible is to copy the text from the file and paste it into a standard web page. This is especially true for Microsoft word files with minimal formatting and imagery. Documents designed with page layout software such as InDesign or Quark many times depend on graphic elements to convey their message appropriately. The design staff within the Marketing & Communication office at Western Oregon University will assist individuals wishing to convert graphic layouts of marketing material into an accessible webpage.

Where to check pages for accessibility

• WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool http://wave.webaim.org/
• Accessibility self test at http://www.lgta.org/accessibility/initial-assessment.html
• Lift Software’s accessibility test at http://www.usablenet.com/

Reference material

Section 508
Disability Info.gov

Contact Disability Services