Course Accessibility Checklist

Headings

• Heading styles give a document structure by category or topic (Heading 1 through 6).
  • Heading 1: Document Title or a major section
  • Heading 2: Major subsection titles
  • Heading 3: Further subsection titles, and so forth
• Use of headings to ease navigation within a document.
•  Headings allow for a table of contents to be generated automatically.
• PowerPoint does not use headings instead of using slide title. Every slide should have meaning and unique title. If the same topic, add i.e. 1 of 3, 2 of 3, 3 of 3.

Readability

• Avoid extremely long and wordy sections.
• Avoid unusual word, jargon, and acronyms as possible.
• Provide definition or explanation for abbreviation.
• Avoid center align paragraph.
• Use strong not bold; emphasis not italic.
• Use different visual elements such as color, fonts, spacing and imagery to increase readability.

Images 

• Use alternative text (alt text), a written description of images and/or objects. Be brief and descriptive.
• “Image of…”or “photo of…” or “graphic of” is not needed.
• The best method to practice is using captions, this will provide equal access to all users.
• Best Practices for Accessible Images

Color 

1. Select colors with deep contrast between the foreground and background.
2. Use the Colour Contrast Analyzer to ensure accessible contrast.
3. Provide captions if using color to convey meaning i.e. which section is highlighted in red?

Links 

• Links should be clear and directly relate to the title or heading of the linked page.
• Use “Visit the Universal Design Center” instead of “Click here for more details.”
• Do not use the same link text to refer to different resources.
• Do not use different link text to refer the same resources.
• Best Practices for Accessible Links

Tables 

• Use tables to organize data not format as layout.
• Tables are read from left to right, top to bottom.
• Do not create table using the Draw Table Tool.
• Avoid merged, split, or blank cells.
• If data tables are present in document, they must have:

1. Provide title (i.e. Caption) and Summary
2. Heading cells for columns or rows

• Guide for Creating Accessible Tables

Multimedia 

• Ensure video files have captions.
• Ensure audio files have transcripts.
• To request media captioning from NCOD

Accessibility Checker 

• Use the built-in Accessibility Checker in Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat PDF, and Canvas Pages.
• The checker will scan for errors and provide tips on how to fix them.