Accessibility
What is Accessibility?
Accessibility means access. It refers to the ability for everyone, regardless of disability or special needs, to access, use and benefit from everything within their environment. It is the “degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible.”
POUR: The 4 Principles of Web Accessibility
- Perceivable information and user interface
- Text alternatives for non-text content
- Captions and other alternatives for multimedia
- Content can be presented in different ways
- Content is easier to see and hear
- Operable user interface and navigation
- Functionality is available from a keyboard
- Users have enough time to read and use the content
- Content does not cause seizures
- Users can easily navigate, find content, and determine where they are
- Understandable information and user interface
- Text is readable and understandable
- Content appears and operates in predictable ways
- Users are helped to avoid and correct mistakes
- Robust content and reliable interpretation
- Content is compatible with current and future user tools
Why do we need to be accessible?
Accessibility is one of the most important aspects of modern web development. Users of all types will have a better experience if you take accessibility concerns into account. It is also required by law for all federal EIT products to be accessible (with a few minor exceptions).
2U is dedicated to meeting WGAC AA standards and is in the process of bringing our inbound marketing sites up to spec.
Resources
- WCAG 2.0 – the Big List note: It’s our recommendation to take WCAG and use it as a baseline for your own internal accessibility/usability standards.
- Color Contrast Checker level AA requires a contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text. Level AAA requires a contrast ratio of 7:1 for normal text and 4.5:1 for large text.
- Suggested Chrome Extensions
If you have any additional questions about accessibility, please reach out to the web producer for your program or send us a message in the Accessibility Slack channel.