Accessibility Compliance Checklist

The following is a list of the primary areas for which our compliance team checks online courses. Meeting these best practices will help to satisfy Quality Matters, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and further UNT's policy to strive to meet the demands of federal and state digital accessibility laws.

Review Standards	Explanation
Keyboard Navigation	For keyboard-only users, the order in which web content items receive keyboard focus follows the conceptual order as it appears from left to right, top to bottom. The Tab key is often used to navigate through content, including video controls. (QM 8.1 & 8.5 / WCAG 2.1 & 2.4.3). Learn about keyboard navigation accessibility.
Headings, Lists & Tables	Content is logically ordered with hierarchical heading structure, related items grouped using ordered & unordered lists, data tables for tabular data. Tables have titles, including a heading or table caption, and are formatted using row and column headers and scope where applicable (QM 8.2 / WCAG 2.4.6 & 1.4.10). Learn about headings, lists, & tables accessibility.
Text	Font size is adequate; text decorations do not include underline, and have high color contrast. Word notifications such as “NOTE:” or “IMPORTANT:” are used to emphasize content in addition to text decoration. Underlined text implies a hyperlink and can confuse users with visual or cognitive disabilities (QM 8.2 & 8.3 / WCAG 1.4.12). Learn about text formatting for accessibility.
Links	Hyperlinks are all composed of meaningful text and are unique on the page (same link text does not repeat). A common mistake is providing link text that is a full URL, or using generic phrases such as “Click Here” or “Read More” that provide no context for screen reader users (QM 8.2 & 8.3 / WCAG 2.4.4). Learn about creating accessible links.
Responsive Design	Responsive design known as content reflow is readable on mobile devices. This also include page response to high contrast settings. The web page still displays correctly when users with visual impairments use high contrast settings (QM 8.2 & 8.3 / WCAG 1.4.10). Learn about responsive web design.
Color Contrast	High color contrast between text and background (e.g., black text over white background) helps visibility and clarity (QM 8.2 / WCAG 1.4.3). Learn how to test colors for accessibility.
Shapes & Texture	Shapes and textures in addition to color allow colorblind users to understand visual information (QM 8.2 / WCAG 1.4.1). See examples of accessible charts and graphs.
Graphics	Graphics such as photographs or charts are clearly described by alternative text descriptions (“alt text”), figure captions, or descriptive text for blind/low vision users. (QM 8.3 & 8.4 / WCAG 1.1.1). Learn about accessible images and alternative text descriptions.
Captions for Video/Audio	Captions, which benefit all students, are at least 95% accurate. Auto-generated captions have been reviewed for accuracy (QM 8.4 / WCAG 1.2.2). Learn how to caption.
No Auto-play	Students may control the timing of content changes (no auto-play). Auto-play interferes with screen reader audio and can adversely affect users with certain cognitive or learning disabilities, or motion disorders (QM 8.5 / WCAG 2.2.2).
Audio Transcripts	Audio-only content such as slides with narration, podcasts, or audio recordings of speech includes a text transcript on the same web page, in a Canvas page, or in a Word document (QM 8.4 / WCAG 1.2.2).
Electronic Documents	Electronic documents offered in the course, such as PDF, Word, PowerPoint, etc., follow best practices for accessibility (QM 8.3 / WCAG A and AA). Learn how to check PDFs for accessibility and create accessible PDFs.
Accessibility Conformance Report (Recommended)	Ensure third party content providers have a current and accurate VPAT or other documentation describing their accessibility features (QM 8.6). Learn about VPAT.

If you have any questions about any of the best practices above, please contact us via the CLEAR Consultation Request Form.