Best Practices
11 Accessibility Statements
Once you have created materials you believe are largely accessible, whether a textbook, course materials, or an entire course, you should provide an accessibility statement. While an accessibility statement may not be required by your institution or your material’s published context, it can be an important and useful addition for your resource’s users and ultimately for you. This section focuses on two types of accessibility statements: those for course syllabi and those for online resources, such as an OER textbook.
What is an accessibility statement?
An accessibility statement for digital resources, such as an OER textbook, provides an overview of accessibility features and contact information in case there are any problems accessing materials. An accessibility statement on a syllabus can go beyond that, signalling inclusive intent, inviting direct requests for accommodation and course design improvement, and pointing students to additional institutional or confidential resources.
Who are you doing this for?
Who benefits?
While an accessibility statement is essential for those who may require additional support in a course or alternative formats of a resource, it comes with the following benefits:
- It helps foster a sense of belonging for those with disabilities.
- It raises awareness for everyone about the accessibility of different types of resources, about the potential barriers they or others may experience, and about accessibility services available.
- It keeps you committed to your good practices and provides an avenue for others to assist you as they alert you to additional accessibility issues they face.
- It encourages adopters or adapters of your materials to replicate your accessibility practices.
What do you need to do?
For Course Syllabi
Visit the Accessible Syllabus Project’s Policy section for guidance on how to craft an inclusive accessibility statement. (While you’re there, feel free to browse all four of their sections: text, images, rhetoric, and policy.) We also recommend Zoë Wool’s examples of how to move from boilerplate language to more welcoming and inclusive statements.
For Online Resources
Here are tips for writing a useful accessibility statement for an online resource, such as an OER textbook:
- Use clear and simple language, avoiding jargon and technical terms.
- Include information about how people can personalize their experience. This might include information about:
- features of the platform used for the resource (e.g., if a book is in Pressbooks, mention the ability of users to set zoom settings for math equations)
- the ability to change browser settings
- a link to each available file format
- assistive technologies
- Outline specific accessibility features and how to use them when relevant.
- Do not make false claims or ignore known accessibility issues. Be as transparent and open about accessibility barriers as possible. This means:
- describing what is being done to fix the problem and a timeline
- providing any temporary workarounds
- Include information about who is responsible for the accessibility of the content and their contact information so people can submit issues, suggestions, or complaints related to accessibility.
- Describe the organization’s accessibility policy, and the work that has been done to make the resource accessible. Here, you can provide information like:
- accessibility guidelines you are following (e.g., WCAG 2.0)
- any federal, provincial, or state legislation you are conforming to
- any user testing you performed[1]
Here is a sample accessibility statement that you can adapt for your own purposes:
Sample Accessibility Statement for an Online Resource
[Name of organization] believes that education needs to be available to everyone, which means supporting the creation of free, open, and accessible educational resources. We are actively committed to increasing the accessibility and usability of the textbooks we produce.
Accessibility of This Resource
The web version of this resource [INSERT LINK TO THE WEBBOOK HOMEPAGE] has been designed to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, level AA. In addition, it follows all guidelines in Appendix A: Checklist for Accessibility of the Accessibility Toolkit – 2nd Edition. It includes:
- Easy navigation. This resource has a linked table of contents and uses headings in each chapter to make navigation easy.
- Accessible math equations. Many of the equations in this resource have been written in LaTeX and rendered with MathJax, which makes them accessible to people using screen readers that are set up to read MathML. The rest of the equations are rendered as images with appropriate alternative text.
- Accessible videos. All videos in this resource have captions.
- Accessible images. All images in this resource that convey information have alternative text. Images that are decorative have empty alternative text.
- Accessible links. All links use descriptive link text.
[Note: Make sure the above list only includes content that appears in the book. If there are no videos, don’t mention videos.]
| Element | Requirements | Pass? |
|---|---|---|
| Headings | Content is organized under headings and subheadings that are used sequentially. | |
| Images | Images that convey information include alternative text descriptions. These descriptions are provided in the alt text field, in the surrounding text, or linked to as a long description. | |
| Images | Images and text do not rely on color to convey information. | |
| Images | Images that are purely decorative or are already described in the surrounding text contain empty alternative text descriptions. (Descriptive text is unnecessary if the image doesn’t convey contextual content information.) | |
| Tables | Tables include row and/or column headers that have the correct scope assigned. | |
| Tables | Tables include a title or caption. | |
| Tables | Tables do not have merged or split cells. | |
| Tables | Tables have adequate cell padding. | |
| Links | The link text describes the destination of the link. | |
| Links | Links do not open new windows or tabs. If they do, a textual reference is included in the link text. | |
| Links | Links to files include the file type in the link text. | |
| Audio | All audio content includes a transcript that includes all speech content and relevant descriptions of non-speech audio and speaker names/headings where necessary. | |
| Video | All videos include high-quality (i.e., not machine generated) captions of all speech content and relevant non-speech content. | |
| Video | All videos with contextual visuals (graphs, charts, etc.) are described audibly in the video. | |
| H5P | All H5P activities have been tested for accessibility by the H5P team and have passed their testing. | |
| H5P | All H5P activities that include images, videos, and/or audio content meet the accessibility requirements for those media types. | |
| Formulas | Formulas have been created using LaTeX and are rendered with MathJax. | |
| Formulas | If LaTeX is not an option, formulas are images with alternative text descriptions. | |
| Font | Font size is 12 point or higher for body text. | |
| Font | Font size is 9 point for footnotes or endnotes. | |
| Font | Font size can be zoomed to 200% in the webbook or eBook formats. |
Known Accessibility Issues and Areas for Improvement
[Insert description of any known issues in a bulleted list. If none, then insert: There are currently no known accessibility issues.]
Let Us Know if You are Having Problems Accessing This Book
We are always looking for ways to make our resources more accessible. If you have problems accessing this resource, please contact us to let us know so we can fix the issue.
Please include the following information:
- The name of the resource
- The location of the problem by providing a web address or page description.
- A description of the problem
- The computer, software, browser, and any assistive technology you are using that can help us diagnose and solve your issue (e.g., Windows 10, Google Chrome (Version 65.0.3325.181), NVDA screen reader)
Here is how you can contact us: [Insert a link to a contact form and/or an email]
This statement was last updated on [DATE].
The Accessibility Checklist table was adapted by from one originally created by the Rebus Community and shared under a CC BY 4.0 licence.
Additional resources
For more information on accessibility statements for online resources, refer to the following resources:
- Nomensa: How to Write an Accessibility Statement
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines: Conformance Claims for Websites
For sample accessibility statements on online resources, refer to the following pages:
Attributions
- Adapted from “Accessibility Toolkit—2nd Edition” by Amanda Coolidge, Sue Doner, Tara Robertson, and Josie Gray (a collaboration between BCcampus, Camosun College, and CAPER-BC) licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- "Creating an Accessibility Statement," Access 8878, accessed August 30, 2018, https://web.archive.org/web/20161203101842/https://www.access8878.co.uk/getting-started-with-bs-8878/creating-an-accessibility-statement.aspx. ↵
