Web accessibility refers to efforts to ensure that information shared in digital platforms is provided in a way so that people with disabilities have equal access to those resources.

Web accessibility takes a wide variety of disabilities into account including: 

  • Vision— such as blindness, color blindness, glaucoma and cataracts
  • Hearing — such as deafness and hearing loss
  • Physical — such as cerebral palsy, paralysis and other conditions that make it difficult to use a mouse or keyboard
  • Cognitive — such as epilepsy, dyslexia, migraines and reading disabilities

WSU is required to comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act as well as several Minnesota State Statutes. The current minimum accessibility standards for electronic files and digital content are WCAG 2.1 Level A & AA. 

 

Steps to Make Emails Accessible

Here are some steps to take to improve accessibility in emails: 

  1. Place essential information as text in the email
    1. Avoid sending essential information only in an attached file or embedded graphic 
  2. Use link text that accurately and succinctly describes the link destination—e.g.  "For more information, visit the undergraduate catalog."
    1. Do not use vague phrases like “Click Here” or "Learn More" 
  3. Add alt-text to images and graphics 
    1. For images, alt-text should describe what is visible in the photo in a full sentence – e.g. “A WSU student poses in front of the WSU letters on the Winona campus.” It doesn’t have to be overly detailed, but enough to give the general idea of what’s happening. 
    2. For graphics, alt-text should be the exact text in the graphic—e.g. “Scholarship Application Deadline is March 15.” If it’s an infographic or chart, there should also be a summary of any relationships between the information.
  4. Avoid using graphics with a lot of text
    1. It’s better for users to just read/listen to plain text in an email
    2. Graphics should visually enhance the message rather than convey the entire message
  5. If using graphics, make sure color-contrast ratios meet minimum requirements
    1. There needs to be enough contrast between icons/text and background colors so that people with low vision can still understand the graphic
    2. Use the WebAim Color Contrast Checker when designing to pass WCAG AA levels
  6. If providing a link to a video, the video must be captioned or have a written transcript made available
  7. If including an attachment, make sure the attachment file meets accessibility standards 
    1. Attachments should provide supplemental information rather than convey the entire message
    2. Learn how to make accessible documents


Additional Training Resources


The Minnesota State System Office is building a resource library for accessibility best practices including articles on online courses, video content, meetings, documents and more. 


WebAim is a non-profit organization that offers many articles that are helpful for understanding accessibility principles and free tools for ensuring some compliance criteria.