Principle 1: Perceivable
Accessibility Guidelines for Higher Education
Users must be able to perceive the information being presented (it can't be invisible to all of their senses).
The Guidelines under this Principle state that you should provide text alternatives for non-text content, captions and other alternatives for multimedia, making it easier for users to see and hear content. Create content that can be presented in different ways, including by assistive technologies, without losing meaning.
Is your Content Perceivable?
The questions below are designed to assist you in determining if your site, application, and/or content is perceivable to people with disabilities. Each question is linked to in-depth information, resources, and examples of how the guidelines benefit our users.
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.1.1 — LEVEL A
Non-Text Content
Does your site or application provide text alternatives for images and other non-text content?
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.2.1 — LEVEL A
Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded)
Does your site provide transcripts for audio-only files, and descriptions for what is happening in a video-only file?
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.2.2 — LEVEL A
Captions (Prerecorded)
If your site or application has video content, are captions available?
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.2.3 — LEVEL A
Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded)
Are you providing an optional audio track or text alternative to describe what is happening visually in all video content?
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.2.4 — LEVEL AA
Captions (Live)
Are you providing real time captions for all live media that includes audio?
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.2.5 — LEVEL AA
Audio Description (Prerecorded)
Are you providing an optional audio track to describe what is happening visually in all video content?
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.2.8 — LEVEL AAA
Media Alternative (Prerecorded)
Are you providing a text document with all visual and auditory information as an alternative for any media file?
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.3.1 — LEVEL A
Info and Relationships
Is the information, structure, and relationships of the content on your site or application maintained when being accessed with assistive technology?
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.3.2 — LEVEL A
Meaningful Sequence
Is the content on your site or application presented in a logical reading order when viewed with assistive technology, an alternate stylesheet, or by keyboard only navigation?
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.3.3 — LEVEL A
Sensory Characteristics
Are you avoiding using sensory language as the only way to describe controls or provide directions on how to operate your site or application? “Sensory language” is using shapes, sound, spatial location, and orientation to describe something.
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.3.4 — LEVEL AA
Orientation
Does your site or application allow users to choose the display orientation (landscape or portrait) of content on their device?
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.3.5 — LEVEL AA
Identify Input Purpose
Does your site or application collect information specific to the user about the data that is expected for populating form fields?
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.4.1 — LEVEL A
Use of Color
Are you ensuring that color is not the only means of providing information or distinguishing visual content?
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.4.2 — LEVEL A
Audio Control
Are you making sure audio does not play automatically when a page loads?
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.4.3 — LEVEL AA
Contrast (Minimum)
Is there sufficient contrast between the text and its background?
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.4.4 — LEVEL AA
Resize Text
Can users resize text up to 200% without the use of assistive technology while maintaining content and functionality?
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.4.5 — LEVEL AA
Images of Text
Are you avoiding the use of images of text?
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.4.10 — LEVEL AA
Reflow
When content in your site or application is zoomed up to 400%, does text wrap into one column so scrolling is not required in more than one direction?
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.4.11 — LEVEL AA
Non-Text Contrast
Is there sufficient contrast between adjacent colors for active controls, graphs, charts, form fields, and other informational non-text elements in your site or application?
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.4.12 — LEVEL AA
Text Spacing
Does your site or application allow users to modify text to make it easier to read without the loss of content or functionality?
SUCCESS CRITERION 1.4.10 — LEVEL AA
Content on Hover or Focus
Are users able to control the appearance and disappearance of additional content (e.g. tooltips, popups, and drop-down menus) that is triggered by keyboard focus or mouse pointer hover in your site or application?