Accessibility Checklist

Concordia University has committed to making its website accessible to all in adherence with Quebec’s legal requirements and accessibility standards. Open textbooks need to include an accessibility statement and perform accessibility checks, such as with the WAVE Evaluation Tool, which you can download for free.

Look at the accessibility of font size, organizational content, links, and colour contrast. Projects that include audio and visual material increase the educational potential to reach a wide range of learners and have additional accessibility considerations.

Our Open-Textbook Accessibility Checklist increases the potential for everyone to access the content regardless of disability, device, or technical constraint:

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Accessibility statement is present (examples in resources)

• Provide an accessibility statement that acts as a resource about the measures that have been done and features included to support accessibility.
• Provide a method of feedback in case there are any problems or questions.

Text is accessible

You are encouraged to use the default font styles in Pressbooks. Note that font size can be enlarged by 200% in webbook or e-book formats within Pressbooks. If an alternate font is selected, use a size equivalent to 12-point Times New Roman, equivalent, or higher for body and 9-point Times New Roman, equivalent, or higher for footnotes and/or endnotes.

• All caps are not used unless necessary. Necessary uses of all caps include acronyms. All caps are spelled out letter by letter on some screen readers, which limits readability.
• Text is not accented through underlines as this style is reserved for links.
• Headings are not used for accenting text, as this impacts the page’s structure.

Organization is accessible

• The content is organized under headings and subheadings and tagged as such
• Headings and subheadings have a clear information hierarchy and are used sequentially in descending order(e.g., Heading 1 followed by Heading 2, then Heading 3, etc).
• Headings and subheadings are descending in font size, and the visual difference between levels is clear.
• Headings are not in all caps.
• H1s are conceived as a page.

Colour is verified

• Colour contrast for text has passed an accessibility test with a passing score at minimum, especially whenever using a shaded or coloured background with text.
• Colour is not the sole means of conveying information and instruction.

 Hyperlinks are verified

There are no empty links. Linked text describes the destination of the link and does not use generic text; “Our guide chapter on Navigation” is better than “click here” or “read more” as link text.

• Hyperlinked text links to a specific location; avoid multiple links with the exact text that go to multiple locations.
• If a link opens or downloads a file (like a PDF or Excel file), a textual reference is included in the link information (e.g., [PDF]).
•  Links to PDFs housed by Concordia University are linked to accessible PDFs.
• Where possible, use hyperlinked text rather than writing out the full URL.
• Links within the Open Textbook do not open in new windows or tabs.

Images are accessible (if applicable)

• Images that convey information include alternative text (alt text) descriptions of the image’s content or function, whereas purely decorative images do not require alt text.
• Graphs, charts, and maps also include contextual or supporting details in the text surrounding the image.
• For each media-related attachment, the title, caption, and description fields are completed (see the right side of the Attachment Details menu in Pressbooks).

Multimedia is accessible (if applicable)

• Audio content includes a transcript. The transcript includes all speech content and relevant descriptions of non-speech audio and speaker names/headings where necessary.
• Videos have captions of all speech content and relevant non-speech content that has been edited by a human for accuracy.
• Videos with contextual visuals (graphs, charts, etc.) are described audibly in the video.
• Multimedia does not autoplay.

Tables are accessible (if applicable)

•  Include row and column headers.
• Row and column headers have the correct scope assigned.
• Tables include a properly tagged table title/captions.
• Tables avoid merged or split cells because of how screen readers read cells.
• Tables have adequate cell padding.
• Tables should not be used for page layout nor for lists.

Formulas are accessible (if applicable)

• Equations written in plain text use proper symbols (i.e., −, ×, ÷). Note that a hyphen (-) may look like a minus sign (−), but text-to-speech tools will not read it correctly.
• For complex equations, one of the following is true:
  • They were written using LaTeX and are rendered with MathJax (Pressbooks).
  • They were written using Microsoft Word’s equation editor.
  • They are presented as images with alternative text descriptions.
  • Written equations are properly interpreted by text-to-speech (TTS) tools available online.
• Alternatively, an audio file can be placed beside the formula or equation, allowing the user to hear exactly how the formula or equation is interpreted.

Resources [insert hyperlinks]

• • Accessibility Toolkit – 2nd Edition
  • OER Accessibility Toolkit
  • WAVE Evaluation Tool (Chrome Extension) or WAVE Browser Extensions (WebAIM)
  • The Accessibility Statement in International Students: Stories and Strategies for Academic Success in Post Secondary Education by Academic Success Division of Student Life, University of Toronto in E Campus Ontario
  • Make Your Book Accessible and Inclusive in Pressbooks User Guide by Pressbooks