1. Seattle Colleges home page
  2. Employees
  3. Faculty eLearning & Instructional Design
  4. Accessibility
  5. Digital Accessibility

Digital Accessibility

Seattle Colleges is committed to ensuring that all students, faculty, and staff have equal access to information and technology. Digital accessibility is not only a legal requirement but also a fundamental aspect of inclusive education. This page provides an overview of our commitment to digital accessibility, including key standards, recent legal rulings, and the principles of Universal Design.

Understanding Digital Accessibility

Digital accessibility means designing and developing digital content and tools so that all people, including those with disabilities, can use them. This includes websites, instructional content within our Learning Management System (LMS), digital documents, multimedia, and software applications. 

Types of Disabilities

Ensuring digital accessibility involves considering a wide range of disabilities and making sure that our digital resources are usable by everyone.

  1. Cognitive Disabilities: These include learning disabilities, intellectual disabilities, and other conditions that affect memory, problem-solving, and attention. Strategies for accessibility include clear, simple language, consistent navigation, and the use of headings and lists to organize information.
  2. Colorblindness: Individuals with color vision deficiency may struggle to distinguish between certain colors. Ensuring sufficient contrast between text and background, and not relying solely on color to convey information, can help make content accessible.
  3. Deaf or Hard of Hearing: These individuals may require alternatives to audio content, such as transcripts, captions, and sign language interpretation. Ensuring that multimedia content is accessible benefits not only those who are deaf or hard of hearing but also those in noisy environments.
  4. Motor Disabilities: Users with motor disabilities may have difficulties using the mouse due to injury, nerve conditions, or disease. This can affect response times and accuracy in selecting navigation items or using forms. Some of these users navigate the web via the keyboard, using the tab keys to move around pages, while others may use speech recognition software. Making sure that websites can be navigated using a keyboard, providing sufficient time to interact with content, and avoiding complex gestures are key strategies.
  5. Visual Disabilities: This includes blindness and low vision. Accessible digital content should be compatible with screen readers, use descriptive text for images, and ensure that text can be resized without losing content or functionality.

WCAG 2.1 AA Standards

At Seattle Colleges, we adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at the AA level. These guidelines provide a comprehensive set of recommendations for making web content more accessible. WCAG 2.1 AA covers a wide range of accessibility issues and provides specific criteria for text alternatives, adaptable content, distinguishable content, and more. 

Recent DOJ Ruling

On April 24, 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) reinforced the importance of digital accessibility by emphasizing that websites and online services must be accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This ruling underscores the legal obligation of educational institutions to ensure that their digital content is accessible to all. You can learn more by visiting the American with Disabilities Act article: Fact Sheet: New Rule on Accessibility of Web Content and Mobile Apps Provided by State and Local Governments.

The Principle of Universal Design

Universal Design is the concept of creating products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. By incorporating Universal Design principles into our digital content and resources, we aim to create an inclusive learning environment that benefits everyone. This approach not only supports students with disabilities but also enhances usability and user experience for all.

Why Digital Accessibility Matters

  1. Equity and Inclusion: Ensuring digital accessibility is crucial for providing equal access to educational opportunities for all students.
  2. Enhanced User Experience: Accessible design often leads to improved usability for all users, not just those with disabilities.
  3. Innovation and Leadership: By prioritizing accessibility, we demonstrate our commitment to innovation, leadership, and social responsibility in alignment with Seattle Colleges' Mission, Vision, and Values.
  4. Legal Compliance: Adhering to accessibility standards and legal requirements protects our institution from potential legal challenges.

We invite you to explore the resources and guidelines provided on this page to learn more about digital accessibility and how you can contribute to creating an inclusive digital environment at Seattle Colleges.

Resources

For further information on digital accessibility, please refer to the following resources: