👤Your Role

Your Role in Understanding Document Accessibility

An accessible document is a document created to be as easily readable by a sighted reader, a low-vision reader, or a non-sighted reader. Making a document accessible is easiest when we are in the original stages of creating a document. To learn all aspects of accessibility can take several courses over several hours, however, a few basic things will move your document in the right direction such as:

1. Create your document in a program that supports accessible content creation such as Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, InDesign or Venngage.

2. Setting your document title in document properties

3. Add Alternative Text to non-decorative Images

4. Use heading styles in Word and slide templates in PowerPoint

5. Use tables only to show data never for layout. Table basics video.

   1. Always set your table headers appropriately in the table design tab

   2. avoid merged cells and stacked headers (merged cells and stacked headers can be made accessible in PDF but cannot in Word. If you document will remain a word document you cannot have stacked headers or merged cells.)

   3. Make sure there are no blank header cells

6. Use descriptive hyperlinks

7. Avoid hard returns for spacing. Instead use the spacing tool to increase or decrease spacing.

8. Include closed captions for all audio and video files.

   1. Captions must be 99% accurate.

   2. Reach out to ITC if you need support adding captions.

9. Utilize accessibility review tools in Word and PowerPoint.

   1. If you are creating content in software that does not have an accessibility review tool it is possible the platform does not support accessible content creation. Reach out to ITC if you aren't sure about your software's ability to create accessible content.

Content Author Responsibilities & Timelines

1. If you are a new employee, we highly recommend you take ITC's Introduction to Creating Accessible Documents (ICAD) course as soon as possible. Your job in providing accessible documents to be posted will be much easier if you have a solid understanding of document accessibility and ICAD is a great place to start. Reach out to ITC for more resources on accessible content creation.

2. It is your responsibility to make sure documents you submit for posting are accessible. If you are in doubt – ask. ITC will provide assistance when necessary to help make sure your documents are accessible.

3. We ask that if you need assistance with document remediation that you give us 10 business days to review your document.