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CEU IT Accessibility

CEU community members are encouraged to create all digital materials with accessibility in mind. The sections below provide information on what we mean by accessible format, what training opportunities there are for accessibility, and how to make content accessible in most formats, including Word, PowerPoint, HTLM, and PDF.

Accessible Formats

Creating materials with accessibility in mind means that your content can be accessed and used by as wide an audience as possible. The goal is to ensure that all individuals, including people with disabilities, can access the information contained in your documents, videos, and other instructional content.

You can find more detailed information on accessible formats on the CMO Office's Digital Accessibility SharePoint page [CEU login required].

Checklist for Accessibility 

This accessibility checklist is provided to help you develop or modify course materials, lectures, and assignments in an accessible way. Most programs now include automated checkers that can help you to find and fix many accessibility issues. Make your content accessible to everyone with the Microsoft Accessibility Checker.

Layout & Formatting 

  • A simple, easy to read font is used.
  • Minimum text size is generally 11-12 point for documents and 24 point for slides 
  • Styles and formatting are used to create space between paragraphs, not the tab or enter keys.
  • Bold is used for emphasis, not underlining or capital letters.

Headings 

  • Documents are structured with built-in heading styles.
  • Levels of heading are accurate and are not skipped. For instance, the top-level heading is Heading 1, the next level is Heading 2, etc. 

Links 

  • Links are active, visibly distinct and identifiable as a link.
  • Descriptive hyperlinks are used rather than “click here” or the whole URL. 

Lists 

  • Bulleted lists are created with the help of bullet function, not dashes or tildes (~). 
  • Ordered lists (numerical or alphabetical) are used for information that is chronological or hierarchical.
  • Unordered lists (bullets) are used for information with no order or ranking. 

Color 

  • Text and images should have sufficient color contrast between the foreground and background. Color contrast can be checked using the free WebAim Color Contrast Checker.
  • Never use color as the only means of conveying information.
  • Reds and greens can be difficult to see for those who are color blind.

Tables 

  • Tables are created through the Table function and are designed as simply as possible.
  • Tables have column and/ or row headers. 
  • Merging cells is avoided.  

Graphics & Multimedia 

  • Images have meaningful alt-text describing the content for students with visual disabilities. The alt-text conveys the same information as the image itself. 
  • Videos and podcasts are captioned or, if appropriate, a transcript is provided (ideally both). 

PDFs & Accessible Scanning

PowerPoint Presentations

  • A white background with dark grey text is used.
  • The font size is 24 pts. or larger.
  • A format of 16:9 is selected, including for videos.
  • Embedded videos are captioned.
  • Images (photos, graphics etc.) must have alternative text that give an explanation of the image.
  • Use PowerPoint’s Accessibility Checker to review your presentation.

Resources for Accessibility Training 

 The following resources are available to assist you with creating accessible materials. For easier navigation on this page, please click on the appropriate training link.