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Accessibility by Design

Accessibility by Design Electronic Accessibility Rubric

The rubric breaks accessibility tasks into stages for common types of content, providing a path to making electronic content more accessible over time.

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Electronic Accessibility Rubric

This rubric is a tool that can help you prioritize accessibility improvements for specific document or content types. Detailed explanations and tutorials for these steps are available in the Tutorials on this site.

Accessibility is a continuum. Our goal is to move along the continuum towards better and better accessibility. Each column in the table below lists steps in order from Emerging to Developing, Proficient, and Advanced tasks. Begin with Emerging steps. These are the highest priority for each content type.

Select one or two steps at a time, until you at least reach the Universal Design Goal for each content type. The Developing column is the Universal Design Goal for most content types. The Accessibility Goal (Advanced Column) is the level that is needed for an accommodation.

*Note: This rubric covers common content types but is not exhaustive, and additional steps may be required to make documents fully accessible.
Content Type Emerging Developing (Universal Design Goal) Proficient Advanced (Accessibility Goal)
Microsoft Word (or similar) Use headings and styles to provide structure. Make links descriptive. Designate a header row for tables. Provide alternative text for simple images. Ensure good color contrast. Simplify tables. Provide table data for charts and graphs. Provide long description for complex images, charts, graphs. Run accessibility checker and resolve all issues.
Microsoft PowerPoint (or similar) Choose a theme with sufficient color contrast, including on hyperlinks. Make slide titles unique. Use built-in slide layouts. Make links descriptive. Designate the header row on tables. Provide alternative text for images. Adjust the reading order of slides. Provide long description for charts and graphs. Provide auto-captions for embedded videos. Provide transcripts for embedded audio files. Edit captions for embedded videos. Run the accessibility checker and resolve all issues.
PDF - Scanned (Universal Design Goal) Find a clear, legible copy. Run text recognition. Edit with Acrobat Professional: Set the document title and language. Add tags using the Autotag tool. Check that Reading Order Panel tags are in correct reading order. Check that Reading Order Panel tags are correctly labeled (headings/structure). Designate a header row for tables. Provide alt text for images. Check the Tag tree for correct structure. Provide long description for complex images, charts, graphs. Run accessibility checker and resolve issues.
PDF - Converted from other programs (Universal Design Goal) Start with an accessible source document (e.g. Word, PowerPoint). Enable tags when saving as PDF (avoid print to PDF, Canva, which do not create tags). Edit with Acrobat Professional: Set the document title. Set the primary document language. Check that Reading Order Panel tags are in correct reading order. Check that Reading Order Panel tags are correctly labeled (headings/structure). Provide long descriptions for complex images, charts, graphs. Check that Forms have descriptive labels. Check that Form field tab order is logical. Check the Tag tree for correct structure. Run accessibility checker and resolve issues.
Canvas Use the CSU Canvas template. Use headings for structure. Make links descriptive. Provide PowerPoint documents alongside lecture videos for note-taking. Add alternative text to images. Upload searchable PDFs. Choose third-party add-ons with care. Avoid digital proctoring. Use the native Canvas math editor to produce equations in MathML. Post videos using a third-party tool that provides auto-captions (e.g. Echo360, Kaltura). Allow transcripts for both video and audio files. All uploaded files are accessible (PPT, Word, PDF, etc.). Edit auto-captions for accuracy. Use accessible question formats on quizzes and exams. Run the UDOIT tool and resolve issues.
Multimedia Ensure that any text on the screen has sufficient contrast with the background. Describe visual content orally during recording. Provide text transcripts for audio-only files. Provide auto-captions for video. Use a video player with buttons for playback and caption visibility. Provide transcripts for download in addition to captions. Use a video player that displays interactive transcripts alongside video (e.g. Echo360, Kaltura). Provide edited captions for video. Provide edited transcripts for audio. Provide either audio description or transcripts with narrative description of visual information for videos.
Math Content Add alt text to equation images (as they should be spoken). Convert LaTeX to MathML or MathJax. Use authoring software that outputs MathML or MathJax (e.g. MathType, Pandoc). Use the built-in Canvas equation editor, which outputs MathML. Make documents available in HTML format as an alternative to PDF. Convert existing images to code using math text recognition software (e.g. InftyReader, EquatIO). Edit math recognition results in an equation editor that can output MathML or MathJax (e.g. EquatIO, MathType).
Complex Images, Charts, Graphs, etc. Include long descriptions in the surrounding text whenever possible. Link to a long description in an appendix if space is lacking on the page. (Link back to the original location from the appendix.) Provide tabulated data for charts and graphs as part of the long description. Ensure that color is not used to convey information. Check that any interactive images can be manipulated using a keyboard and screen reader. Have alternatives available for interactive images. Code interactive images for keyboard and screen reader access or request the publisher do so. Provide tactile graphics if appropriate for the subject (e.g. maps, anatomy).
Tables Designate a single header row and/or column. Consolidate information from multiple header rows into one row. Move overall table title to a heading or caption above the table to eliminate an extra header row. Move any text that is not data or a header outside of the table. Determine if merged cells can be unmerged and still convey the relevant concepts using full columns/rows. Split table up if you have merged cells in the middle that serve as a "title" for a new section. Split table up if you have a row that functions as a new header row in the middle of a table. Move any remaining content of merged cells outside the table.
Web Content Use headings for structure. Make links descriptive. Provide alternative text for images. Designate a header row for tables. Ensure text, hyperlinks, and illustrations have good color contrast. Use a video player that can be controlled using a mouse, a keyboard and a screen reader. Run an accessibility checker that checks for WCAG AA standards on each web page (e.g. WAVE tool). Manually check and resolve errors and alerts. Test with keyboard navigation.