General Guidelines

Here are some of the overarching points to keep in mind with digital accessibility. More information can be found at Digital Accessibility Services.

1. Each year, all university employees are required to complete the “Digital Accessibility Policy” course in Buckeye Learn.
2. Anyone – including faculty, staff, and students – who creates or publishes digital content at Ohio State is responsible for making it accessible to anyone within or outside of the university. ODI has assigned Skills Training to ODI staff to help ensure that all items and communications created are digitally accessible. New employees will be assigned this training through Buckeye Learn.
3. Any materials sent electronically or available electronically (for example, sent via email, used in social media or placed on the ODI website) must be digitally accessible. This includes Word documents and Qualtrics surveys, etc. All documents/pdfs/surveys/social media posts etc. need to be digitally accessible.
4. Accessibility language is required in all vendor product contracts where digital accessibility is required (e.g., online applications for programs, new websites, scheduling/reservations requests programs, etc.), regardless of the risk level rating. Sample text is available.
5. Any new software program that will be used or created must be tested for digital accessibility before use unless an accommodations-based exception is approved.
6. Any third-party online platform used to provide services or programing (YouTube, conference event sites, podcasts, etc.) must be digitally accessible to all users.
7. Under the Digital Accessibility Policy, accurate captioning of live online events is required by our Minimum Digital Accessibility Standards unless the event has an approved accommodation-based exception request. This includes Zoom panels, webinars, and events.
8. Any video posted to the ODI YouTube channel or linked from the ODI website must have closed captions that are accurate as well as a transcript of the video. In addition to spoken audio, transcripts should include on-screen text and descriptions of key visual information that wouldn't otherwise be accessible without seeing the video. There are no specific rules for formatting but be sure the formatting is easy to read. For example, if someone is talking about a Navajo or Dine’ basket and holding one in their hand, the transcript should include the words being spoken by the person as well as [Narrator is holding a round woven basket about 10 inches tall and 6 inches with a brown band near the top] so that someone using a screen reader knows visually what is happening.
9. Alternative (alt) text refers to the invisible description that is read to screen reader users to describe the contents of an image. Alt text should be clear, concise and approximately 150 characters (think the length of a tweet). WebAIM has additional information on alt text to assist content creators in how to use alt text. Think of how you would describe the photo over the phone to someone. Don’t use “image of” or “photo of” in the alt text. NOTE: Do not use the image to convey vital information that should be within the text of the item.
10. Color plays a crucial role in digital accessibility by ensuring information is understandable and usable for everyone, including those with color vision deficiencies. Sufficient color contrast between text and background is essential for readability, while color should not be the sole method to convey meaning, as it may be indistinguishable for some users. WebAIM has information on contrast and color accessibility with additional guidelines.
11. When sending/forwarding an event email, be mindful of emails that include only an embedded flier, with or without alt text. It is best to have an image embedded (with alt text) with the rest of the verbiage as actual text in within the email itself. (See Email Accessibility section.)
12. When an eligible person or a representative of an eligible person contacts ODI about difficulty accessing digital information or digital services and requests an alternative format, or with a complaint, ODI must acknowledge the individual’s request within one business day.