Getting Started What is WCAG 2.1?

As mentioned on the previous page, the guidelines we will follow are the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. These guidelines are a set of recommendations to make content more accessible for users. It is designed to help “people with disabilities, including accommodations for blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, limited movement, speech disabilities, photosensitivity, and combinations of these, and some accommodation for learning disabilities and cognitive limitations; but will not address every user need for people with these disabilities” (WCAG 2.1). The guidelines are developed by the World Wide Web Consortium in cooperation with individuals and organizations around the world.

WCAG 2.1 is divided into four principles:

Perceivable: Information must be perceivable to students using only one of their senses so that they understand all related content.
Operable: Students must be able to interact with all content elements. For instance, your Canvas page should be easily navigable with just a keyboard or voice controls for non-mouse users.
Understandable: The principle is just what it seems. Students must be able to understand page content and functionality information.
Robust: Your content must effectively communicate information to all students, including users of assistive technologies, and remain compatible with evolving technologies and student needs.

WCAG 2.1 also includes a set of success criteria, or testable and measurable accessibility requirements, based on these four principles. Each guideline we present in this course is related to a specific success criteria. You will find those linked throughout the course.

WCAG Resources

We are providing some additional resources about WCAG if you are interested in learning more. However, you do not have to read through the following links. This course will provide you with the relevant material from these resources.