Hey there! We're excited you've landed on Valley City State University's digital accessibility page. Here at VCSU, we're all about making sure everyone can access our digital content, no matter their abilities. It's not just a goal; it's our passion! Ever heard of "A11y"? No, it's not a secret code! It's a cool shorthand for "accessibility" (11 letters between 'a' and 'y', get it?). In the tech world, we use this term to talk about making websites, apps, and other digital stuff usable for everyone, including folks with visual, hearing, physical, or cognitive differences. At VCSU, we take A11y seriously. We follow important guidelines like the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA to ensure our digital world is open to all. Whether you're hitting the books as a student, sharing knowledge as a faculty member, or just dropping by our website, we've got your back. You don’t need to be a WCAG expert to create accessible content! We’ve broken down the essentials into Core Topics to guide you step by step. By focusing on these foundational principles, you can ensure your documents are inclusive and usable for everyone, regardless of ability. Core Topics of Digital Accessibility at VCSU New to WCAG? That's OK! Check out this short YouTube video from Silktide: For more information or to schedule training, please contact: Debbie Dramstad Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC) Web Accessibility and Applications Specialist Technology Services debra.dramstad@vcsu.edu

Ensuring your digital content is accessible means that everyone, including people with disabilities, can easily use and interact with it. We urge all staff to follow accessibility best practices in their work. This dedication is crucial for creating an inclusive online environment that complies with federal regulations of Section 508 and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standards. Below, you'll find a list of tools designed to help you evaluate your content. These tools are organized by function, making it simple to find the right one for your needs. Document Checkers: Microsoft Office Accessibility Checker: A built-in tool for Microsoft Office applications that evaluates documents, spreadsheets, and presentations for accessibility issues. It provides recommendations for fixes and is available on Windows, Mac, and web versions of Office. Blackboard Ally Checker: The Ultra Accessibility Checker scans content in the rich content editor for Ultra Documents to identify accessibility issues. It offers explanations about these issues and offers solutions to make your content more accessible. Adobe Acrobat Pro Accessibility Checker:Integrated into Adobe Acrobat Pro, this tool focuses on PDF accessibility. It provides an overview of potential errors in PDFs and is considered an industry standard for PDF accessibility checking. Multiple Issue Checkers: Silktide Accessibility: This free extension checks for many different accessibility issues according to web standards (WCAG 2.1) including alt text, color contrast and a screen reader. Available for Chrome and Edge. Color Contrast Checkers: Silktide Accessibility: Check color contrast on any webpage! Use the eyedropper to pick colors and get instant WCAG compliance results. WebAIM Contrast Checker: A free, browser-based tool with a color picker to test contrast between text and background. You can also use it to check colors from documents, images, and other digital content for WCAG compliance. Colour Contrast Analyzer (CCA): A free tool for Windows and macOS with an eyedropper to pick colors from your screen. Instantly checks if colors meet WCAG contrast rules. Click here to view a download tutorial. Manual Testing Tools: ANDI (Accessible Name & Description Inspector): is a manual testing tool, meaning the user needs to interpret its feedback and decide how to fix accessibility issues. It's ideal for developers and accessibility testers who need quick, in-browser evaluations without heavy setup. Screen Readers: NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access): A free screen reader for Windows, great for testing how your website is read out loud to users. VoiceOver (Built into macOS): A screen reader built into macOS that helps you test how your website works for visually impaired users on Apple devices. Captioning: Microsoft Stream: Automatically generates captions for videos uploaded to Microsoft Stream, with options for editing the captions. YUJA: A tool for creating automatic captions for videos, often used in educational settings. YouTube: Provides automatic captions for uploaded videos, which can be edited for accuracy through YouTube Studio. OCR (Scanned PDF) Tools: Abbyy FineReader PDF: This tool enables users to convert, edit, share, and collaborate on PDFs and scanned documents, making it a powerful solution for efficient document management. Adobe Acrobat Pro: This tool allows users to create, edit, convert, sign, and securely share PDFs, offering a comprehensive solution for managing, organizing, and enhancing document accessibility and collaboration. Alt Text Generator: ASU Alt Text Generator:This tool helps you quickly create descriptive and meaningful alt text for images by guiding you through key questions about the image’s purpose and content. VCSU One Stop Resources: A11y Resource Hub Core Topic: Digital Accessibility For more information, please contact: Debbie Dramstad Certified Professional in Accessibility Core Competencies (CPACC) Web Accessibility and Applications Specialist Technology Services debra.dramstad@vcsu.edu