Wellesley College is committed to ensuring that content on the website is accessible.
Wellesley College expects that all College community members make a reasonable effort to ensure that electronic information, information technology, and related products be accessible to students, employees and the general public, as appropriate and practicable, or as otherwise governed by applicable law. The term “accessible” means that individuals with disabilities are able to independently acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services within the same timeframe as individuals without disabilities, with substantially equivalent ease and effectiveness of use. In instances in which accessibility is impracticable for certain technologies or content, the College will strive to provide equally effective alternative access. This policy is in accordance with federal and state laws including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), as amended, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Equally effective alternative access, in this context, typically means an alternative format or medium that accurately and in a timely manner communicates the same content as does the original format or medium, and which is appropriate to an individual’s disability. To provide equally effective alternative access, the College need not ensure that qualified individuals with disabilities achieve the identical result or level of achievement as individuals without disabilities, but the College will strive to provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services as necessary to afford individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to obtain the same result, gain the same benefit, or reach the same level of achievement, in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs. The College is not required to take any action that results in a fundamental alteration in the nature of a service, program or activity, or in undue financial and administrative burden.
This website is built in Drupal 7 using Monster Menus. The open source Drupal community is also keen on accessibility. Drupal's statement on accessibility reiterates its commitment and describes some of the software's features.
All staff working on the website should follow best practices for accessibility, which are also often best practices for organization and design. The College uses Siteimprove to to assist in identifying any pages that require remediation.
Building Accessible Web Pages
Here are some resources for people building websites:
- Wellesley's Web Accessibility Procedures
- Siteimprove's What is Section 508?
- Siteimprove's Must-Have Accessibility Handbook
- Take Siteimprove's Web Accessibility course (email webmaster for access).
- WebAIM's Appropriate Use of Alternative Text
- W3C Web Accessibility Initiative's Quick Tips to Make Accessible Web Sites
- Download demo copies of JAWS or NV Access to test your pages on a screenreader.
Accessibility and Disability Resources
For further information about accessibility at Wellesley, beyond the website, contact Accessibility and Disability Resources at Wellesley College.