Steps to Inclusive Content

The steps outlined here can guide the creation of inclusive electronic documents by building proficiency over time. Begin by incorporating one of the more basic “emerging” steps into your workflow. Once you are comfortable with that step, add another. The most important steps are included in “emerging,” so begin there. You can find tutorials throughout this website on how to complete the steps.

Download a printable, table-formatted version of this rubric (PDF).

Starting point

Start with an Inaccessible Document

Microsoft Word (or Similar) Inaccessible Features

  • No structure
  • Images are used as text
  • Color is used as the only visual means of conveying information
  • Insufficient color contrast
  • Tables don’t have header rows
  • Link text is not descriptive
  • No alt text provided for image

PDF Inaccessible Features

  • Document illegible, blurry or difficult to read
  • Document contains images of text only; no selectable, searchable text
  • No tags
  • Illogical reading order
  • Tables don’t have header rows

Web Content Inaccessible Features

  • No structure
  • Links are not descriptive
  • Color is used as the only visual means of conveying information
  • Insufficient color contrast
  • No alt text provided for images
  • Elements cannot be reached by keyboard or screen reader
  • Illogical tab order
  • Tables are used for visual layout

Microsoft PowerPoint (or Similar) Inaccessible Features

  • No outline
  • Titles are not unique
  • Links are not descriptive
  • Color is used as the only visual means of conveying information
  • Insufficient color contrast
  • No alt text provided for images, charts
  • Illogical reading order

Video & Audio Inaccessible Features

  • No captions
  • No audio description
  • Insufficient color contrast
  • No control over video player
  • No transcript

Emerging

Level 1: Emerging

Microsoft Word Emerging Tasks

  • Add headings and styles
  • Use formatted lists

PDF Emerging Tasks

  • Clear, legible copy
  • Scanned documents have recognized text and are searchable
  • PDFs converted from other documents have readable text

Web Content Emerging Tasks

  • Use headings
  • Make links descriptive

Microsoft PowerPoint Emerging Tasks

  • Make slide titles unique
  • Use built-in slide layouts
  • Designate the header row on tables
  • Make links descriptive

Video & Audio Emerging Tasks

  • Turn on auto-captions for video conferencing such as Zoom or Teams, and when recording lectures
  • Provide captions for shorter videos
  • Ensure that any text on the screen has sufficient contrast with the background

Developing badge

Level 2: Developing

Microsoft Word Developing Tasks

Emerging +

  • Make links descriptive
  • Designate a header rows for tables

PDF Developing Tasks

Emerging +

  • Good Color Contrast
  • PDFs converted from other documents have tags

Web Content Developing Tasks

Emerging +

  • Provide Alternative text for images
  • Designate a header row for tables

Microsoft PowerPoint Developing Tasks

Emerging +

  • Choose a theme with sufficient color contrast, including on hyperlinks
  • Provide alternative text for images, charts

Video & Audio Developing Tasks

Emerging +

  • Provide text transcripts for audio and video

Proficient badge

Level 3: Proficient

Microsoft Word Proficient Tasks

Developing +

  • Good Color contrast
  • Provide Alternative text for images, charts, graphs

PDF Proficient Tasks

Developing +

  • Add tags to scanned PDFs
  • Adjust the reading order of tags (both scanned & converted)
  • Provide alt text for images, charts, graphs
  • Designate a header row for tables

Web Content Proficient Tasks

Developing +

  • Good Color contrast

Microsoft PowerPoint Proficient Tasks

Developing +

  • Adjust the reading order of slides

Video & Audio Proficient Tasks

Developing +

  • Provide transcripts for download
  • Provide transcripts with audio description
  • Use a video player that can be controlled using mouse, keyboard, screen reader

Advanced badge

Level 4: Advanced

Microsoft Word Advanced Tasks

Proficient +

  • Run accessibility checker & resolve all issues

PDF Advanced Tasks

Proficient +

  • Tags are correctly labeled (headings)
  • Forms have descriptive field labels
  • Form field tab order is logical
  • Accessibility Action Wizard has been run and issues have been remedied

Web Content Advanced Tasks

Proficient +

  • Run WAVE tool on web pages & resolve all errors; manually check and resolve alerts as needed
  • Run UDOIT tool in Canvas courses & resolve issues

Microsoft PowerPoint Advanced Tasks

Proficient +

  • Run accessibility checker & resolve all issues

Video & Audio Advanced Tasks

Proficient +

  • Provide audio description within video
  • Use a video player that allows searching & navigation, displays interactive transcripts alongside video