The website for the Disability Services Faculty Handbook has Level
"Triple-A" Conformance to the WCAG 1.0. This means all WCAG
1.0 Priority 1, 2, and 3 checkpoints have been satisfied.
The website for the Disability Services Faculty Handbook is designed to be aesthetically pleasing, useful, and most of all accessible to the widest audience possible. To achieve these goals, the website was developed to follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 (WCAG) and the Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards (Section 508). Both sets of guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with disabilities as well as beneficial to all users.
To satisfy the WCAG and Section 508 web accessibility requirements, the website for the Disability Services Faculty Handbook uses a variety of the following methods:
The WCAG was established by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Within the WCAG, there are three priority checkpoints:
The website for the Disability Services Faculty Handbook has Level
"Triple-A" Conformance to the WCAG 1.0. This means all WCAG
1.0 Priority 1, 2, and 3 checkpoints have been satisfied.
The WCAG 1.0 guidelines also define two major themes of accessible web design:
Section 508 was established through Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) of the U.S. Federal Government. The scope of Section 508 is limited to the Federal sector and does not apply to the private sector, nor does it generally impose requirements on the recipients of Federal funds. However, States receiving assistance under the Assistive Technology Act (AT Act) State Grant program are required to comply with Section 508 according to the Department of Education, which administers the AT Act.
Section 508 defines the types of technology provided and set forth provisions that establish a minimum level of accessibility within four subparts:
Within Section 508 Subpart B (Technical Standards), the provisions for Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications (1194.22) are specifically addressed in paragraphs (a) through (p). These sixteen provisions, which were based on the WCAG, must all be followed for a website to be in compliance with Section 508.
The website for the Disability Services Faculty Handbook is 508
Approved. This means all sixteen provisions have been satisfied.
The website for the Disability Services Faculty Handbook has been programmed to offer keyboard shortcuts for ease in navigation (Previous page, Next page, and Index) and some frequently used links (Skip to Page Content and Top of Page). The "shortcut keys" are listed below with the letter key and where appropriate, the corresponding letter within the link name is highlighted in bold. For example: i to go to the Handbook Index.
Please note there is variable support among browsers and systems for using these shortcuts. Currently, Internet Explorer 4.0 or above but NOT Netscape Navigator allows the user to select the appropriate "attention" key (this also varies but usually "Cmd" for Macintosh machines and "Alt" for Windows machines), then select the following letter:
Note: Since technology changes rapidly, there may be other systems which could use different shortcut methods, or perhaps even allow the "shortcut key" to be used by itself (without the need for the "attention" key).
An example of the HTML coding for the shortcut key of the link (ACCESSKEY)
to the Handbook Index using the letter "i" is as follows:
<a href="index.html" title="Handbook Index" target="_self"
ACCESSKEY="i" >Index</a>
The website for the Disability Services Faculty Handbook provides logical and consistent navigation. The target of all links has been identified. Also, linked text that is brief and meaningful when read out of context has been used. For example, to inform a user viewing a Resources page of more information, instead of "Click here", the linked text would say "View more Resources". Linked text like the "View" example, if read by itself, informs the user of what to expect and is helpful when scanning information. It also assists users whose technology can list all of the links of a webpage and takes into consideration people who may be using alternative computer access technology ("click" is specific to a mouse).
All navigation links have been made location sensitive; that is, the current page is displayed as text to provide the user with an indication as to their current location within the structure of the website.
Note: Some links such as "Skip to Page Content" are not visible to some users of graphical browsers. These "hidden" links are programmed into the webpage as they are particularly helpful for users of non-graphical or text browsers and users of alternative computer access technology like screen readers and refreshable Braille displays.
An "Index" link, available from every page, enables users to obtain information about the general layout and navigate the pages of the website. Additionally, the accessibility features of the website are described in detail on this page ("Accessibility of Handbook"), which is available through the "Accessibility" link in the footer of every page. Furthermore, navigation mechanisms have been consistently located and provided to enable users to more easily move through the website including Keyboard shortcuts, Navigation between pages (horizontal navigation), and Navigation within a page (vertical navigation).
There are several navigation features in the website which indicate your current position and provide "directional links" to the previous page and the next page. These horizontal navigation features are located to the right side above the page title as well as after the "Top of Page" link above the page footer. These horizontal navigation features include:
Introduction) and a counter to tell your relative position in the website
by page number of total content pages (i.e., Page 1 of 7)
A left-pointing arrow or "Previous Page" link takes you to the previous page in the website.
A right-pointing arrow or "Next Page" link takes you to the next page in the website.Note: Some supplemental pages, such as this page ("Accessibility of Handbook Website") require using the "Back", "Go Back", or "Previous" function of your browser to return to the previous page from which you followed the link.
Several navigational features are provided within a page to help the user more directly access desired information. These vertical navigation features include:
Lastly, all navigation links (whether horizontal or vertical) are location sensitive; that is, the current page is displayed as text to reinforce to the user their current location within the structure of the webcourse.
The website for the Disability Services Faculty Handbook, aside from the text-based navigational structures, has been designed to be all content; gratuitous use of graphic elements has been avoided to assist in faster downloading of the website. When a graphic is used, alternative text (ALT), which is a short, literal description of what the image represents, is provided. This alternative text is displayed in the browser of users of non-graphical or text browsers, users who may have images "turned off", and other users who may have difficulty viewing the graphics. Otherwise, for users of graphical browsers, such as Internet Explorer, the alternative text appears when the pointer hovers over the graphic.
Additionally, for complex graphics and charts, more detailed information is
offered through a long description (LONGDESC). However, as there is minimal
support for LONGDESC, a description link or d-link is used for the same function
and would be displayed as [d] next to the graphic.
Note: The d-link may not visible to some users
of graphical browsers. These "hidden" links are programmed into the webpage
as they are particularly helpful for users of non-graphical or text browsers,
users who have images "turned off", or users of alternative computer access
technology like screen readers and refreshable Braille displays.The d-link would
be visible to users of non-graphical or text browsers and users.
An example of the HTML coding for the alternative text (ALT) and if used, the
long description (LONGDESC) for the image (IMG) an image used in the website
for the Disability Services Faculty Handbook is as follows:
<IMG src="logo.gif" ALT="Blue Ridge Community College Disability Services: Faculty Handbook, College Drive - Flat Rock, N.C. 28731-9624 - www.blueridge.edu" LONGDESC="logodescription.html" >
<a href="logodescription.htm" title="Image Description of Logo for Handbook" >[d]</a>
Note: The Handbook website does not use a long description for the logo image.
The website for the Disability Services Faculty Handbook uses a cascading style sheet (CSS) to achieve a consistent style of presentation across all pages and to facilitate separating the content from the layout or format. The CSS itself applies to each page and is used to specify such characteristics as color, font type, font size, and spacing for a particular feature, such as a page title. Thus, if a change of color is desired for the page title, altering the CSS for that change becomes reflected in all the pages with that feature. However, users can choose to use the website CSS, their own customized CSS, or "turn off" CSS altogether. Accordingly, the website has been tested to ensure its usability if style sheets are "turned off".
The W3C
CSS Validator verifies that a CSS meets established specifications. This
website's CSS has been tested to be valid.
Besides the web guidelines, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) defines specifications
for using HyperText Markup Language (HTML), the general publishing language
of the World Wide Web. The W3C
HTML Validation Service ensures that the coding integrity of a webpage meets
established specifications. All pages of this website have been tested to meet
the W3C
HTML 4.01 Specification.
The website for the Disability Services Faculty Handbook has been created and tested to be usable with alternative computer technology. This website has been tested on various workstations utilizing popular screen reader technologies such as Jaws. Also, this website has been tested in numerous operating systems (Windows, Macintosh, Linux) running different browsers under various combinations of conditions, such as sounds and/or images "turned on" or "turned off". The tested browsers include text-only browsers, such as Lynx, and various popular graphic browsers such as Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Opera, and Mozilla. Additionally, this website has been designed and tested to be usable without a mouse, on small or low-resolution screens, with only voice or text output, and with alternative keyboards. Furthermore, individuals with color-blindness have checked this website to ensure important information is not conveyed with color, and that foreground and background colors provide sufficient contrast.
The website for the Disability Services Faculty Handbook has tried to utilize clear and simple language appropriate for its content. Large blocks of information have been divided into more manageable groups using such elements as paragraphs, lists, and headings. Scanning of information has been facilitated by front-loading headings and paragraph text. Furthermore, where necessary, graphic elements have been supplemented with text to facilitate comprehension.
Blue Ridge Community College
Disability Services Office
Flat Rock Campus, Room 127 - David W. Sink Jr. Building
828-694-1813 (voice) 
800-735-2962 (tty relay)
Accessibility meets:
