Accessibility

All training in BuckeyeLearn, including training created in-house and training purchased from a third-party vendor, must be accessible to learners with disabilities, and administrators, not the BuckeyeLearn Support team, are responsible for ensuring that accessibility.

What is Accessibility?

Accessibility: Enabling a person with a disability the equal opportunity to independently acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as a person without a disability in an equally effective and equally integrated manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use, in essentially the same timeframe.

Why Must Training Be Accessible?

Training must be accessible, not only because it’s the law, but because it’s the right thing to do. As a state institution, we have an obligation to serve all, regardless of their abilities.

Training must comply with the Digital Accessibility policy, which establishes minimum standards for the accessibility of Ohio State’s digital information and services, whether created by Ohio State or purchased for our use.

The Digital Accessibility policy ensures equal access to digital information and services for all university audiences, including students, prospective students, faculty, staff, student employees, guests, visitors, and program participants.

Take Digital Accessibility Policy training.

Read the Digital Accessibility policy.

How Can I Get Help With Accessibility?

Each area of the university has at least one accessibility coordinator. Contact yours with any questions.

In addition, review:

• Help documentation about accessibility for your training tools (Storyline, Captivate, Lectora, Word, Acrobat)
• The university's Digital Accessibility Services
• Digital accessibility skills training

How Do I Create Accessible Training?

No tool automatically produces training that is accessible. Training must be made accessible through the choices of the person creating the training.

Before Creating Training

Not all changes for accessibility are large, but they are easier to make at the start of a project, rather than at the end. Start thinking about accessibility before you start to get the best result:

• If I couldn’t see this image, would I still understand the surrounding content?
• If I were in a sunny environment, would I still be able to see what’s on the screen?
• If I kept getting distracted, would I be able to quickly find my place again?
• If I were on a mobile device, could I easily click that dropdown button?
• If this were viewed in black and white, would meaning be lost?
• If I were somewhere I couldn’t use audio, would I still be able to access all of the content?
• If I read a link’s text out of the context of the page, would I understand where it goes?
• If I didn’t know the jargon and acronyms used in this document, would I still understand it?
• If I didn't have a mouse, could I access everything on the page?

During Training Creation

Build training with accessibility in the forefront. 

When building training that will be viewed online, ensure you are considering:

• Alt text for images
• Tab order
• Correct usage of headers
• Color contrast
• Closed captioning and/or audio transcriptions, either for pre-recorded audio or for instructor-led training
• Video descriptions
• Access to navigation and functional controls, both with and without a mouse
• Access to interactivity, both with and without a mouse

After Creating Training

After training is created, it must be tested for accessibility. Contact your accessibility coordinator to discuss your options. 

In the description of your training, as a best practice, you should include an email address that learners can contact if they have problems with the training.

What If My Training Is Not Accessible?

If your current training is not accessible, it may be considered legacy training that does not need to be made accessible unless you receive a request. Contact your accessibility coordinator.

New training or training that is being updated must be made accessible. If you are unable to make your training accessible, you may be able to request an exception. Contact your accessibility coordinator to discuss this option. 

What is an Exception?

Exceptions are a temporary exemption from the technical requirements of the Digital Accessibility policy and designed to serve as a bridge to provide effective access while the university works to make the digital information or service meet our accessibility standards.

To avoid creating a segregated experience, exceptions will rarely be approved or renewed for more than a year, except when a solution is not technologically feasible.

All exceptions require documentation and approval by the ADA Coordinator’s Office. Representations and commitments from your unit in an exception request are a binding agreement between the your unit and the ADA Coordinator’s Office.