Accessibility
What is it?
Accessibility is making sure that our website can be used by people with disabilities.
Why is it important?
SJSU's mission:
To enrich the lives of its students, to transmit knowledge to its students along with the necessary skills for applying it in the service of our society, and to expand the base of knowledge through research and scholarship.
The United States Center for Disease Control estimates that one-in-five people in the US has a disability of some kind. But accessibility issues aren't limited to life-long conditions: someone being born blind, deaf, colorblind, or with a significant physical impairment. A broken arm, cataracts, diabetes, nerve damage, and even the normal aging process - all of these situations can lead to difficulties interacting with hardware, software, and then information presented on web sites.
For example, if a student can't read a class handout or register for an advising appointment on a website, we won't be transmitting any knowledge. We won't be enriching their life, but rather worsening it.
What should I do?
While our web templates handle a lot of the heavy lifting, content creators still need to make sure that the content they publish to SJSU.edu meets accessibility standards. There are four key areas that need attention:
