Human Rights & Equity OfficeQueens’ University has developed the:
Queen's Web Accessibility Policy
The university’s public presence online must be accessible. This policy establishes minimum standards for the accessibility of public-facing web-based information, communications and services considered necessary to meet the university’s goals of creating and sustaining a culture of inclusivity and ensuring compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA).
Queen's Web Standards and Accessibility Guide
The Guide, which is intended for both expert users and those with minimal web experience, includes both quick reference points and more detailed explanations of web development topics (such as font usage, text size, use of images, etc.), as well as examples of how to properly apply them to Queen's web pages.
Before beginning to author or update a site, you need to be aware and read the Queen's Web Accessibility Policy and the Web Standards and Accessibility Guide. They are resources filled with all the necessary information and considerations you must make in order to successfully develop an accessible website. The Queen’s Web Standards Guide follows World Wide Web Consortium (WC3) guidelines - put in place by an international community to maintain web and accessibility standards. However, the guide is intended for people who have some knowledge and experience with website creation and editing. People also need to be aware that Ontario Regulation 191/11, section 14 is meant to ensure website accessibility by specified dates. Websites under the queensu domain need to adhere to this regulation.
If you're not an experienced website creator and editor, you can use WebPublish, which generally creates accessible and user-friendly websites.
The Accessibility Hub tutorial on Website Accessibility offers a basic guide and checklist of things to consider when creating an accessible website which can be applied to use with WebPublish II, as well as any other web publication tool.
Please note:
For this tutorial we are focusing on webpage accessibility principles and practices using html code and WebPublish. Please use the addition tutorials if your website contains or is the following:
- Documents (e.g. PDF, MS Word) - please see the “Accessible Documents” tutorial.
- Video - please refer to the “Video Accessibility” tutorial.
- Social Media - refer to the “Social Media Accessibility” tutorial.
- An online course, refer to “onQ Accessibility” tutorial.