Accessibility in Word Topics

Why is Electronic Document Accessibility Important?

Student success, regardless of ability is possible by providing course materials that are accessible to all of your students.

In January 2006, the CSU launched the Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI) in order to develop the work plan, guidance, and resources to assist campuses in carrying out the accessible technology provisions of The California State University Board of Trustees Policy on Disability Support and Accommodations - CSU Executive Order 926 (EO):

"It is the policy of the CSU to make information technology resources and services accessible to all CSU students, faculty, staff, and the general public regardless of disability."

The goal is to provide you with knowledge and tools to design accessible documents and be able to help your students succeed in your course. Microsoft Word documents are typically the main format in which course materials are created and made available to students so it is important that these source documents are assessed for accessibility and designed with accessibility in mind so that all of your students regardless of ability can access them and be able to complete coursework.

What makes a Document Accessible?

Before we get into the details of what features to use in Word to make documents accessible, let’s define what an accessible document is. A document is accessible if it has been designed and structured to be used effectively by people with disabilities. Assistive technology devices and software should be able to interact/ access content effectively if documents are accessible. Assistive technology devices/software may include:

Screen Readers – JAWS : Used by low vision or blind users.
Magnification Software – ZoomText, MAGic: Used by low vision users.
Scan/Read – Kurzweil : Used by users with learning disabilities.
Watch a demo about Assistive Software

Accessible documents benefit all types of users, not just users with disabilities. Users with limited access to software programs or technology in general benefit from the way you make your documents available. Documents that are available in multiple formats e.g. Rich Text Format .rtf can be accessed by users who own word processing software (OpenOffice, Notepad, WordPad) other than Microsoft Word and can be opened on several types of operating systems (Mac, Windows, Linux).

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