Accessibility
West Chester University is committed to diversity and providing a barrier-free information technology environment to all students, faculty, and staff. Information Services & Technology has collaborated with campus constituents to develop plans to comply with ADA standards as they apply to information technology.
Information Services & Technology is a campus-wide resource meant to:
- Provide and adhere to accessible coding standards and use tools to develop and test electronic content for accessibility;
- Address accessibility for classrooms and computer lab configurations;
- Promote and provide consulting services, accessibility guides, training, and other solutions needed for creating accessible IT resources; and,
- Collaborate with IT software providers to explore solutions to accessibility challenges.
Please forward questions or comments to
helpdesk@wcupa.edu
Tools/Technology
West Chester University uses licensed software packages and free online tools to create accessible electronic content. Assistive Technology is also available to WCU students, faculty, and staff with disabilities.
Guidelines for Accessible Content
- Microsoft Word: How to create accessible Word documents
- Microsoft PowerPoint: How to create accessible PowerPoint presentations
- PDF : How to create accessible PDF documents
- Accessibility Cheat Sheets on creating accessible documents by The National Center on Disability and Access to Education
- Website Building and Maintenance Guide by WCU Information Services
Web Development Tools
- WAVE: Free web accessibility evaluation tool to aid in web pages development
- W3C Checklist: Checklist for web content developers
Accessible Software Applications
- Kaltura: Video playing platform integrated with D2L (Desire2Learn), which can be made accessible by adding captions
- Kaltura Personal Capture: Kaltura Capture is a personal recording solution for your Mac or PC that is integrated with My Media (Kaltura) and D2L (Desire2Learn).
- Qualtrics: Online software to create and administer surveys
- Camtasia: Screen recording and video editing software with built-in speech-to-text capability for closed captioning (available for installation on WCU equipment)
Assistive Technology
- JAWS: Screen reader software for Windows platform, available for visually impaired students at the Library and the Office of Educational Accessibility
- Kurzweil: Scanning, OCR, PDF conversion and read-out-loud software for Windows platform, available at the Library and the Office of Educational Accessibility
- Mobile Device: iPads with accessibility features enabled are available in the Office of Educational Accessibility. Visit Apple's Accessibility site to learn more information about built-in accessibility features for Apple products
News and Tips
- For software training, visit the Faculty and Staff Training (FAST) site.
- MyWCU enables authorized users to select an accessibility option to personalize the myWCU screen layout in support of persons with vision disabilities.
- Wall-mounted digital signage monitors are being replaced and installed to comply with ADA guidelines.
- Use of videos originally created with closed-captioning is strongly recommended. Copying, converting, or adding caption to the original videos without permission from the creator is a violation of copyright law.
- A wheelchair-accessible table is available in the computer lab, Anderson room 7.
- Motorized projection screens are installed in the majority of the classrooms.
- The Library and the Office of Educational Accessibility provide additional services and resources for WCU qualified students, faculty, and staff with disabilities.