Accessibility Guidelines on the University of Maine System Website

Much of what is covered in these accessibility guidelines are rules to follow to ensure that content on your subsite is accessible. Additionally, definitions of accessibility terms, information for understanding the accessibility mindset and tools for remediating inaccessible content can be found here.

The University of Maine System website is required to follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA web accessibility standards (External Site) due to the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) Resolution. Because of the OCR Resolution, a priority for the website is all content meets accessible web content standards set forth by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, which requires both consistency and accuracy.

Please review your web content for errors in accessibility using the accessibility requirements topics. You can find additional information and resources on the University of Maine System Information Technology (IT) Accessibility Accessible Materials & Websites webpage.

 Accessibility requirements topics

Accessibility quick tips

PDFs: PDFs are among the most problematic areas regarding accessibility due to their abundance and prevalence throughout the University of Maine System website. PDF remediation is the responsibility of the content owner. PDFs can most readily be made accessible from a source document (a Word Doc), but can also be remediated using Adobe Acrobat. Most PDFs can and should be made into a simple web page instead of as an uploaded document. You can find additional information and resources on the University of Maine System Information Technology (IT) Accessibility PDF Testing and Repair webpage.

Images: Images should be decorative in nature only and not used to convey essential information. Images should have alt text and should follow color contrast ratios guidance.

Pervasive Style: To benefit all users, but especially users for whom accessibility is a concern, all content should be stylized uniformly across all pages on the University of Maine System website. Please reference the University of Maine System Web Editorial Style Guide and write all content within the guidelines provided.

Video and Audio: Videos should include accurate closed captions and an accurate transcript if they are hosted on a University of Maine System video platform. Live video should include American Sign Language interpretation and/or live captioning. Podcasts and other audio-only materials also require transcripts to meet accessibility guidelines. You can find additional information and resources on the University of Maine System Information Technology (IT) Accessibility Digital Video and Audio Accessibility webpage and the University of Maine System Information Technology (IT) Accessibility Live Event Captioning (CART) webpage.