Accessibility and Disability

Beginning in 2018, Georgetown began a university-wide web platform migration, from Drupal to WordPress. One goal of the migration was to transition to a platform that conformed more closely to WCAG standards (see Digital Accessibility). The migration was completed in late 2019 and includes the following universally accessible design features:

• Adequate contrast between text and background
• Consistent page structure (e.g. placement of chat widget)
• All content blocks (e.g. tables) are designed to be accessible by screen readers
• Inaccessible design objects (e.g. image rotators) have been removed, or deprecated

If you would like to learn more about WordPress' mission to improve the accessibility of the WordPress core and resources, please see:

• About WordPress Accessibility
• WordPress Accessibility Handbook

OR

• Get involved with the Make WordPress Accessible Team

In tandem with the migration to the new WordPress platform, Georgetown University Web Services created a set of Electronic and information Technology (EIT) Accessibility policies, procedures, and guidelines with the goal of creating systems, websites, content, and courses at Georgetown that are universally accessible.

Any new Georgetown website must pass a UIS accessibility review before it can launch. If you are involved with editing and/or managing content for a Georgetown website, you can use the following resources to ensure that the website conforms to the EIT Accessibility Guidelines:

• Georgetown Accessibility training, testing, and tools
• EIT page for Website Accessibility, including the 5 Essential Fixes for Content Editors

The DML website is a portal to tools, resources, and services that many other Georgetown University websites simply do not have. As such, particular attention had to be paid to certain components of the DML website in order to ensure that they were accessible. Components that required special focus included:

• The DML chat widget, found near the top of every DML webpage, just under the navigation bar
• The DML Discovery Box, found on the DML Resources page
• The DML reference request form, hosted by Google Forms

Furthermore, DML users access the website with a variety of devices. The DML website was designed to look great and function well on all screen sizes, from a phone to a large desktop monitor. This responsive web design is built into the WordPress platform and contributes to accessibility for DML users.

Making the DML website more accessible is an ongoing process. Our DML website content manager, continually reviews and refreshes website content, making sure that the website conforms to the latest WCAG standards (see Digital Accessibility). Part of the review process includes:

• Using Siteimprove software to frequently monitor the following metrics:
  • Accessibility
  • Quality assurance (including broken links checks)
  • Search Engine Optimization
  • Digital Certainty Index
• Providing feedback to and collaborating with Georgetown University Web Services when accessibility issues occur
• Staying current on accessibility training provided by Georgetown University and through other professional development opportunities