The Current Week:
August
Understanding the Basics
Wednesday, August 12 and 19th:
Do your materials use accessible fonts and text size?
We know these next weeks involve many preparations for the fall semester. For that reason, we are going to combine the information for both the August 12th and August 19th WCAG Wednesdays here.
For WCAG Wednesday on August 26th (the first week of classes), join us for an in-person kickoff celebration. We will be meeting in both campus’ CTL space (FA 250 at Inver Hills and 2-141C at DCTC). Stop by to say hi, ask any WCAG related questions you may have, and enjoy a sweet treat!
Typeface: Choose a typeface that focuses on clarity and legibility over aesthetics. Typically, the “default” typefaces are selected for accessibility purposes – Microsoft selected Aptos in 2021 partially for this reason.
- Choose clean, functional text over decorative text.
- Two optional articles for your consideration:
- Everything you’d like to know about accessible typography
- This article and videos on font design – created by the head of accessibility at the BBC when they were designing a new default typeface for the company in 2020.
Font Size: 12px font is considered the minimum size for font readability. Obviously, users are able to personalize and adjust the size of content on their device depending on their visual preferences. That being said, 12px is considered the most accessible for most people.
🎯Action Items:
Estimated Completion Time: 10-20 minutes
- Experiment with this online Readability Tool. The tool allows you to test and compare text readability at different sizes and contrasts. (5+ minutes)
- Similar to last week, select three pieces of digital content that you frequently use (documents, presentations, posters, email templates). Are your font choices clear and functional? Is your text size 12px font or larger? (10+ minutes)
- Check (and fix, if needed) all three pieces of digital content.
- Keep font size and style in mind when creating new digital materials. When it’s a part of your routine, we can proactively create accessible materials from the beginning!
- Join us for a WCAG Wednesday kickoff event, in-person at both campuses!
- Wednesday on August 26th from 12-1pm
- FA 250 at Inver Hills and 2-141C at DCTC
WCAG Wednesday Overview and Previous Content
Wednesday, July 22:
What is the law around accessible web content?
The majority of WCAG guidelines are considerations for website designers – like the coding for how a website displays on a phone vs. a computer, or designing what happens when you hover your mouse over an item on a webpage. That being said, the effort to create a more accessible digital world extends to everything we do online – including sending emails, creating documents or presentations, and sharing information.
We, as college faculty and staff are required to comply with WCAG guidelines by April 26th, 2027. This means that our digital presence will need to be fully accessible – including our website, emails, flyers, presentations, social media, and more! Each Wednesday throughout the Fall 2026 semester, we will send an “WCAG Wednesday” update, with an additional step for you to complete on your accessibility journey.
Complete the interactive activities each week to be entered into a raffle for some fabulous prizes at the end of the fall semester!
🎯Action Items:
Estimated completion time: 5 minutes
- Watch WCAG for Beginners (2 minutes)
- Complete the WCAG Temperature Check 1 form (2 questions, estimated completion 2 minutes)
Wednesday, July 29:
Why? What are the big picture goals for WCAG?
Community members with disabilities can navigate websites in many ways. Due to a physical impairment, a person may use a computer without using a mouse or a trackpad. This can be done either by tabbing through websites or using an eye tracker. Someone with visual impairments may use different computer settings such as the magnifier, contrast themes, or a screen-reader. A Deaf or Hard of Hearing person may rely on accurate captioning on videos, and the “screen flash” setting to notify them of auto notifications.
In addition to our community members with disabilities, we all benefit from accessible digital materials:
- The student whose first language is not English benefits from having real text on the page (as opposed to pictures of text or inaccessible PDFs) when they need to copy a word and translate it.
- The student with a long commute with benefits from readings and lectures that can be listened to during their drive.
- The student who forgot their headphones at home benefits from having a captioned video that they can read rather than listen to while studying in a public space.
Just like the changes made in the 1990s with the physical requirements of the ADA (like installing curb ramps, automated door-openers, building accessible bathroom stalls, etc.) similar foundational changes are being made now to address digital accessibility. The goal is that several years down the line, the best practice surrounding digital accessibility will be as second-nature as the other facets of the ADA (curb ramps, automated door-openers, etc.)
🎯Action Items:
Estimated completion time: 5 minutes
- Watch How do Screen Readers work? (1 minute)
- Complete the Knowledge Check activity, embedded below (3 questions, 3 minutes)
(built using H5P, which Minnesota State has a license for through 2028. Contact Chad or Maggie if you are interesting in building course materials in H5p!)
Wednesday, August 5:
Do your materials use color in accessible ways?
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Black text on a white background is high contrast, and easier to read in a variety of lighting conditions.
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Yellow text on a white background for example, is much more difficult to read.
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Someone who is color-blind.
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Someone trying to read their phone in the glare of full daylight.
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Someone with age-related vision issues such as macular degeneration.
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Someone using a monitor with incorrect or imperfect color rendering.
🎯Action Items:
Estimated Completion Time: 10-20 minutes
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Select three pieces of digital content that you frequently use (documents, presentations, posters, email templates) and look at your use of color. Is the contrast high enough? Do you use color to denote meaning? (10+ minutes)
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Typically, you can check color contrast with a built-in “accessibility checker” tool (we will discuss more about these tools in a future WCAG Wednesday). There are also websites that allow you to select multiple colors to view the contrast between them.
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Check (and fix, if needed) all three pieces of digital content.
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Keep the use of color in mind when creating new digital materials. When it’s a part of your routine, we can proactively create accessible materials from the beginning!
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- Microsoft Poll (1 question, 2 minutes)
- Adding alt text to images
- Heading styles in documents
- Descriptive hyperlinks
- PDFs-Replacing PDFs with word documents/PDFs having textrather than images
- Videos have accurate captions
- PowerPoints: check for slide titles, reading order, etc(Microsoft accessibility checker)
- Excel Accessibility: No merged cells, appropriateheadings/tags (Microsoft accessibility checker)
- Temperature check-where are we now?
- Content-specific information (math, science, STEM)
- Three Rs: Remove, Remediate, Refresh
- YuJa Introduction: Dashboard and YuJa scores
- First fix: Check syllabus
- Tackle Severe Issues
- Temperature check: Celebrating wins, providing supports
- Correct Major Issues
- Clean up Minor Issues
- Final Checks and Catch up
- Temperature Check: Areas in need of support
- Celebration!!