NAU internal accessibility resources
Northern Arizona University is committed to accessibility because it ensures all our students, faculty, and staff have access to the information and tools we provide. As an institution, we are required to comply with accessibility standards.
Best practices for ensuring all audience members have a helpful web experience include using on page content instead of PDFs. Most content in a Portable Document Format (PDF) can be created as a webpage, blog, or Gravity form. An exception is a one page fillable form that requires an actual signature.
Accessible PDFs must be sent through the University Marketing (UM) ticketing system to be uploaded to your website at this time. Use the UM ticketing system to submit your accessible PDF.
Resources for NAU accessibility remediation
The purpose of the Usable Materials Center is to assist in making print material and video content accessible for all users.
Disability Resources training and tutorials
Videos for internal resources like online registration, test booking, how to fill out a form, etc.
University Marketing ADA remediation services
ADA compliant accessibility on PDFs for digital distribution-marketing materials that are for an external NAU audience.
Resources for creating accessible documents
Frequently asked questions
What is a PDF? Accordion Closed
PDF stands for Portable Document Format. Created by Adobe, it first launched in the early 1990s as a way to completely store a document in one file. Because the web was young when PDF was growing, they were mainly used for desktop publishing of documents to print.
What is an accessible and usable document for the NAU web? Accordion Closed
Web accessibility ensures that users with disabilities can access the content on your website, so all of our students will have access to educational material.
Web usability is how easily a user can navigate your website in order to take a particular action, such as submitting an application or completing an online assignment.
What types of information should remain in PDF format? Accordion Closed
Information that is to be printed.
So how do you determine what should be a web page vs a PDF? Accordion Closed
Anything that you intend a user to read on their screen should be turned into a web page, and anything meant for printing would be a PDF. All text must be searchable, fonts must allow characters to be extracted to text, and form fields must be labeled as interactive and include error messages with proper timing. Users should be able to access bookmarks using the keyboard, and security settings on the PDF must not interfere with screen-reader capabilities. Structural tags on headlines, paragraphs, tables, and other elements need to be set to define reading order, and ALT text must be included on all images. Color should not be used to convey meaning and there must also be proper contrast for background colors.
I want to transfer copy from a PDF to a webpage, how do I do that? Accordion Closed
Steps to turn a PDF into a web page
- Open the file you want to convert in your PDF editor.
- Select the Create & Edit button on the right-side toolbar.
- Click Export PDF at the top of the window.
- Choose HTML Web Page and select your options. …
- Click Export and choose the folder where you want to save your new page.
Who should I ask if I have questions about this process? Accordion Closed
We are all here to assist your team to make all content accessible to all visitors.
UM support