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Digital Accessibility at Harper College

Harper College is committed to attaining and maintaining WCAG 2.1 AA compliance for digital communications and software interfaces by April 24, 2026. Check this page in the coming months for more resources and training opportunities for Harper College employees.

Quick resources

• Overview of the WCAG 2.1 AA compliance and the new Justice Department rule (ADA.gov)
• WCAG 2.1 AA standards (W3.org)
• Justice Department rule on digital accessibility (FederalRegister.gov)
• Accessibility Quick Tips for Microsoft Word (OneDrive) (Harper login required)
• Go to Green: Your Ally Accessibility Adventure Series (Harper Academy for Teaching Excellence)

What materials must comply?

Documents that must comply with the standard include:

• Course materials
• Digital documents created in Word, Powerpoint, Excel, etc.
• Email messages, including newsletters and e-blasts
• Social media posts
• Videos
• Websites and web portals, including Harper's external websites, HIP (intranet), Campus Map, Calendar, MyHarper, Blackbord, Catalog, Class Schedule (Banner), etc.
• Exceptions: Archival material, documents that are generated for an individual person or account (ex. a billing statement), documents created before April 24, 2026 (as long as they are not required for participation in a Harper program). 

Software that must comply includes:

• Browser-based software or apps that are necessary to participate in a Harper program or service

Who is responsible for ensuring accessibility compliance?

You are responsible for ensuring compliance with the documents you make and the software you buy. While it is providing education, guidance and resources to the Harper community, the Web Accessibility Taskforce is not responsible for reviewing, testing or enforcing compliance for any documents or software at this time.

How is Harper responding?

Each area should begin evaluating and addressing accessibility issues in their digital communications and software. At the college-level, Harper has formed a Web Accessibility Taskforce to help coordinate information, training and other resources about digital accessibility.  

Best practices

Though there are some exceptions, using Microsoft products to create and distribute documents is generally a better practice than using PDF documents. It is also recommended that forms be created/distributed in either Formstack or in Microsoft Forms. If you do need to use a PDF, see our PDF Remediation Resources. 

• Creating Accessible Documents (Online Learning Corsortium)
• Get Accessible Templates for Office (Microsoft)
• Accessibility Quick Tips for Microsoft Word (Harper login required)

Training opportunities

• Go to Green: Your Ally Accessibility Adventure Series (Harper Academy for Teaching Excellence)
• Employee Technical Skills Training (Harper login required)

LinkedIn Learning

Harper faculty and staff have free access to LinkedIn Learning (Harper login required). Visit LinkedIn Learning to get started.

• Accessibility for Web Design (login required)
• Creating Accessible PDFs (login required)
• Advanced Accessible PDFs (login required)
• Digital Accessibility for the Modern Workplace (login required)
• Microsoft Office Accessibility for Beginners (login required)
• Supporting Accessibility in a Hybrid Workplace (login required)

Learning Path in Viva Learning

• Accessibility fundamentals
• Web accessibility principles and guidelines