Macon and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University strives to meet Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 for its digital content and websites.

The WCAG are developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international group of stakeholders working on guidance for web standards and best practices. Visit the W3C's WCAG 2 Overview website to learn more. 

Understanding WCAG 2.1

WCAG 2.1 is organized into four principles (perceivable, operable, understandable and robust) covering 12 guidelines and dozens of Success Criteria. The Success Criteria describe what steps must be taken in order to ensure content is accessible.

Explore the W3C standards.

Who is responsible?

Anyone preparing content (multimedia, text, images, etc.) or digital document (PDFs, Microsoft Office) for a Brock VHS Website is responsible for ensuring that content is accessible.

Email accessibility@evms.edu if you have any questions or need help making content accessible.

Accessible content benefits everyone

Accurate closed captioning helps people with hearing impairment or students trying to watch a lecture in a quiet library. Descriptive alternative text (alt text) helps users who have a slow internet connection by displaying text when an image fails to load.

Webpages with clear, straightforward language help users with learning disabilities and make it easier for nonexperts to learn about a complicated subject.

Assistive technology and accessibility

People with disabilities frequently rely on assistive technologies (like closed captioning) to understand and navigate the web and digital content.

For example, keyboard-only navigation is often helpful for users with limited mobility, users with visual impairments or users who are blind. Watch W3C's video Web Accessibility Perspectives: Keyboard Compatibility.

Visit W3C.org to learn more about Diverse Abilities and Barriers.

Using assistive technology can help you evaluate the accessibility of your content.