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| English in Chester 9-11 Stanley Place Chester CH1 2LU |
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| Tel: | +44 (0)1244 318913 |
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| Fax: | +44 (0)1244 320091 |
| send a message » |
Accessibility Information
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Triple-A (AAA) Conformance Checklist
The guidelines applicable to the English in Chester site are listed below with indication of conformance.
priority 1 (A) guidelines
| Guidelines & Our Comments | Conformance |
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| 1.1: Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element (e.g., via "alt", "longdesc", or in element content). This includes: images, graphical representations of text (including symbols), image map regions, animations (e.g., animated GIFs), applets and programmatic objects, ascii art, frames, scripts, images used as list bullets, spacers, graphical buttons, sounds (played with or without user interaction), stand-alone audio files, audio tracks of video, and video. |
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| 2.1: Ensure that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup. |
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| 4.1: Clearly identify changes in the natural language of a document's text and any text equivalents (e.g., captions). |
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| 6.1: Organize documents so they may be read without style sheets. For example, when an HTML document is rendered without associated style sheets, it must still be possible to read the document. |
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| 6.2: Ensure that equivalents for dynamic content are updated when the dynamic content changes. |
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14.1: Use the clearest and simplest language appropriate for a site's content. Most pages on our site contain simple bullet points for visitors with lower levels of English and longer paragraphs for those with a better English level. |
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5.1: For data tables, identify row and column headers. All tables identify heading and data cells for improved output by screen readers. |
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| 5.2: For data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers, use markup to associate data cells and header cells. |
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6.3: Ensure that pages are usable when scripts, applets, or other programmatic objects are turned off or not supported. If this is not possible, provide equivalent information on an alternative accessible page. All pages currently satisfy this guideline apart from Stay In Touch and the Online Application Form. The Stay In Touch service has been designed to be highly interactive and fun for visitors to use with instant result feedback, and as a consequence the drag-and-drop match words exercises and marking system do not function without JavaScript. Visitors without a JavaScript-enabled browser can still read the text contained in the lesson. The first stage of the online application process (selection of dates/weeks located on the "dates & fees" pages) and portions of the application form do not currently work without JavaScript. We are currently developing an updated booking/payment system and have the intention of making it more accessible. |
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1.3: Until user agents can automatically read aloud the text equivalent of a visual track, provide an auditory description of the important information of the visual track of a multimedia presentation. A transcript of the narration, speech and events in A Student's View Video is provided. |
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1.4: For any time-based multimedia presentation (e.g., a movie or animation), synchronize equivalent alternatives (e.g., captions or auditory descriptions of the visual track) with the presentation. A subtitled version of A Student's View Video is provided. |
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priority 2 (AA) guidelines
| Guidelines & Our Comments | Conformance |
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| 2.2: Ensure that foreground and background color combinations provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having color deficits or when viewed on a black and white screen. |
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3.1: When an appropriate markup language exists, use markup rather than images to convey information. This guideline is satisfied except by the four images used in the "features" section of the right bar - this is currently under review. |
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3.2: Create documents that validate to published formal grammars. All pages expect A Student's View Video validate to XHTML 1.0 Transitional. This is so we can offer maximum compatibility for the Flash-based video. |
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| 3.3: Use style sheets to control layout and presentation. |
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3.4: Use relative rather than absolute units in markup language attribute values and style sheet property values. All font sizes are specified in em units. The site layout is semi-fluid so it expands when a larger font size is set by the user. Images also resize for ease of viewing. The Site Zoom feature has been developed to provide quick access to font size changes. |
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| 3.5: Use header elements to convey document structure and use them according to specification. |
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| 3.6: Mark up lists and list items properly. |
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| 6.5: Ensure that dynamic content is accessible or provide an alternative presentation or page. |
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| 7.5: Until user agents provide the ability to stop auto-redirect, do not use markup to redirect pages automatically. Instead, configure the server to perform redirects. |
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| 10.1: Until user agents allow users to turn off spawned windows, do not cause pop-ups or other windows to appear and do not change the current window without informing the user. |
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| 11.1: Use W3C technologies when they are available and appropriate for a task and use the latest versions when supported. |
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| 11.2: Avoid deprecated features of W3C technologies. |
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| 12.3: Divide large blocks of information into more manageable groups where natural and appropriate. |
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13.1: Clearly identify the target of each link. Descriptions are provided where there are multiple links with the same anchor text on a given page. |
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13.2: Provide metadata to add semantic information to pages and sites. Metatags are used to associate pages with alternate stylesheets (high contrast, normal size, large size, very large size, printer friendly) and RSS feeds where available. Also used where a course has an associated PDF information sheet. Most first-level pages have a meta description tag, but we have decided not to use this tag throughout the site because it is virtually obselete for SEO purposes. See 13.9, Priority 3 (AAA) Guidelines |
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13.3: Provide information about the general layout of a site (e.g., a site map or table of contents). A site map is provided. |
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13.4: Use navigation mechanisms in a consistent manner. The main site navigation and text links are consistent across all pages of the site. |
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| 5.3: Do not use tables for layout unless the table makes sense when linearized. Otherwise, if the table does not make sense, provide an alternative equivalent (which may be a linearized version). |
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| 5.4: If a table is used for layout, do not use any structural markup for the purpose of visual formatting. |
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| 10.2: Until user agents support explicit associations between labels and form controls, for all form controls with implicitly associated labels, ensure that the label is properly positioned. |
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12.4: Associate labels explicitly with their controls. All form elements have a correctly associated label. |
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6.4: For scripts and applets, ensure that event handlers are input device-independent. Where JavaScript is used both mouse and keyboard input are supported by the use of both the "onClick" and "onKepUp" events. |
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8.1: Make programmatic elements such as scripts and applets directly accessible or compatible with assistive technologies. See 6.3, Priority 1 (A) Guidelines |
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9.3: For scripts, specify logical event handlers rather than device-dependent event handlers. See 6.4 |
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priority 3 (AAA) guidelines
| Guidelines & Our Comments | Conformance |
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| 4.2: Specify the expansion of each abbreviation or acronym in a document where it first occurs. |
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| 4.3: Identify the primary natural language of a document. |
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9.4: Create a logical tab order through links, form controls, and objects. Major forms use the "tabindex" attribute to set a logical tab order. |
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9.5: Provide keyboard shortcuts to important links (including those in client-side image maps), form controls, and groups of form controls. Access keys provide keyboard shortcuts to major pages. |
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10.5: Until user agents (including assistive technologies) render adjacent links distinctly, include non-link, printable characters (surrounded by spaces) between adjacent links. A "Skip to Content" link is provided to bypass the navigation and header sections of the site. |
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11.3: Provide information so that users may receive documents according to their preferences (e.g., language, content type, etc.) The <head> section of each pages contains links to alternate documents - high contrast version, normal size version, large size version, very large size version and (where applicable) audio narration (via MP3 file). |
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| 13.5: Provide navigation bars to highlight and give access to the navigation mechanism. |
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13.6: Group related links, identify the group (for user agents), and, until user agents do so, provide a way to bypass the group. See 10.5 |
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13.7: If search functions are provided, enable different types of searches for different skill levels and preferences. A search function is provided using the Google SOAP Web Service. Users can perform a normal search or a "Best Guess" search to visit the highest ranking match. The search function also performs a spell check on queries and suggests alternatives if necessary. Users can also find related pages to results of their query. |
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| 13.8: Place distinguishing information at the beginning of headings, paragraphs, lists, etc. |
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13.9: Provide information about document collections (i.e., documents comprising multiple pages.). The Latest News and Stay In Touch sections use the <link> tag to provide navigation to next/previous and index pages. |
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| 14.2: Supplement text with graphic or auditory presentations where they will facilitate comprehension of the page. |
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| 14.3: Create a style of presentation that is consistent across pages. |
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| 5.5: Provide summaries for tables. |
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10.3: Until user agents (including assistive technologies) render side-by-side text correctly, provide a linear text alternative (on the current page or some other) for all tables that lay out text in parallel, word-wrapped columns. This guideline is currently under review. |
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10.4: Until user agents handle empty controls correctly, include default, place-holding characters in edit boxes and text areas. We feel that meeting this guideline could confuse our visitors by forcing them to read additional text. The site is kept as simple as possible because the majority of our visitors are foreign students. |
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