The Digital Accessibility Office within Computing Services implements processes and provides resources to support practices aligned with the digital accessibility policy. Our focus is on advisory support, coordination, outreach, and training to promote digital accessibility in collaboration with the university community and its partners.
Why does Digital Accessibility matter?
Following digital accessibility best practices helps to ensure that everyone, including people with disabilities, has equal access to content across electronic resources such as webpages, software, documents, and videos. Improving accessibility improves the user experience for everyone.
Did you know...
- According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), as many as 25 percent of Americans have a disability, but many of these disabilities are invisible.
- Findings indicate that most college students with disabilities have not informed their institution. Following accessibility standards reduces the need for individuals to disclose private information.
- It's not just those with disabilities who rely on accessible content. 90 percent of students use closed captioning to improve their comprehension of multimedia.
- According to Rev, YouTube videos with captions get 40 percent more hits than those without—so it can improve the popularity of your content and increase your return on investment.
Who is responsible for Digital Accessibility?
The short answer is—we all are. Whether we’re creating a PDF or a video, teaching a class, or implementing new software, we all play a role in making sure our resources are digitally accessible. When we do so, we level the playing field and allow all members of our CMU campus community to put their hearts in the work.