Accessibility

OhioLINK requires each PDF submitted to their website to be accessible.  The purpose of having a web-accessible document is to provide everyone the opportunity to view your work.  Web accessible documents allow those with little to no vision access to your document with the aid of a screen reader or other visual aid.  Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is also a proponent of accessibility.  Please see BGSU's Accessibility Policy for further information.     

Students will be responsible for the following:

• File includes full text.  For example, you cannot have a picture of your title page because a screen reader cannot read it.  You need to use the template provided.
  
• Color contrast (typed information must be black font on a white page).
  
• Document is set to English except Spanish and German majors writing their thesis in that language.
• PDF accessibility permission flag is checked.
• Document Properties are filled in.
  
• Bookmarks are created for all first level headings.
  
• Alternate text for figures, schemes, and equations.
  
• Text identifiable headings for each major topic change (first level heading).
• Table header row identified
  
• Making sure to not have merged cells or nested cells/rows in your tables because this goes against accessibility standards.
• Table summaries are completed (this is like alt text for a figure).
• Table regularity must pass accessibility standards.  This means in every table, each row must have the same number of columns and every column the same number of rows.  For example, having four (4) rows in column A and five (5) rows in column B does not work.  Column A and B both need to have five (5) rows in this example.
  

You can perform an accessibility check in Microsoft Word before converting your document to PDF.  You will need to use the templates provided by the Graduate College.  These Microsoft Word documents have been set up with the proper accessible headings for the preliminary pages, and for page 1 of the body of your text. You will be required to complete the accessibility requirements in Arobat Pro.

LaTex users will need to use Acrobat Pro to complete the requirements.  We realize the .zip file template will make a PDF for you, but it cannot add alternate text to your figures, schemes and equations. 

Information on how to complete these requirements is found in our Microsoft Word Accessibility document and our Acrobat Pro DC document.  We offer three workshops per semester with this information.   

Videos we recommend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXmw6rqir7I (Accessibility tool)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLY9kX4qpWM (Data tables and accessibility)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnIX8HrYemE (Fixing PDF Tables for 508 Compliance)

LaTeX Math Equation Accessibility Converter

https://demo.wiris.com/mathtype/en/developers.php#mathml-latex

LaTeX Accessibility Package for Overleaf

https://libguides.lib.msu.edu/c.php?g=995742&p=8207771