health.umd.edu

Amir Majedi

The campus website I've decided to evaluate using the WCAG 2.0 guidelines is the University of Maryland's health center, [|www.health.umd.edu]. This site is an important resource for just about everyone, however, it's vital for students with disabilities and for incoming freshman. Since the site serves such a large number of students, it should try to be highly accessibile. However, according to the WCAG guidelines, it still has some room for improvement.

__Principle 1: Perceivable - Not Implemented__ The website does not meet criteria 1.1 (Text Alternatives) since none of the tags have any alt text, nor are there any alternatives. For example, on the homepage, there is an image with text, instead of the text directly embedded into the webpage.

1.2 and 1.3 does not apply since the website has no such media.

1.4 (Distinguishable) - There are images of text which is frowned upon, however, there are no elements in which color signifies any importance, which is a plus.

All things considered, I would consider principle 1 as not implemented.

__Principle 2: Operable - Complete__ The site seems to handle using the TAB key to cycle through page elements fine, the only exception is the left side menu. Once a a category is set to focus, there is no way to access the sub menus of that category.

The website doesn't have any time sensitive operations nor any flashing so sections 2.2 and 2.3 are not applicable.

The links on the webpage are explicit so users can determine where it leads based upon the description and not the url. Also, all subcategories have a page title.

__Principle 3: Understandable - Partially Complete__ No mechanism is provided for changing the language of the source text nor for clarifying unusual words or abbreviations. All text is clear and easy to read except the text in the left menu panel. Once a user hovers over a selection such as "Clinical Services" then moves the mouse to the right to select a subcategory, the words "Clinical Services" changes to a dark blue while the background changes to a dark red, failing to meet contrast requirements.

3.2 is met. No inconsistencies exist that make the site inoperable.

3.3 does not apply since the website doesn't ask for any user input.

__Principle 4: Robust - Complete__ The page is designed using standard XHTML 1.0 as denoted by the doctype. Some JavaScript is used however it is minimal and mostly for visuals.

In conclusion, the UMD health department website does an above average job at being accessible according to the WCAG guidelines. Simple improvements such as alt text for images, no images of text, and better contrast between the menu elements and their backgrounds would help improve the site's overall usability as well.