Accessibility,+Matt+Orlove

Matt Orlove - Accessibility - Testudo

Testudo is the University of Maryland's gateway to some of the most important functions that every student at some point will utilize. Whether looking at courses offered, creating your schedule, viewing your transcript, or updating your contact information, Testudo is one of the most used UMD websites by students. It is because of this that it's extremely important to be accessible to every single type of student enrolled here. Unfortunately, I feel as though it has failed the majority of the most important accessibility tests. Key links are pictures of texs rather than text, it is not keyboard accessible at all, and unhelpful descriptions for links are all things that should be improved upon, especially for such an important website for UMD students.

1. Perceivable - Text Alternatives: The main links in this website are actually images rather than text links. There doesn't appear to be any accompanying alternatives to any of them which would no doubt cause difficulty navigating for some individuals. **NOT IMPLEMENTED** - Time-Based Media Alternatives: There doesn't appear to be any time-based media on Testudo. **NOT APPLICABLE** - Adaptable: The layout of this website could certainly be improved upon but things are grouped together in logical ways and it isn't too difficult to determine where different things are found. **COMPLETE** - Distinguishable: It is very simple to determine content and the color scheme is basic as well. Text can be resized which is helpful, but as I stated before, images of text are used when regular text would do just as good of a job. **PARTIAL IMPLEMENTATION**

Overall, I would say that, because of the necessary usage of images of text rather than text to navigate to any page in Testudo, this principle is not properly implemented.

2. Operable - Keyboard Accessible: It is not possible to navigate through any part of this website with just a keyboard. **NOT IMPLEMENTED** - Enough Time: Parts of this website are only accessible at certain hours of the day but, because most functions are available the vast majority of the day, this is excusable. **COMPLETE** - Seizures: There is no material on Testudo that can give or cause seizures. **NOT APPLICABLE** - Navigable: The unhelpful names of links (Office of the Registrar for creating classes/applying for graduation/looking at transcript/etc) are disappointing but it does have updating headers for each page and having to log in only once is extremely helpful. **PARTIAL IMPLEMENTATION**

Testudo doesn't pass the most important tests. The fact that it has undescriptive links and is not keyboard accessible are all reasons why I say this principle is not properly implemented

3. Understandable - Readable: There are no mechanisms to help make text content more readable and understandable. **NOT IMPLEMENTED** - Predictable: This website's pages appear and operate in predictable ways. **COMPLETE** - Input Assistance: Errors made when creating schedules or entering in login credential or when doing any other input are accompanied by helpful messages explaining what the problem is. **COMPLETE**

Offering input assistance is a very helpful aspect of this website, which largely operates through user input. Not offering mechanisms to aid with readability isn't great but because the vast majority of people using this website will have basic knowledge of the English language, it shouldn't be too big of a problem. Overall, I say that Testudo does implement this principle properly.

4. Robust - Compatible: By utilizing HTML, Testudo can be interpreted reliably by many users on many different platforms. **COMPLETE**

HTML has become a very helpful tool in allowing many different users from all around the world, using varied operating systems and browsers, to view the same information. This principle is implemented properly.