Accessibility policy

Texas Woman’s University (TWU) is committed to making its Web sites and Web applications accessible to all users. We have created the following Web accessibility requirements that are designed to improve accessibility for users with disabilities. The requirements are based on state and federal guidelines, policies and coding standards for creating accessible Web sites.

The State of Texas defines a “state Web site” as any TWU Web site or page including the home page and other key public entry points. Web sites that are created or updated after publication of this policy shall be required to follow these accessibility guidelines. The TWU Office of Marketing & Communication strongly urges site owners and Webspinners to implement these guidelines to existing sites as well.

New sites shall be checked for accessibility compliance before they are added to the TWU sitemap. Existing sites will be assessed for compliance as requests are made by users or others.

TWU Web sites shall comply with the following Web accessibility guidelines:

1. Images shall contain alt tags with descriptions of each image that provides meaningful content to the user. This practice aids users who listen to the content of the site by using a screen reader. Images such as dots or bullets, which do not provide meaningful content to the user, shall include null alt text (alt = “”). Text transcripts shall accompany audio clips that include speakers.

2. Color shall be used on TWU sites in such a way that colorblind users can use and understand the page content.

3. When style sheets are used, pages shall still be understandable and accessible when a user has turned off style sheets on his or her computer or does not have the capability of accessing style sheets. Text on all Web pages shall accommodate users who wish to adjust text size to increase readability.

4. “Skip to” links shall be used to bypass common navigational elements on Web pages. This practice allows users with screen readers to skip directly to the page’s content without listening to navigational elements on each page accessed.

5. Tables that present data will be tagged so users with screen readers can understand the relationship between the rows and columns. Layout tables shall not be tagged.

6. Image maps shall always be created as client-side and not server-side. An alternative, such as text links, will be provided for all image maps.

7. TWU Web pages shall not depend on any animated elements, such as animated GIFs, Flash movies, etc., to convey essential content, unless that element can be made accessible.

8. Any text-only versions created of graphic Web pages shall be kept current with the graphical version.

9. Forms on TWU Web pages shall be designed and tagged for those using assistive technologies. This includes ensuring titles and descriptions of input fields are read by screen readers in a logical order clearly identifying the requested information for each field.

To improve the accessibility of our Web site, we test any major redesign with several screen readers and other Web tools. The results of those reviews have been incorporated into the Web site. TWU welcomes comments on how to improve the site’s accessibility for users with disabilities.

If you use assistive technology and the format of any material on our Web sites interferes with your ability to access the information, please contact the Director of Web Communication using these contact points:

E-mail: webmaster@twu.edu
Phone: (940) 898-3456

Mailing address:
P.O. Box 425410
Denton, TX 76204

Please send your name, contact information, the nature of the accessibility problem, and the Web site address or specific Web page that contains your accessibility issues.

You can also access information at the Governor's Committee on People with Disabilities Web site.