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Digital Accessibility

Caltech strives to become an example of how a diverse and inclusive community, committed to equity, permits individuals to thrive in fulfilling the Institute's mission of forefront research and education.

The Institute is committed to making its electronic content accessible to its students, faculty, postdoctoral scholars, staff, and all other individuals with and without disabilities.

Caltech's digital content and platforms that provide programs, services, and activities must conform with The World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA (or the latest version of WCAG), or otherwise be accessible to individuals with disabilities.

What Accessibility Means

"Accessibility" means that all people, including those with disabilities, can acquire information, engage in interactions, and enjoy services in an equal and integrated manner.

Digital resources include any hardware, software, product, content, or application being created, utilized, or stored. This includes, but is not limited to, web sites and web applications, software and operating systems, mobile apps, online course materials, digital signage and kiosks, and digital content including animations, audio, video, images, and electronic documents.

Reporting Accessibility Concerns and Questions

If you cannot access content or use features on any Caltech website or application due to a disability, please report your issue or concern.

Resources for the Caltech Community

Caltech Sites Web Publishing Solution

Caltech Sites is a free web publishing solution supported by IMSS that allows departments, labs, clubs, faculty, and others to easily build websites based on an existing template that is designed in accordance with Caltech's accessibility standards.

Digital Accessibility Training

Anyone who creates or manages digital content on behalf of the Institute is encouraged to familiarize themselves with the principles of accessibility through a custom training module available in the MyLearn Course Catalog (Access Caltech credentials required).

Guidelines for Creating Accessible Web Content

When uploading or editing content, website editors should follow our Guidelines for Creating Accessible Content.

Web Accessibility Scanning Tools

WAVE is a free tool that can be used online or downloaded as a web browser extension to check pages for Web Accessibility Errors.

Caltech has procured PopeTech powered by WAVE as a compliance platform to support and achieve our web accessibility goals. For questions regarding web accessibility scanning tools, please contact digitalaccessibility@caltech.edu.

Creating Accessible Documents

Caltech has partnered with WebAIM for an independent, video-based online course. Accessible Documents: Word, PowerPoint, & Acrobat is delivered through the Canvas learning management system. The course is available 24/7. This training features 39 learning activities with an average video length of five minutes and takes approximately 8 hours in total to complete.

Email digitalaccessibility@caltech.edu to request access to the course.

Microsoft Office Resources

Canvas: Caltech's Online Learning Management System

Hiring Website/Software Vendors