A Quick Guide to Creating an Accessible Syllabus Using Word 2010

Microsoft Word 2010 has several builtin accessibility features that are helpful in creating an accessible syllabus. Here is a quick guide to evaluating your syllabus and addressing common accessibility issues.

*Word on the Mac does not have the accessibility checker. Although you can implement most of the accessibility items listed in this tutorial using Word for Mac, you will need to use Word 2011 on the Mac to enter alt. text for images.

  1. Run the Accessibility checker (Go to File-> Info-> Check for Issues-> Check Accessibility).

  1. The checker will run, errors will be flagged, and information about how to fix each item will be presented.

Common Errors

Many documents contain common errors that can be fixed quickly.

Using Syles

  1. Use styles to set headings for your document.
  2. Do this instead of changing the size and look of the font manually.
  3. Using heading levels enables students with visual impairments to understand the formatting of the document. It also creates a visual distinction for students who do not have visual impairments.
  4. Select the text that is a heading and then click on the appropriate heading level.
  5. After you designate the text as a heading, you can change the look of the text if you would like, but the heading level designation will remain.

Word 2007 and 2010 (Windows):

Word for Mac (formatting palette):

Describing an Image

  1. Set alternative text (alt. text) for images in the document.
  2. Students with visual impairments who cannot see the image use software that will read your alternate description to them.
  3. Right click on the image and select Format Picture…
  1. Enter your alt. text into the description box. Do not put anything in the title box.

Use Bulleted and Numbered Lists

  1. On the Home tab, use the bulleted or numbered list options to format lists.
  2. Do not manually type out numbers for lists.

Hyperlinks

  1. Make sure hyperlink text is clear and descriptive.
  2. For example, avoid using phrases such as “click here.”
  3. Example: More information about DESP can be found on our website.
  4. If a syllabus is going to be printed you may also want to include the full URL as well as the descriptive link.
  5. Example: More information about DESP can be found on our website (
  6. If a syllabus is online only, do not use the URL. Use a descriptive link instead.

Tables

  1. Only use table to Format data.
  2. Do not use tables for layout purposes.
  3. Example:

Overall Percentage / Letter Grade / Performance Indicated
90-100 / A / Excellent
80-89 / B / Good
70-79 / C / Satisfactory
60-69 / D / Less than satisfactory
60 and below / F / Failing
  1. Label the header row for the table.
  2. Select the row.
  3. Right click.
  4. Go to Table Properties.
  5. On the Row tab. Check the box labeled: “Repeat as header row on all pages.”
  6. On the Alt. Text tab enter a brief description of the table.

*Some screenshots taken from the WebAIM Microsoft Word Tutorial