Note about CATE and accessibility compliance inspections

Worried about your accessibility compliance inspection?

For class websites built in the CATE system (Section Homepage module, Schedule module, Presentation module, Test & Exercise module, Gradebook module, etc) there's nothing to worry about, because the CATE system automatically generates compliant webpages. Unless you intentionally work hard to break the system's accessibility code, all pages created with CATE modules should be hunky-dory.

So, why are some folks failing compliance inspections?

There are two main issues, both outside the CATE system.

Desktop apps: If you create material with desktop applications (such as PowerPoint, Word, DreamWeaver, FrontPage, Excel, InDesign, Acrobat, etc) and upload the files with the CATE File Management module, the CATE system will NOT assist you with accessibility compliance. Furthermore, files like PPTs, PDFs, DOCs, etc are almost never compliant unless you take extra steps to make them so. Try to avoid using those kinds of files—instead, build your pages in the CATE system—and definitely don't use those kinds of files on the Web unless you've taken the extra steps to make them compliant!

External sites: If you point links to external sites (such as Wikipedia, Amazon, various .gov sites, and many others) outside the CATE system, you rely on those sites passing compliance testing. Don't bet on it! Many external sites, including .gov sites and .edu sites, fail miserably. It's always best to build your own pages in the CATE system for presenting information. Don't rely on using material on external sites unless you've tested them to ensure they are compliant!

If you avoid problems with external sites and files created with desktop apps, your accessibility inspection should be smooth sailing.

Note: There is one exception to CATE generating pages that are automatically compliant, and that's the Advanced HTML Editor. If you turn on that optional feature, then you are responsible for ensuring that you create accessible code. Our advice? It's seldom necessary, so don't activate the Advanced HTML Editor unless you absolutely must. Better a slightly less glamorous page than one out of compliance.

Guide to Accessibility Compliance for CATE Users

For further instructions or related information, check the Help Main Menu.

Distance Education office Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, CA USA Last Modified: Thursday, 24-Sep-2009 08:19:15 PDT	Email to CATE Webmaster