Rutgers A11y - Accessibility Audit Tool

Sarah Berryman
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18 steps
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3 minutes

Rutgers

Office

Webaim

Overview

**Who should use this guide?** - If you manage a Rutgers website that is not maintained by the SAS IT Web Team, this guide is for you. - All Rutgers websites are required to meet accessibility standards. - The A11y tool will help you make your site compliant and accessible. **What you'll learn in this guide:** - How to request that your website be added to the A11y tool. - How to use the A11y tool to identify accessibility issues. - How to use the WAVE browser extension to review accessibility issues directly on a webpage. The Rutgers A11y (Accessibility) Audit Tool helps check whether a website is easy to use for people with disabilities. It looks for accessibility issues based on WCAG 2.1 Level AA, which are standard guidelines for accessible websites. This tool is to be used for sites not managed by the Joomla team at SAS -- e.g., individual pages or sites faculty have set up on their own. You can access the A11y tool at: <https://wcag.sas.rutgers.edu/>.

Getting your website added to the A11y tool

To have a website added to the A11y tool, start by opening a ticket with SAS IT. You can do this by visiting <https://ithelp.sas.rutgers.edu/>, or by emailing [**ithelp@sas.rutgers.edu**](mailto:ithelp@sas.rutgers.edu). When submitting your request make sure to include the following information: - The **URL** of the website you want scanned. - The **NetID(s)** of the person or people who should receive the accessibility scan report. - Specify how often you would like the website to be scanned. You may request a one-time scan or ongoing scans that run as frequently as once per day or as infrequently as once per month.

Viewing Scan Report Results

**Important Note:** You must be connected to the Rutgers campus network or signed in to the Rutgers VPN in order to access the A11y tool.

After the website is added to the A11y tool: - The user(s) listed in the request will receive an email confirming that the initial accessibility scan is complete. - Click "**View Full Report**" to review the scan results of the scan in the A11y tool.

An example of the email that will be sent when a scan is complete. The email specifies the URL that was scanned, the date and time, the total number of violations, and the severity of the violations found. A button link titled 'View Full Report' is highlighted.

The report dashboard will display the scan results, organized by the severity of the issues found. While achieving a perfect accessibility score across all websites can be challenging, it is crucial to prioritize and resolve all issues marked as **Critical** or **Serious** to maintain compliance and ensure usability.

The report the A11y accessibility tool. Details of the scan are listed. Violations are sorted into categories Critical, Serious, Moderate, and Minor. Towards the bottom of the page are two tabs labeled URLs and Violations.

Navigate to the "**Violations**" tab to view a summary of accessibility concerns flagged across all URLs included in the scan.

The report on the A11y accessibility tool. Details of the scan are listed. The Violations tab is open and has been highlighted. All violations found in the scan have been listed.

In the "**URLs**" tab, you can view accessibility concerns for each URL included in the scan. - Click the URL to view the violations associated with it.

The report on the A11y accessibility tool. Details of the scan are listed. The URLs tab is open. All URLs included in the scan have been listed. The first URL is highlighted.

Hover your mouse pointer over a violation to view its details. You can also click "**Learn more about this issue**" or "**Ask Microsoft Copilot**" for additional information.

The report for a specific URL. Violations for the URL are listed. The mouse is hovered over one of the violation and a pop-up describing the violation is open.

You can manually rerun the scan once by clicking the "**Scan URL**" button within an existing report. You will receive an email notification when the scan is complete.

The report for a specific URL. Violations for the URL are listed. A button labeled 'Rescan URL' is highlighted.

How to Navigate the A11y Accessibility Audit Tool

The A11y Accessibility Audit Tool can be accessed at <https://wcag.sas.rutgers.edu/>

**Important Note:** You must be connected to the Rutgers campus network or signed in to the Rutgers VPN in order to access the A11y tool.

Use the left-hand menu to navigate A11y.\ \ The homepage provides guidance on using the tool, along with links to additional information about accessibility and WCAG 2.1 AA.

The homepage of the A11y accessibility audit tool. There are panels describing how to use the tool and for support and resources.

The "**Websites**" tab lists all websites you can view reports for, along with the date of the las scan, the total number of scans, and the number of violations found in the most recent scan. - Click a **URL** to view the most recent report.

The Websites tab of the A11y accessibility tool. Websites are listed in a table with columns for the 'Last Scanned' timestamp, 'Passes', 'Violations', 'Active', and 'Category'.

The "**Reports**" tab displays all accessibility scan reports for your websites, with the most recent reports shown first. - Click a **URL** to view the report.

The Reports tab of the A11y accessibility tool. All reports are listed in a table with columns for the 'URL', 'Timestamp', 'Passes', and 'Violations'.

WAVE Accessibility Browser Extension

The WAVE Accessibility Browser Extension allows you to scan individual pages. You can download the extension from<https://wave.webaim.org/extension/>.

Homepage of the WAVE web accessibility evaluation tool website.

Choose the version of the WAVE Browser Extension that matches your browser and install it.

WAVE web accessibility evaluation tool browser extension downloads. There are options for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.

When activated, the WAVE Browser Extension generates an accessibility report for the current page. - Click on each icon to view details about the corresponding accessibility concern.

A sample of running the WAVE browser extension on a webpage. Icons appear next to elements of the website to indicate accessibility violations. A panel on the left side of the screen displays a report of the accessibility scan.

Remediating Accessibility Issues

Achieving a 100% accessibility score can be challenging, so it is crucial to prioritize and resolve all **Critical** and **Serious** concerns.

Faculty are responsible for addressing accessibility issues on their websites. SAS IT will continue to run scans, but will not provide assistance with remediation.

Pages containing materials accessed by students should be prioritized to ensure an accessible experience for all users.