Accessibility Statement
SlideRoom is committed to providing an accessible experience for all users. If you have any issues, concerns, comments regarding site accessibility, we'd love to hear from you. Feel free to email us at: accessibility@slideroom.com.
Standards Compliance
SlideRoom makes use of web standards-compliant HTML5, CSS3 and Javascript, which allows SlideRoom to run in any modern desktop browser. While the site will be functionally-equivalent in older browsers, you may experience minor visual differences.
Color Contrast
SlideRoom is in compliance with WCAG 2.0 Level AA color contrast guidelines, which require a contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.
Navigation
SlideRoom employs the use of semantic HTML header elements to improve navigation for screen-reader users. For quick and easy navigation through the SlideRoom application, use the following keyboard commands with either Window-Eyes or JAWS:
- H to cycle forwards through headings
- Shift + H to cycle backwards through headings
- 1 to navigate to the next level 1 heading (or a number between 1 and 6 to navigate to the next heading on this level)
- Shift + 1 to navigate to the previous level 1 heading (or a number between 1 and 6 to navigate to the previous heading on this level)
- Insert + F6 to provide a list of all headings
Keyboard Controls
All content and functionality within SlideRoom is accessible by keyboard-only users with or without assistive technologies. SlideRoom does not employ the use of proprietary keyboard shortcut commands.
Text Size
All text throughout SlideRoom is resizable using standard browser controls.
ARIA Enhancements
SlideRoom offers ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) functionality for assistive technologies that support it. As ARIA is not yet widely supported or standardized across assistive technologies, browsers and operating systems, ARIA functionality is provided only as an enhancement; if your assistive technology of choice does not support ARIA functionality, SlideRoom will function completely.
AJAX Functionality
SlideRoom is what is commonly referred to as a Single Page Application. This means that all content and functionality on SlideRoom is surfaced through AJAX without requiring a page refresh. For example, if a you interact with a button, content on the page may change without reloading the page in reaction to that button being activated. To ensure this content is always accessible to keyboard and assistive technology users, we employ the following approach:
Whenever new content is surfaced or changed within the application in reaction to a user interaction:
- The application will shift keyboard and screen reader focus to the newly-changed content.
- In cases where the newly-surfaced content is temporal and not readily actionable (e.g. auto-save messages), SlideRoom will use ARIA Live regions to read back the updated content to screen-reader users. For users with assistive technologies that do not support ARIA, we provide controls that will surface that content when activated (e.g., a Save button).
Recommended Assistive Technologies
While SlideRoom is still fully functional for assistive technologies that do not support ARIA functionality, we recommend the following assistive technology combinations, as they have been the most rigorously tested:
- VoiceOver with Safari on Mac OS
- JAWS Screen Reader with Internet Explorer on Windows
Accessibility Barriers
While SlideRoom strives to be as accessible as possible for all users, there are a few accessibility barriers that may prevent a small portion of users from using the application.
Accessibility Barrier: Javascript support
SlideRoom is a Javascript-based web application requiring that Javascript be turned on in your browser. If you are unable to turn on Javascript in your browser, SlideRoom will not function. For instructions on how to enable Javascript in your browser, see below:
- Enable Javascript in Microsoft Internet Explorer
- Enable Javascript in Mozilla Firefox
- Enable Javascript in Apple Safari
- Enable Javascript in Google Chrome
Accessibility Barrier: Time-based functionality.
As institutions require hard submission deadlines for all applications, the same is true for applications handled by SlideRoom on behalf of those institutions. As such, all SlideRoom functionality related to submitting an application to an institution is governed by a time-based deadline that cannot be modified by users. To mitigate this issue, SlideRoom employs the following approaches:
- Deadline dates are featured prominently throughout the application.
- When a deadline is less than a week away, the deadline is featured in bold, red text. In addition, SlideRoom uses ARIA Live Regions to read back the deadline date when a screen reader is not actively reading back other text or other functionality.
If you are having trouble meeting a submission deadline as a result of difficulty using SlideRoom, email us at accessibility@slideroom.com and we will be happy to assist you.
Last updated 02/2018