Digital Documents Standard
As a general rule, content creators and curators are responsible for the accessibility of the documents they create, publish, maintain, manage, distribute, or procure, with help and guidance provided by support teams.
Quality Standard
All documents must meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA requirements.
Documents must be made directly accessible whenever possible. A conforming alternate version may be provided only when it is not possible to make the original document accessible due to documented technical or legal limitations, and only as a last resort.
Any alternate version must fully conform to WCAG 2.1, provide the same information and functionality in the same language, be kept equally up to date, and be clearly and reliably linked to the original document through an accessibility‑supported mechanism. Alternate versions must not be used for convenience or as a substitute for creating accessible documents by default.
Scope
This standard applies to all digital documents and media created, used, or distributed for official university purposes, including PDFs, word processing files, presentations, spreadsheets, forms, and images.
Requests for Exceptions
Requests for exceptions to this standard will be reviewed individually by the Digital Accessibility Steering Committee through the Accessibility Exception Request process.
Lack of sufficient funding for any unit, department, or college of the university as the sole reason for an exception will not be considered.
Pre-Approved Exceptions
The following exceptions have been granted. An Accessibility Exception Request does not need to be submitted:
Documents made available online prior to April 24, 2026 are exempt from proactive remediation unless they are used to support current programs, services, instruction, or activities. However, they should include a mechanism for requesting an accessible format. Substantially revised documents must meet accessibility requirements prior to redistribution.
Individualized, password-protected documents may qualify for an exception when they are provided to a specific individual for personal use and are not intended for general public access. This includes documents such as billing statements, financial records, student-specific materials, grade reports, transcripts, and other records provided to a specific individual for their personal use.
When this exception applies, the university must provide timely access to an accessible version upon request and ensure that delivery systems support accessibility to the extent feasible.
Compliance
To ensure compliance with these standards, regular (at least annual) audits will be run on known campus digital documents and document repositories. If an organization is out of compliance, a report will be shared with the unit’s Digital Accessibility Liaison. Issues should be resolved within 30 business days.
If issues are not resolved within 30 business days, they will be referred to the Office of the Executive Vice President & Provost.
Failure to address identified accessibility barriers may result in required remediation plans or removal of inaccessible documents from public access.
Best Practices and Recommendations
The following practices are strongly recommended:
- Avoid uploading scanned PDFs. If scanning is necessary, please contact accessibility@usu.edu for help making the document accessible.
- Create documents accessibly from the start using built-in heading styles, list tools, and accessible table formatting.
- Use built-in accessibility features in document authoring tools (e.g., Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, Adobe Acrobat) and address issues identified by accessibility checkers before distributing documents.
- Avoid complex layouts (e.g., multi-column formatting, floating text boxes, layered elements).
Definitions
- Digital Document
- PDFs, word processing files, presentations, spreadsheets, forms, and images created, used, or distributed for official University purposes.