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Accessibility, Diversity, & Inclusion

Accessibility

In order to present the content and functionality of this site to the widest range of people, we have tried to present all pages in accordance with current accessibility standards and best practices. We have worked closely with individuals with disabilities in the design, testing, and implementation of the 800ageinfo website. 

Please let us know of improvements that we can make to address specific accessibility issues you may find.  

Standards Compliance

All pages on this website have been designed using guidelines provided in:

Skip-to Links

Skip-to-navigation and Skip-to-content links have been included on every page of this website, for the convenience of website visitors who use assistive technologies such as JAWS.  These links enable a user to skip the repetitive list of navigation links that appear at the top of each page.

  • Skip-to-navigation brings focus to the beginning of the primary navigation. This link bypasses the main site logo, the For Professionals link, and text-sizing functions.
  • Skip-to-content allows you to go directly to the web page's content, bypassing all navigation links.

screenshot - text sizing buttons (four "A" Buttons)Changing Text Size and Background Color

There are four text adjustment buttons located on the top right of every page.. To change the text size or contrasting background, click a text button choice that appears in the top, right corner of any page.

  • The first 3 buttons will adjust the text size from Standard, Large, and Very Large.  All of these options use a black font on white background.
  • The last or rightmost text button toggles the page between Reverse (a dark background with a white font) and Statndard (light background with black font).

Controls built into your web browser are also enabled. For example:

  • Microsoft Internet Explorer: use View > Text Size > Larger to make the text larger.
  • Mozilla Firefox: Use View > Zoom > Zoom In to make the text larger.

Content

We have tried to produce all web content using best practices for accessibility, including the use of headlines, lists, and other structured elements that enable visually impaired users to use alternate navigation techniques.

  • The text of each link is written so it makes sense out of context. This enables tabbing from one link to another.
  • Headings are used to aid tabbed navigation of page content.
  • Acronyms, such as "MNIP", are spelled out for those Web browsers and screen readers that have this feature enabled.
  • All images include descriptive text (ALT) attributes.

Visual Design

  • Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are used.
  • The content of every page is readable even if Style Sheets are not used.
  • We have avoided the use of tables for layout purposes.
  • Only relative font sizes are used.

Surveys

We take your feedback seriously and do our best to comply with web accessibility standards throughout our website. If you are encountering accessibility issues with the survey, please contact us at SurveyResponse@umassmed.edu.

Diversity & Inclusion

Inclusion is defined as the act of creating environments in which any individual group can feel welcomed, respected, supported and valued.  Bringing together, harnessing and leveraging our diversity to benefit the Commonwealth.