Accessibility is about promoting equality. It means that services and contents should be easy for everyone to use and understand. In the online environment, this means making digital services as easy to use as possible. The accessibility of digital services applies to all public sector organizations and is governed by the EU Web Accessibility Directive and defined in national law: the Act on the Provision of Digital Services 306/2019 (in Finnish).
How does accessibility affect you as a student?
When an online service (such as Moodle or a website) is made accessible, its content can be used with assistive technology. Assistive technology benefits everyone, not just people with disabilities.
How do you make an accessible thesis?
All theses (Bachelor’s theses, Master’s theses, and doctoral dissertations) published in the university’s electronic publication system should be accessible. You are responsible for the accessibility of your own thesis. In addition to following the accessible thesis guidelines, you must also follow the thesis instructions provided by your faculty.
Consider the following when producing accessible content
- Use clear and simple language. Use sufficiently large font size and legible fonts.
- Write descriptive headings. When possible, write headings as full sentences. Use the heading levels configured for the service.
- Use subheadings to structure text. Subheadings divide content into readable sections. Heading levels should be logical.
- Write descriptive link texts. Link text should clearly indicate where the link leads. Links should open in the same browser window.
- Use lists to make content easier to scan.
- Ensure sufficient colour contrast. Content must be accessible to people with colour blindness or low vision. You can test contrast using the Contrast Checker online service (opens in new tab). The minimum requirement is level AA.
- Do not rely on colour alone to convey information. If content uses colour to communicate meaning, provide an alternative that does not require distinguishing colours.
- Add alternative text (alt text) to images. Alt text describes the image content for users who cannot see it, such as those using screen readers. Mark images as decorative if they add no information, if their content is already described in the text, or if the visible caption is identical to the alt text.
- Caption videos and podcasts. Videos and podcasts in online services must include captions. Saved videos must be made accessible within 14 days of publication. This requirement does not apply to live streams.
- Make infographics readable. Infographic content must also be described in text format.
Guidelines and templates
- Accessible documents and templates on UEF Intra (log in with UEF account).
- Accessible images and infographics on UEF Intra (log in with UEF account).
Research communication
If you are involved in a research project as a student, your research is part of the university’s activities and your research project has a website, it must be accessible and include an accessibility statement. The university’s website and platforms such as UEF Connect must also be accessible.
- Accessibility in research – more information on UEF Intra (log in with UEF account).
Support and help
- If you need help with accessibility, contact Oppari: [email protected]. For instructions on using doctoral dissertation templates, contact the editor of the publication series (more information on UEF Intra, log in with UEF account).
- You can also use Eduhouse video guides as a UEF student. Read more about Eduhouse on UEF Intra (log in with UEF account).
More information
- Digital accessibility pages on UEF Intra (log in with UEF account).
- Accessibility (UEF Saavutettavuus) group for UEF members on Viva Engage (log in with UEF account).