WCAG 2.0 Standards
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.0 categorieze best practices in web accessibility and are at the heart of UM's policy of web accessibility.
Conformance Levels
WCAG 2.0 consists of three levels of success criteria: A, AA, and AAA. Level AAA is the most strict level.
UM's Policy and Resolution Agreement set the standard for web accessibility to be compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 level AA standard (with some exclusions.) This means that you must comply with both the A and AA success criteria within WCAG 2.0.
FAQ
Please consult the tools page within this guide for a list of automated tools that can assist you in assessing your level of compliance. Do remember that no tool can fully assess accessibility compliance, so when in doubt ask for an accessibility expert on campus to walk through your web application/page with you and do a formal assessment.
As a developer, you need to know and understand every WCAG 2.0 Level A and AA standard. You should be familiar with AAA, but are not required to implement it.
Section 508 is part of Federal Law that requires accessibility for federal websites. Section 508 is not the most applicable standard for UM, and its checklist is not part of UM's approved policy. Additionally, Section 508 will soon be refreshed to use WCAG 2.0 AA as its standard.