This document outlines the policies, processes, and standards maintained by the Grand Valley State University Web Team to ensure that GVSU’s web presence meets current digital accessibility requirements.  

GVSU websites currently adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 at Level AA. The Web Team is actively in the process of updating our content management system and the websites it powers to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards. While this work is ongoing, significant progress has been made and the university is well-positioned to achieve full conformance. 

The Web Team operates within University Marketing at Grand Valley State University and is responsible for the infrastructure, design, content strategy, and governance of GVSU’s web presence. Accessibility is treated as a shared, ongoing responsibility — not only across the Web Team, but across every individual who creates and manages content on a GVSU website. CMS administrators are expected to understand and apply accessibility standards as a routine part of their work, and the Web Team supports that expectation through training, documentation, tooling, and review. 

The team includes staff with expertise spanning web development, design, content strategy, SEO, and digital content management, all of whom contribute to GVSU’s accessibility efforts in their respective areas of work. Leadership is provided by the Associate VP of Web Development and Content Strategy, who oversees accessibility initiatives alongside all other aspects of the team’s work. Every member of the Web Team is expected to consider accessibility implications within their role — whether that means ensuring accessible technical implementation, maintaining compliant design standards, or supporting the CMS administrators who create content across campus. 

Individuals across campus who create and manage content on GVSU websites — referred to as CMS administrators — are required to complete accessibility training before being granted publishing access to the CMS. This training is an annual requirement, ensuring that all active content editors remain current with accessibility standards and expectations. Training is developed and maintained by the Web Team and covers: 

• What digital accessibility is and why it matters
• WCAG 2.1 AA requirements as they apply to web content 
• How to write appropriate alt text for images
• How to structure content using proper heading hierarchy
• How to write descriptive, accessible hyperlink text
• How to handle videos, PDFs, and other non-HTML content accessibly
• How to use CMS tools and features in an accessible way 

Training is delivered via video tutorials and written documentation, both of which are regularly updated to reflect changes in standards or CMS functionality. CMS administrators are notified of updates and reminders through a monthly email newsletter distributed by the Web Team. 

The following specific standards are communicated to content editors and enforced during site reviews:  

Alternative Text - All informative images must have descriptive alt text under approximately 140–155 characters. Alt text must not begin with “Photo of,” “Image of,” or “Profile picture of.” Decorative images must be marked as decorative, so they are ignored by assistive technology. The Web Team recognizes four image types — informative, functional, images of text, and complex — each with specific alt text requirements.  

Images of Text - Text embedded within images is prohibited wherever possible, as it cannot be resized, translated, or read by screen readers. 

Heading Hierarchy - All pages must follow a logical heading structure beginning with a single H1, followed by H2s, then H3s. Headings must not be skipped. Decorative headings — those used for visual styling rather than document structure — must be marked accordingly, so they do not disrupt the page outline for assistive technology users.  

Hyperlink Text - All hyperlinks must be descriptive and a minimum of three words. Generic link text such as “click here,” “read more,” or “learn more” is not permitted. Duplicate link text pointing to different destinations is also prohibited. Email address links must display the full email address as the linked text.  

Color Contrast - All text must meet a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1 against its background. Large text must meet a minimum of 3:1. These ratios are enforced through GVSU’s design system and verified during content review.  

Video and Multimedia - All videos published on GVSU websites must include accurate captions or transcripts. Auto-generated captions alone do not meet this standard. Flashing or strobing content that exceeds three flashes per second is prohibited.  PDFs. The use of PDFs is discouraged in favor of native CMS web pages, which are inherently more accessible and maintainable. When PDFs are necessary, they must be fully WCAG 2.0 AA compliant and properly tagged for assistive technology.  

Readability - Content should target approximately an 8th grade reading level to ensure it is accessible to the broadest possible audience.  

Links Opening in New Windows. Links that open in a new browser window or tab are used sparingly and only when contextually appropriate, as unexpected behavior can be disorienting for users of assistive technology. 

The CMS is GVSU's content management system, developed in-house by the university's own web developers. It functions as a "what you see is what you get" webpage editor, allowing CMS administrators across campus to build and manage web content without writing code. Because CMS was built internally rather than purchased as an off-the-shelf product, the Web Team has full control over its features, limitations, and design constraints. This means accessibility standards can be deliberately built into the system itself — not worked around after the fact. 
 
GVSU’s current content management system, CMS 5, was built with intentional design constraints that enforce university branding and accessibility standards automatically. This reduces the risk of content editors inadvertently introducing accessibility issues. Specifically: 

• Typography, color, spacing, and layout are controlled at the system level and cannot be overridden by individual editors
• The content building interface uses structured components that guide editors toward accessible content patterns
• Heading components are typed (H1, H2, H3) and encourage proper hierarchy by design
• Image components prompt for alt text at the point of upload
• The system enforces GVSU’s brand standards, eliminating the risk of non-compliant color choices or font substitutions 
   

These guardrails do not replace human review, but they significantly reduce the surface area for accessibility errors introduced at the content level. 

Before any GVSU website goes live, the Web Team conducts a comprehensive content and accessibility review covering every page of every site being migrated or launched. This review is a required step in the migration workflow, and a site will not be published to the live production server until all identified issues have been resolved. 
 
The migration and review process follows five steps: the site owner initiates migration from the legacy CMS and submits a content inventory for review; the Web Team completes the technical import; the site owner reviews their content in a test environment and makes necessary updates; and the Web Team conducts a final review before publishing. 
 
During the final review, the following items are checked on every page: 

• All images have appropriate, non-duplicate alt text, or are correctly marked as decorative
• Heading hierarchy is logical and follows H1 → H2 → H3 structure without skipping levels
• Decorative headings are marked correctly
• All hyperlinks are descriptive and meet the minimum three-word standard
• No generic link text (“click here,” “read more”) is present
• No duplicate descriptive link text points to different destinations
• No images of text are present
• Links that open in new windows are used only when appropriate and sparingly
• No broken links are present

The Web Team’s commitment to accessibility extends beyond the migration period. Ongoing efforts include: 

• Regular updates to accessibility training materials as standards and CMS features evolve
• Monthly communication to CMS administrators covering accessibility updates, tips, and reminders
• Maintenance of a dedicated accessibility resource site and collaboration with GVSU’s Digital Accessibility Committee to align web practices with university-wide accessibility goals
• Continued review of new sites and significant content updates before publication

This webpage reflects the accessibility practices of the GVSU Web Team as of the date noted above and will be updated as practices, standards, or systems evolve.