Accessibility conformance

  • Updated

At 360Learning, we are committed to accessibility, diversity, and inclusion. As part of that commitment, we are making efforts to ensure that 360Learning’s digital properties are accessible to all individuals, regardless of ability.

What is accessibility conformance?

When you hear about website accessibility standards, you’ll often come across the term WCAG.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are a set of technical requirements designed to make web-based content usable for everyone, including people who use assistive technology. The goal is to provide a single, common global standard for web accessibility. While WCAG itself is not legislation, many countries have adopted it into their regulations, for example Section 508 in the U.S. and the European Accessibility Act (EAA). Because of this, following WCAG standards is considered the best practice for meeting accessibility laws.

Proof of conformance is often demonstrated through a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT). A VPAT is the industry-accepted document that, when completed, outlines a product’s level of conformance with digital accessibility standards. Once completed, it’s called an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR).

WCAG conformance levels

WCAG provides a framework for making web content accessible. They define three levels of conformance:

  • Level A: The minimum level of accessibility, addressing basic barriers.
  • Level AA: The mid-range level that ensures a broader spectrum of accessibility needs are met. This is often the target standard.
  • Level AAA: The highest level, addressing the broadest set of accessibility needs. Achieving this level is challenging and not required for most standards.

We aim to align with WCAG 2.1 Level AA, ensuring a balance between broad accessibility and practical implementation.

Our current compliance status

360Learning is partially conformant with WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

To advance our compliance and uphold our commitment to accessibility, we have:

  • Created a dedicated task force to lead and coordinate accessibility efforts across all teams.
  • Partnered with Level Access to audit, conduct thorough testing, and issue VPATs for our web app, iOS app, and Android app.
  • Implemented accessibility features to address the "critical" and most impactful "important" findings from our last audit.

We have outlined our commitment to accessibility in the 360Learning Digital Accessibility Statement. Accessibility is a continuous journey, and we are dedicated to making ongoing improvements to ensure inclusivity for all.

Accessibility enhancements

Q2 (April → June) 2026

  • Images uploaded to course activities (covers, cheat sheets, carousels, and galleries) now use the media name as alt-text for screen readers.

  • Focus outlines are now restored after closing popups and dialogs.

  • Keyboard accessibility has been improved for interactive elements on the Course page.

  • Course table of contents (left panel) is now structured and navigable with screen readers.

  • Button roles and labels have been corrected to improve the screen reader experience.

  • Labels have been added to checkbox elements in the Suggested experts dialog box.

  • The Scroll to bottom button now appears at the correct point in the keyboard navigation sequence.

Q3 (July → September) 2025

  • Bar charts now include a data grid, narrower bars, and hover tooltips. You can toggle Accessibility mode at the top right of the chart to add patterns for improved contrast.
  • All popups are now native for better focus management.
  • All interactive elements now have focus indicators (criteria 1.4.13 of the VPAT).

Q2 (April → June) 2025

  • Pie charts use colors with better contrast, distinct section separation, and clear annotations and labels.
  • Language changes on multilingual pages are now programmatically specified.

Q1 (January → March) 2025

Following the thorough accessibility audit conducted in partnership with Level Access, we have implemented several improvements across the platform:

  • Keyboard navigation:
    • Most interactive controls, such as buttons and icons, are now fully keyboard operable.
    • Improved keyboard focus indicators enhance navigation.
    • Non-essential elements are hidden from keyboard focus, ensuring a smoother experience.
  • Screen reader support:
    • Alternative text for images has been enhanced.
    • Most interactive elements now have descriptive labels.
    • Screen readers can convey the state and relationships of UI components.
  • Contrast improvements:
    • Our color palette has been updated to enhance readability and accessibility.
    • Contrast ratios have been increased to ensure important information, such as error messages, remains clear and distinguishable.

What we are working on

While we've made significant progress by implementing key accessibility features, we recognize that some areas still need improvement. We are working to address the following areas:

  • Non-text content:
    • Refining alternative text for images to ensure descriptions are complete and accurately convey visual information.
    • Addressing instances where visually hidden content is read by screen readers, creating inconsistencies.
  • Content structure: Ensuring all structural elements (headings, lists, data tables, and grouped controls) are accessible.
  • Reading order: Correcting inconsistent reading flow in the third-party PDF viewer.
  • Charts: Providing alternative ways to convey chart information beyond color.
  • Page titles: Enhancing page titles for more detailed context.
  • Link context: Ensuring link text is descriptive and unique.
  • Labels and instructions: Improving form labels by replacing placeholder-only labels with persistent labels, and ensuring all visual labels are programmatically associated with their corresponding elements.
  • Color contrast: Addressing instances of insufficient contrast in specific UI elements and states.
  • Responsiveness: Optimizing the platform for proper layout at high zoom levels (200% zoom) and on smaller screens (320px width).
  • Tooltips: Ensuring all tooltips are programmatically accessible.
  • Status messages: Ensuring all error and status messages are announced to assistive technologies.

We are working to address these accessibility challenges. If you encounter an issue not listed here or have suggestions for improvement, please contact your CSP.

Check out our blog for more L&D resources.

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