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Why Accessibility?
Georgia College & State University is committed to ensuring our websites are accessible to all. By prioritizing accessibility in our digital environments, we strengthen our ability to fulfill our educational mission and serve every member of our community.
Rules for Accessibility
In 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice published a final rule mandating state and local governmental organizations update their online accessibility efforts to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 Level AA.
Under this federal rule, all digital content and services produced by the university must conform to these standards. Digital accessibility, under this rule, means designing web content and mobile applications to provide equal access, regardless of ability or circumstance. At its core, it is about removing barriers so that individuals do not face unnecessary obstacles when engaging with our resources.
While WCAG 2.1 Level AA is the federal minimum standard, the GCSU Web Team works to achieve WCAG 2.2 Level AA across our websites.
General Document Accessibility
Creating accessible documents allows users to more easily interact with the information you provide. These guidelines can help you achieve a base line of accessibility when creating online documents including Microsoft Office, PDFs, and other document formats.
In general accessible documents are:
- Scannable: Readers can quickly scan a document to find out what it contains.
- Searchable: Readers can use a digital device to search for words in the document.
- Legible: Sighted readers can physically read the text.
- Readable: Readers can easily understand the messages in the document.
Making PDF Files Accessible
Whenever possible, start with an accessible source document (e.g., in Microsoft Word) and export it into an accessible PDF. This preserves the document's accessibility features if it is edited in the future. If the original document is not available, accessibility features can be added to the PDF file using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC.
How to check your PDF file:
When checking PDF accessibility, remember the three main components:
- Does the document contain text? - Try selecting document text using a mouse, or select all text using Edit > "Select All" from the Acrobat menu. If all text cannot be selected, then part or all of the document contains an image file and is not accessible. Convert to text using View > Tools > "Recognize Text."
- Is the document tagged? - Go to File Properties (Ctrl+D in Windows, Command+D in Mac). In the bottom left corner of the Document Properties dialog, see the "Tagged PDF" field. If status is "No" the document will need to be tagged. Tags provide the structure on which accessibility is built. Add tags by selecting View > Tools > Accessibility > "Add Tags to Document."
- Have you checked for other errors? - Run the accessibility checker using Acrobat Pro. Select Tools > Accessibility > "Full Check" then read the report and follow the prompts. Please conduct this step last because some documents generate dozens of errors that can easily be addressed with the first two steps.
Additional Resources
Latest Revision: September 17, 2026