QM+ General Standard 8: Accessibility and Usability

The course design reflects a commitment to accessibility and usability for diverse learners.

QM 8.1 Course navigation facilitates ease of use. (Essential) — This standard emphasizes the importance of intuitive and consistent navigation throughout the online course to ensure that all students, including those with disabilities, can easily access and use the course materials without unnecessary difficulty. The principle behind this standard is that well-structured and thoughtfully designed course navigation enhances the learning experience by reducing confusion and frustration, allowing students to focus more on the content, rather than how to access
QM 8.2 The course design facilitates readability. (Essential) — Standard 8.2 emphasizes the need for the course design to facilitate readability and minimize distractions. This standard is important because it addresses the visual and structural aspects of online course materials that can impact the learning experience, especially for students with visual impairments, attention deficits, or certain learning disabilities.
QM 8.3 Text in the course is accessible. (Essential) — Accessible text works seamlessly with assistive technologies, such as screen readers. Making text accessible means that all students, regardless of their physical abilities or learning preferences, can access, understand, and benefit from the educational materials. This standard includes the text in the course modules, but also text found in files, documents, slides, articles, pages, and websites.
QM 8.4 Images in the course are accessible. (Very Important) — Making images in a course accessible is crucial for several reasons, centered around inclusivity, legal compliance, and enhanced learning outcomes. When we talk about accessibility in the context of images, we refer to the practice of ensuring that all learners, including those with disabilities, can access, perceive, and understand the information conveyed by the images.
QM 8.5 Video and audio content in the course is accessible. (Very Important) — Implementing this standard is part of a broader commitment to humanizing online education, ensuring that all students, regardless of their physical or learning needs, have equal access to learning opportunities and resources.
QM 8.6 Multimedia in the course is easy to use. (Very Important) — This standard is part of a broader commitment to accessibility and usability, making sure that all learners, regardless of their individual needs, can effectively engage with course materials. This involves providing accessible video and audio content, using design elements consistently to make navigation intuitive, and ensuring that multimedia content is not only accessible but also easy for all students to use, is accessible across various platforms (Mac, PC, mobile), and regardless of bandwid
QM 8.7 Vendor accessibility statements are provided for the technologies used in the course. (Important) — This standard addresses the need for course materials to provide accessibility statements and, where possible, user guides for all technologies required in the course. Students need to be aware of the accessibility features of the technologies they will be required to use, which is crucial information for learners who need to use assistive technologies or who have specific learning needs.