Cengage Accessibility Information

Instructors and students can use Cengage Learning tools like MindTap and WebAssign to complete online activities and assessments offered through Cengage publisher tools. A majority of the accessibilities identified by Cengage impact instructors, though there are a small number of barriers s

Affected Users

Accessibility issues with Cengage impact people using a screen reader, people using only a keyboard for navigation, and people with limited vision and color blindness.

Known Accessibility Barriers

Screenreaders

Instructors:

Info and Relationships: In MindTap, almost all of the information conveyed through presentation in the product can be programmatically determined, except for activities that count toward grades displayed in the learning path, which have visual relationships that are not properly communicated to screen readers.

Students:

Labels or Instructions: WebAssign provides sufficient labels or instructions when content requires user input, except for button elements used within the mastery set user interface, which lack unique labels.

Focus Order: In MindTap, almost all of the interactive components within the product receive focus in an order that preserves meaning and operability, with the following exception: Within the About modal dialog, buttons are used to launch framed containers containing unique content. When screen reader users activate these buttons using a keyboard, the focus is not set to the content that Criteria Conformance Level Remarks and Explanations appear. Screen reader users may not know that the buttons are displaying new content.

Keyboard

Instructors:

Keyboard Accessibility: In MindTap, all user interface controls are operable through keyboard input and do not require a mouse, except for the date picker, which is not keyboard accessible. Keyboard-only users cannot type into the date input field or use the keyboard to select a date from the picker. Additionally, the date picker field is implemented as <input type=“text”> but does not allow users to type in dates as is generally expected for this type of input field.

Students:

All user interface controls are operable through a keyboard interface and do not require a mouse, except for advanced mathematical character input through the calcPad calculator interface.

Status Messages: In WebAssign, status messages can be programmatically determined through role or properties so that they can be presented to the user by assistive technologies without receiving focus, with one exception: when a screen reader user saves a note within My Notes, an audible confirmation message is not provided.

Limited Vision and Color Blindness

Instructors:

Use of Color: In MindTap, color is not used in the product as the only visual means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element except for red and green colors that are used on text content that communicates both the class average (0% in red) and quiz score (0% in green).

Students:

Reflow: In MindTap, when zooming to 400% with a 1280 x 1024 pixel viewport, most content reflows so that it is still accessible, except for content between sticky regions that cause it to be challenging to read because of space constraints. In WebAssign, most content is presented without loss of information or functionality and without requiring scrolling in two dimensions at a minimum width equivalent to 320 CSS pixels and at a minimum height equivalent to 256 CSS pixels, except for Student Assignment Take pages, which require scrolling in two directions to access content.

Alternate Access

Most of MindTap's issues will impact instructors using assistive technologies, and it is recommended that they be provided with a TA or program/school support to manage the Cengage Learning platform.

For the focus order issue in MindTap, instructors should copy the information included in the About modal dialog and provide it to students who are unable to access the material with assistive technologies through another means.

Students may need alternate versions of the inaccessible content in an accessible platform like Word or Canvas. In the case of WebAssign, an alternate accessible third-party solution that allows for the input of advanced mathematical characters may be necessary.

As with any software, unexpected issues can arise without being flagged by Cengage. If people using assistive technologies are unable to access materials due to an accessibility barrier, they should notify their instructor and AccessibleNU immediately. The instructor or TA will need to create an alternate version of the material to add to Canvas.

Communication

An accessibility statement should be included in the syllabus, noting the accessibility barriers for students using screenreaders and keyboard support and for people with limited vision. Students should notify the instructor immediately, and the instructor and department should contact AccessibleNU promptly. Instructors can also share Cengage information from the Canvas Learning Center.

A suggested statement may include: "Cengage has some known accessibility issues related to screen reader and/or keyboard-only use and for people with limited vision. Should you encounter accessibility issues using the tool, please get in touch with your instructor ASAP for alternative access options."

Additional Support

The instructor of the course is responsible for implementing the alternate access solution and the department the course is within is responsible for providing any support in creating alternate versions of assignments or in proving human support.

They can contact Accessible NU at accessiblenu@northwestern.edu and Teaching & Learning Technologies at canvas@northwestern.edu if guidance is needed.

For student(s), contact AccessibleNU at accessiblenu@northwestern.edu.

For faculty, staff, or the general public, contact the Office of Equity at accommodations@northwestern.edu