Microsoft Office - Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), Norfolk, Hampton Roads

Documents used on any EVMS Website (e.g. EVMS.edu, myPortal, third-party sites and apps used for EVMS audiences) or in any EVMS-related communications (e.g. newsletters and eNews emails) must meet the Digital Accessibility Policy’s standard.

This page provides an overview and resources for ensuring that your Microsoft Office documents (Word, PowerPoint and Excel) meet this standard.

Elements of accessible documents

Whether you are working on a Word documment or preparing a PowerPoint for a lecture, these are common elements you will need to address.

Proper headings and heading structures
Alternative text (alt text) for images
Descriptive text for hyperlinks or URLs
Tables with simple structures
Lists (unordered or ordered)
Color contrast for text

Screenshot of a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation

Is your document or presentation accessible?

Accessibility experts at WebAIM have extensive documentation on how to create and test Microsoft Office documents with accessibility in mind. Use the links below to explore their tutorials.

Sharing your documents

When sharing Word or PowerPoint presentations, it is recommended to convert them the a PDF first. Once the document has been converted, you will need to test the PDF for accessibility.

Learn how to use TerminalFour (T4) to upload and post documents to your webpages.