UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In this month’s accessibility highlight, the Penn State Accessibility Team has gathered the University’s top Microsoft templates to help users produce accessible resources with ease.
Last month, the team highlighted general accessibility resources related to Microsoft Office, since many people use this suite of programs in their daily work. Below is a deeper dive into some of the specific templates available for those programs.
Microsoft Word
Beginning with Microsoft Word, there are several templates available to help Penn State students, faculty and staff create accessible documents more efficiently. These templates "bake in" certain design elements, enabling writers to enhance accessibility for users with visual and cognitive differences. This assistance allows writers and editors to focus on accessibility features that are specific to individual documents, such as adding alt text to images.
Accessible Microsoft Word syllabus templates are available on the Penn State Accessibility website, although logging in to SharePoint is required. The templates include accessibility features such as:
- Styles are automatically changed to match the document format
- All table options have sufficient contrast
- Template files include options for accessible colored boxes
- These templates can be used for files beyond syllabi (such as reports, memos, documentation and assignments)
The author of each document is still responsible for maintaining overall accessibility. Additional resources include using the program’s built-in Accessibility Checker feature and the how-to videos available on the Syllabus Templates page of the Penn State Accessibility website.
As outlined last year in Penn State News, branded versions of other types of Microsoft Word documents can be accessed by opening Word from the locally installed Word app, clicking “New,” then clicking “The Pennsylvania State University.”
PowerPoint
In addition to Microsoft Word templates, PowerPoint templates are also popular among the University community to help ensure digital presentations are accessible. Three template decks are included in the Master Downloads of Penn State’s Brand Book under “PowerPoint Templates and Guidelines.” The decks include the correct use of the Penn State shield and approved brand colors. Contrast and reading order are also set.
As with Microsoft Word documents, authors remain responsible for including image alt text and maintaining the overall accessibility of their PowerPoint presentations. The Accessibility Team therefore encourages authors to use the Accessibility Checker feature, as well as the how-to videos and documentation posted on the PowerPoint page of the Accessibility website.
Note that while templates provide guidance, they can also be tweaked to meet individual needs. Questions about accessibility requirements or available resources can be directed to the Penn State Accessibility team at accessibility@psu.edu.