Accessibility Statement

Accessibility Statement

AAAS is committed to providing an accessible and user-friendly experience for all visitors, regardless of ability. We continuously strive to improve accessibility and usability for everyone.

Conformance status

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) define requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. It defines three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA. The Science and Technology Policy Fellowships website, FellowsCentral, is partially conformant with WCAG 2.1 level AA. Partially conformant means that some parts of the content do not fully conform to the accessibility standard.

Limitations and alternatives

AAAS assessed the accessibility of FellowsCentral through an external evaluation carried out by CoLab Cooperative. We intend to fix these issues found during the evaluation as we redesign our website over the next year. 

Despite our best efforts to ensure the accessibility of FellowsCentral, there may be some limitations. Please contact us if you observe an issue not listed below or in the evaluation report. 

Known limitations:

  1. Fellow Portraits: Uploaded images may not have text alternatives because we do not have a method yet for fellows to write their own alt text descriptions for their own portraits. Please email us at stpf-support@aaas.org if you are a fellow interested in writing their own alt text. 
  2. Focus Indicator: Focus indicator has poor contrast on white backgrounds. We are currently partnering with CoLab to redesign our focus indicator to surpass WCAG 2.2 AA criteria. 
  3. Search: The close button does not have a label and does not respond to the space key. We are aware of the issue and will explore engineering fixes as soon as we can. If you are using a screen reader, be aware that the unlabeled button after search will close the search panel. 
  4. Mobile Menu: Mobile menu button does not have discernable text. We intend to either add a visible label "Menu" or programmatic label using an `aria-label` to resolve this issue. If you are using a screen reader on a mobile device, the first unlabeled button on the page will open the menu.
  5. Blog Images: Uploaded images may not have text alternatives because content authors may forget to add alt text to images or mark them as decorative. We intend to embed instructions for content authors to follow.  
  6. Color Contrast: Several pieces of content and interactive elements, especially on hover and focus, fail to meet minimum color contrast ratio thresholds. We are currently partnering with CoLab to redesign our website with acceptance criteria to surpass WCAG 2.2 AA criteria for color contrast.  
  7. Filters: Filters may be difficult to operate for keyboard users because they are coded as links instead of buttons, resulting in focus being lost upon application. We are aware of the issue and will explore engineering fixes as soon as we can. If you rely on a keyboard to navigate our website, be aware that filters will refresh the page and send focus back to the start.

Feedback

We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of our website. Please let us know if you encounter accessibility barriers by emailing us at stpf-support@aaas.org.

We try to respond to feedback within 2 business days.

Formal approval of this accessibility statement

Accessibility Statement is approved by Andrew Black, Chief of Staff and Chief Public Affairs Officer, AAAS.