Accessibility Policy

Follow this link to read about our company-wide commitment to accessibility for all learners

ALEKS Accessibility Statement

The ALEKS platform, and the content included within, is our most accessible product line and platform in mathematics. ALEKS supports the access needs of many users with disabilities. ALEKS does not rely exclusively on color to convey critical information, so it is fully accessible to those who are colorblind. Many students who have limited or low vision can use screen magnification software to fully access ALEKS. Students who have difficulties using a mouse have no limitations while using ALEKS as it is fully navigable with a keyboard. Because ALEKS content does not rely on audio, ALEKS is accessible to those with hearing impairments. Students with visual impairments can access certain areas of ALEKS through the use of screen reader technology when Accessibility Mode is enabled.

The McGraw Hill ALEKS team recently completed the process of reprogramming ALEKS math courses (from Java to JavaScript) and programming math expressions in Mathematical Markup Language (Math ML) to make them more compatible with screen reader technology. To ensure that our accessibility efforts were as successful as possible, we worked with Interactive Accessibility and the National Center for Accessible Media to align our design in accordance with W3C and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA. Our JavaScript programming strategy incorporates WAI- ARIA to allow dynamic content and advanced user interface controls developed in JavaScript to interact more readily with screen readers.

Given the limitations of current screen reader technology, many schools have determined that some offline accommodations may be required to teach visually complex material. Certain topic items where the platform cannot offer an accessible online experience have been tagged to alert the user that assistance may be required to complete those problems.

We recognize that educational institutions must provide accommodations or modifications that would permit students with disabilities to receive all the educational benefits provided by the ALEKS technology in an equally effective and equally integrated manner. We are committed to broadening the accessibility of ALEKS and evaluating various accessibility technologies to improve the ALEKS experience for all students.

ALEKS Courses with Accessibility Features

The ALEKS courses specified below have an accessibility mode where a majority of the content and interface in each course can be made accessible for blind or visually impaired students using screen reader technology. ALEKS’ accessible experience for students depends on faculty selecting the appropriate accessibility settings. The accessibility mode in these ALEKS courses can be made available at both the class level and individual student level to meet the specific need of each implementation. The content available in accessibility mode for the following courses has been written and coded to conform to screen reading technology and WCAG 2.0 Level AA. Accessible courses have been tested in and formally support the following system requirements:

• Microsoft Windows 10+
• JAWS 2018
• JAWS 2019
• Firefox 63+

Available ALEKS Courses with Accessibility Mode:

ALEKS PPL

ALEKS Placement, Preparation and Learning (ALEKS PPL) offers six months of access to a Prep & Learning Module, which contains accessibility features common to other accessible ALEKS courses. However, the accessibility mode for ALEKS PPL is available only at the cohort level and cannot be turned on for individual students. If a school wishes to offer ALEKS PPL to blind or visually impaired students, we recommend creating a separate cohort for those students and make the accessible mode available to that entire cohort.

Video

Most McGraw Hill mathematics videos are closed captioned and are in .mov format. The videos and captioning can be made available outside of the ALEKS platform via a DSS office request to McGraw Hill. The videos and captioning are available within ALEKS.

Printed and On-Screen Textbooks

McGraw Hill can offer a Word or PDF version of the required printed or digital text. A Disability Support Services (DSS) office or ADA coordinator can request these materials for a student.

To request an accessible digital file of a McGraw Hill textbook for students, please contact Permissions.

In addition, McGraw Hill participates in the Access Text Network and ATN members may submit requests through the ATN.