Audience Size

Content used by a larger number of people is generally a higher priority than content used by a smaller number of people.

Audience size may be measured in a number of ways, depending on the type of content. Instructional content has class sizes, websites can use analytics on traffic, limited-access employee systems may have a defined number of users, etc.

Age of Content

Content being newly created is generally a higher priority than old content.

Creating new content that's inaccessible adds to the backlog of remediation that needs to be completed later, and new content is generally more likely to be in use (and be in use for longer) than old content.

Before you start fixing old content, archive or delete as much old content as possible. Reducing the scope of what needs to be remediated is absolutely critical, as the university currently has far more content than it can maintain or bring into compliance. Prior to deleting any materials subject to retention requirements, check the UO Records Retention Schedule or consult University Records Management.

If you have a set of materials produced over a long period of time that needs to remain on the web and none of it is a higher priority than any other, it's generally best to start with what's most recent and work backwards in time.

Content Longevity and Lifecycle

Content that will continue to be used for a long time is generally a higher priority than content that will stop being used soon or will only be used for a one-time event.

The longer content is in use, the more people it will impact, and some current content may stop being used prior to the university's compliance date, making it a low priority compared to content that will be used after that date. If content already has an approaching replacement or retirement date, it is likely a lower priority, particularly compared with the content that will replace it.

Essential Content

Content that is required to be used is generally a higher priority than content that is optional for users.

While some systems and content are absolutely necessary for someone's work/studies/etc., some may not be. Some content and systems are required to be used or are absolutely essential, others are encouraged or highly featured, and some are entirely optional or tangential. Functional vs. informational content can provide another way to conceptualize this dimension.

For student-facing content, examples of critical content include course materials, admissions, course registration, and financial aid. For employee-facing content, examples of critical content include human resource, personnel, and pay-related materials and systems, hiring and job posting materials, training materials, and content that is essential for an employee's duties, employment, and benefits.

Frequency of Use

Content that is used frequently should generally be prioritized over content that is rarely used.

Some content is only expected to be used rarely (or once) by the intended audience, while other content is regularly used by them – audience size alone doesn't indicate how much something gets used. For example, a form that people need to submit monthly is generally going to be a higher priority than a form that will only be used a single time.

Templates

Content that is used as a template should generally be prioritized over individual pieces of content.

Some content is used as a template or base for the creation of many pieces of other content. Fixing templates can have a large, ongoing impact.

Landing Pages and Gateways

Content that acts as a gateway to get to other content should generally be prioritized over the content behind it.

If a user can't use a home page, login screen, portal, etc., they may not be able to get to any other pages or content on a site or system. As a result, these types of pages are critical – if the front door is locked, it may not matter how accessible the content behind it is. For academic content, examples include course home pages in Canvas and interactive syllabi.

Accommodations and Alternatives

Content for which accessible alternatives do not exist or are not readily available to users should generally be prioritized above content that has accessible alternatives.

Some types of content already have well-documented accessible alternatives available. For example, an online form may be a method of submitting information for which email is also acceptable, and the email address is listed at the top of the form and on pages that link to the form. While all online content eventually needs to be fixed, content that has no workaround is generally more important to fix first.

Additionally, the availability and timeliness of an accessible alternative or accommodation must be considered. For example, it may be more difficult to make accommodations available to members of the public than to students or employees, and providing access to some accessible alternatives or accommodations may take a significant amount of time or may require going through a complex process, which can introduce barriers and keep them from being equally effective alternatives.

For questions about student accommodations, contact the UO Accessible Education Center. For questions about employee accommodations, contact the UO Workplace ADA Coordinator.

Degree of Inaccessibility

Content with accessibility violations that create larger barriers for disabled users should generally be prioritized over content with less impactful violations.

These distinctions may be difficult for non-experts to make, but if information about the severity of accessibility issues is available, it should be considered. Some accessibility issues can entirely prevent a person from using the content, while others may be more of an inconvenience. While all accessibility issues eventually need to get fixed, not all accessibility issues are equal.

For example, if critical parts of a site cannot be interacted with via keyboard at all, making the site impossible to use for people with a range of disabilities, that would generally be considered a larger barrier than a site having incorrectly tagged headings, which would generally make using the site more difficult, but not impossible, for people with a variety of disabilities.

Complaints

Content for which there have been accessibility complaints should generally be prioritized over other content.

If a formal or informal complaint has been received about the accessibility of content, that content should generally be considered a very high priority for remediation. Likewise, content that is likely to generate a complaint should be considered a high priority.

Reputation and Perception

Content that has a larger impact on the university or program's reputation should generally be prioritized over content that does not.

Some types of content have more of an impact on perception by the public or members of the UO community than users. For example, a message from the university's President or content specifically focused on equity issues might be considered differently than other content. People may also base their perceptions of a department's website more on the home page than on other pages, even if the home page itself doesn't have critical content.