Even though we do not have control of every document (PDFs, Doc files, etc) we link to as resources on montana.edu, they still need to be accessible, or we will need to provide extra information and contact details. We'll review the different cases below.
Documents or resources posted on montana.edu but not created by Montana State University (e.g. third party instructions.)
These work just like documents created by MSU - they will need to either
- be WCAG 2.0 AA accessible (asking the 3rd party to send you an accessible document can work), or
- include the contents in the web page and link to the document as a downloadable or printable version.
More information about this process is available in our Making Documents Accessible article.
Documents or resources on montana.edu or owned by Montana State University
If it's a resource within montana.edu, we recommend contacting the content owner and asking them to make the document accessible.
Documents or Resources not owned by montana.edu
If it's a resource off montana.edu, we will need to do our due diligence before linking to these, which would include:
- requesting the owner make the document WCAG 2.0 AA accessible. If they can't/wont,
- looking for an alternate resource. If we can't find one,
- linking to the resource from our website with a summary of what the document contains and provide contact information to your office, so a disabled user has a good idea of what they're opening before they follow the link and can get help if needed.
Make sure you document this process if you are going to employ the third option.