Accessibility Statement

Jump to

Commitment to Accessibility

NC3 is committed to ensuring equal access for all users, including people with disabilities. We strive to make NC3Certs and all associated certification materials accessible and usable by everyone, including students, instructors, campus administrators, and industry partners. Accessibility is a continuous process, and we regularly review, evaluate, and update our platform and materials to align with current accessibility standards.

Standards and Guidelines

NC3Certs has been evaluated against the following standards:

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level A and Level AA, ISO/IEC 40500:2012
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act
PDF/UA, ISO 14289-1, applied to curriculum manuals, exams, and other PDF materials

Evaluation Methods Used

WAVE automated scans
Manual accessibility testing against the WCAG 2.1 success criteria
Keyboard-only operation testing across platform functions
Quality assurance conducted by participants with visual impairments

Our current conformance assessment is published in the NC3Certs Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT), available on request.

Accessibility Features

NC3Certs includes the following:

Full keyboard operability. All platform functions, including student, instructor, and administrative functions, can be performed using only the keyboard. Focus order is logical and consistent, keyboard focus is visible throughout, and no keyboard traps are present.
Text can be resized to 200% without loss of content or functionality.
Consistent navigation, headings, labels, and controls across the platform.
Descriptive page titles and link text that make sense without surrounding context.
Text alternatives for images. All platform icons include alt text or are marked decorative, and alt text across curriculum and media files was completed in May 2026.
Captions and transcripts are provided for prerecorded video content.
The platform interface meets WCAG 2.1 AA contrast requirements, 4.5:1 for text and 3:1 for interface elements.
No flashing or strobing content, and no imposed time limits on exams or materials.
The platform works in both portrait and landscape orientation.
Error messages are presented in text.
Exam submission confirmations are announced to screen readers.
A native high contrast display mode, built into the application itself rather than delivered by the accessibility widget.

Separately from the native high contrast mode above, NC3Certs provides a UserWay accessibility widget, available on every page through a control in the lower right of the interface, offering user-configurable display and navigation options. The widget does not provide a separate or reduced version of NC3Certs. There is one interface, one code base, and one feature set, and every user has access to the same functionality whether or not the widget is used. NC3 does not treat the widget as a substitute for accessible design, and the conformance levels reported in our VPAT are assessed against the standard interface without it.

Known Limitations

We report our gaps openly. The following areas do not yet fully meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, and each is tracked in the NC3Certs Conformance and Remediation Form with a remediation target and an interim workaround:

Curriculum presentation. Curriculum is currently presented through an embedded third-party flipbook viewer, which NC3 has not independently assessed for assistive technology support. NC3 is replacing this delivery method by April 2027. A PDF of the same material exists for every certification and is available through the student’s instructor in the meantime.
Narrow screens. Pages do not fully reflow on narrow viewports. The platform is fully operable at desktop widths and remains usable at 200% zoom. Remediation is scheduled for January 2027.
Status messages. Apart from exam submission confirmations, messages such as save and update confirmations are not announced automatically to assistive technology and must be located manually.
Curriculum manuals. Some manuals still present text as images, and tagging and reading order are not yet complete in all PDF materials. Contrast in some legacy curriculum files is still being corrected.
Captions and transcripts. Captions and transcripts are autogenerated and are being reviewed by hand to improve accuracy and to add speaker labels and background sound identification.
Audio descriptions. Not all videos include separate audio descriptions for visual-only content. Descriptive transcripts are available in the meantime.
Form error guidance. Not every form field provides a corrective suggestion when an entry is rejected.
Markup validation. Full HTML and ARIA validation across the platform has not yet been confirmed.

Overall, NC3Certs partially conforms to WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Remediation is planned to complete by April 2027, aligned to the compliance dates applicable to our public institution customers under the Department of Justice rule implementing ADA Title II.

Ongoing Improvements

NC3 works toward continuous accessibility improvement through:

Regular accessibility testing and monitoring of the platform
Accessibility review during feature planning, development, and release
Remediation of curriculum manuals, exams, and media files
Maintaining internal accessibility guidelines and staff familiarity with the WCAG success criteria
Testing with people who use assistive technology

Requesting Accessible Materials

If you need curriculum materials or platform content in an alternative format, such as an accessible tagged PDF, accessible Word, large print, or another format, please contact us and include:

The certification, manual, or page name
A description of the content you need
The format you need

We aim to respond within three to five business days.

Reporting Accessibility Issues

If you encounter an accessibility barrier, please tell us. It helps to include:

The page address or the name of the certification or material
A description of the problem
Your device and browser
Any assistive technology you were using

Accessibility reports are reviewed by the NC3 Customer Success team and, where technical work is required, by the NC3 IT Coordinator and our development team. Each report is tracked through to resolution.

Contact Information

We take accessibility seriously and will respond as quickly as we can. We also welcome feedback and suggestions.

Help Request Form: nc3certs.com/help
Email: customersuccess@nc3.net

If you are unable to access any part of NC3Certs, contact us by any of the routes above and we will provide the information or complete the task with you directly.

Updates to This Statement

Accessibility is an ongoing process. We review and update this statement as new evaluations are completed and improvements are made.

LAST REVIEWED AND UPDATED: OCTOBER 1, 2026