Accessibility Statement

Our Commitment

LectureAID is built specifically to make higher education content accessible to students with disabilities. Accessibility is not an afterthought for us — it is our core mission and the reason our platform exists.

We are committed to ensuring that the LectureAID platform itself meets or exceeds the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standards, as well as applicable requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Conformance Status

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) define requirements for designers and developers to improve accessibility for people with disabilities, at three levels of conformance: Level A, Level AA, and Level AAA. LectureAID is partially conformant with WCAG 2.1 Level AA. “Partially conformant” means that some parts of the content do not yet fully conform to the accessibility standard; the known gaps are listed under Known Limitations below and are actively tracked for remediation.

We actively test against these guidelines using automated and manual methods. Our development workflow includes:

• A custom WCAG audit script (34 checks) run by developers against the frontend source
• ESLint accessibility rules (eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y) enforced on every code change
• Pre-commit hooks that catch accessibility regressions before code is merged
• End-to-end accessibility testing using browser automation against the accessibility tree

Our Accessibility Conformance Report (VPAT 2.5, currently self-assessed) is available to institutional reviewers on request via the contact below.

Accessibility Features

The following accessibility features are built into the LectureAID platform:

Navigation & Structure

• Skip navigation link to bypass repetitive content
• Semantic HTML throughout (headings, landmarks, lists, tables)
• Consistent, predictable navigation patterns
• Logical heading hierarchy (h1 through h4)
• ARIA landmarks and labels for all interactive regions

Keyboard Accessibility

• All interactive elements are operable by keyboard, including arrow-key support in the chat panel tabs and the note-format switcher
• A visible focus indicator applied application-wide to links, buttons, and form controls
• Arrow key navigation for slides in the lecture panel view
• Focus traps in modal dialogs and slide-out panels (chat widget, accessibility widget) with Escape key to close
• Logical tab order following the reading order of each page
• Dialogs and slide-out panels close with the Escape key at all times — including while a submitted action is completing — and return focus to the control that opened them

Visual Accessibility

• Text and UI color contrast targets WCAG AA (4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text and non-text/UI components). The marketing and sign-in surfaces meet this target and are regression-locked by automated tests; a number of secondary and placeholder text elements and the default input borders inside the signed-in application are still below the threshold, tracked under Known Limitations below
• Content does not rely on color alone to convey information
• Text is resizable up to 200% without loss of functionality
• No content flashes more than 3 times per second

Screen Reader Support

• Images and icons carry alt text or are marked decorative; a small number of decorative icons on administrative screens are still being marked, and adjacent visible text or the control's own label conveys their meaning
• Form inputs are properly labeled with associated descriptions
• Dynamic content changes are announced via ARIA live regions
• Processing status updates are conveyed programmatically
• The lecture Q&A widget announces response status (generating, complete, error) via a live region; completed responses are read as normal content rather than interrupting token by token
• Search results are presented in an accessible listbox, grouped by lecture

Optional Display Preferences

LectureAID is fully accessible by default without any display preferences enabled. The core platform uses semantic HTML, ARIA landmarks and labels, full keyboard navigation, and screen reader support as baseline features. These optional display preferences provide additional comfort for users who want to fine-tune their experience:

• Reduce motion — Disables animations, transitions, and flashing content
• Larger text and higher contrast — Increases text size, letter spacing, and contrast
• Reduce visual clutter — Removes shadows and gradients to reduce visual distraction
• Comfortable reading — Increases line height and word spacing, and limits line width
• Enhanced focus indicators — Prominent outlines for keyboard navigation
• Screen reader optimizations — Tunes ARIA live regions for screen reader announcements

These preferences are entirely optional -- LectureAID works fully with assistive technologies out of the box. Selections are saved locally and persist across sessions.

Content Accessibility

Beyond the platform interface, LectureAID makes lecture content itself more accessible:

• AI-generated visual descriptions for lecture slides — describing charts, diagrams, equations, and spatial relationships — up to the described-slide allowance of your institution's plan
• Multiple note display formats (Outline, Annotated Transcript, Boxing, Concept Map, T-Chart, Matrix) to suit different learning preferences
• Audio export of generated notes via text-to-speech
• Semantic search across all lecture content
• Context-aware Q&A chat grounded in lecture material

Testing & Evaluation

We evaluate the accessibility of LectureAID using a combination of automated and manual testing methods:

• eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y on every pull request as a required CI check (six rules build-breaking, seven advisory)
• Custom WCAG 2.1 audit tooling covering the frontend source, including high-contrast display-preference verification (developer-invoked)
• End-to-end browser testing against the accessibility tree (not visual screenshots) covering keyboard navigation, focus management, and ARIA correctness
• Manual keyboard-only navigation testing across all workflows
• Screen reader testing with VoiceOver (macOS) and NVDA (Windows)
• Automated color-contrast analysis against WCAG AA (4.5:1 normal text), with AAA targets (7:1) on the marketing surface and the high-contrast display preference
• Responsive design testing across mobile, tablet, and desktop viewports

Assessment Approach

LectureAID assessed the accessibility of the platform by self-evaluation, using the automated and manual methods described above. The most recent full evaluation was completed on August 10, 2026 and covered the public website and the core authenticated application flows. A third-party accessibility audit has not yet been commissioned; our Accessibility Conformance Report (VPAT 2.5) is self-assessed.

Technical Specifications

Accessibility of LectureAID relies on the following technologies to work with your web browser and any assistive technologies or plugins installed on your computer:

• HTML
• CSS
• WAI-ARIA
• JavaScript

These technologies are relied upon for conformance with the accessibility standards used.

Known Limitations

While we strive for full WCAG 2.1 AA compliance, we are transparent about the following areas where we continue to improve:

• AI-generated slide descriptions may not capture every visual detail, particularly for complex diagrams, handwritten content, or densely packed data visualizations. Description quality varies with slide complexity.
• Audio transcription accuracy depends on recording quality, speaker accents, and technical terminology. Transcripts may contain errors that propagate into generated notes.
• PDF slide images uploaded by users do not have inherent text alternatives — LectureAID generates these via AI, but the descriptions are interpretive rather than exact reproductions.
• Some third-party embedded content may not fully meet accessibility standards.
• The accessibility widget profiles apply CSS-based modifications that may not cover every visual element in complex note template formats.
• A number of secondary and placeholder text elements inside the signed-in application, and the default borders on text inputs and selects, do not yet meet the 4.5:1 (text) / 3:1 (UI component) contrast thresholds. The high-contrast display preference resolves both; remediation of the default theme is tracked in our audit backlog.

We actively track and prioritize accessibility improvements. If you discover an issue not listed here, please let us know.

Assistive Technology Compatibility

LectureAID is designed to be compatible with the following assistive technologies:

• VoiceOver (macOS/iOS)
• NVDA (Windows)
• JAWS (Windows)
• Dragon NaturallySpeaking
• Browser zoom and text resizing
• High contrast mode and custom stylesheets

LectureAID is designed for current versions of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. It is not compatible with Internet Explorer.

Feedback & Contact

We welcome feedback on the accessibility of LectureAID. If you encounter any accessibility barriers or have suggestions for improvement, please contact us:

Email: info@lectureaid.com

We aim to respond to accessibility feedback within 2 business days and to resolve reported accessibility issues as quickly as possible.

Enforcement & Complaints

If you are not satisfied with our response to your accessibility concern, you may contact the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) or your institution's disability services office for assistance.