Accessibility Statement

Study Massachusetts Consortium is committed to ensuring that our website is accessible to people with disabilities. We believe that all users — regardless of ability — deserve equal access to information about studying in Massachusetts.

We view accessibility as an ongoing effort and welcome feedback from users who encounter barriers on our site.

We aim to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA, published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). These guidelines explain how to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities.

We also follow applicable requirements under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

To support accessibility, Study Massachusetts takes the following measures:

• Include accessibility as part of our design and development process.
• Conduct periodic accessibility reviews and testing.
• Provide staff training on accessibility best practices.
• Respond to user feedback about accessibility barriers.
• Use semantic HTML to support screen readers and assistive technologies.
• Ensure sufficient color contrast ratios for text and interactive elements.
• Provide text alternatives for non-text content.
• Ensure all interactive elements are keyboard-navigable.

The Study Massachusetts website includes the following accessibility features:

• Keyboard navigation: All interactive elements — links, buttons, forms, and navigation menus — are accessible via keyboard.
• Screen reader support: Pages use semantic HTML landmarks (main, nav, header, footer) and ARIA labels to support screen readers.
• Text alternatives: Images include descriptive alt text. Decorative images have empty alt attributes.
• Color contrast: Text and interactive elements meet WCAG 2.1 AA contrast ratio requirements.
• Resizable text: The site supports browser-level text resizing up to 200% without loss of content or functionality.
• Focus indicators: Visible focus outlines are provided for keyboard users.
• Form labels: All form inputs are associated with descriptive labels.
• Skip navigation: A skip-to-main-content link is available at the top of each page for keyboard users.

While we strive for full accessibility, some content may not yet meet all WCAG 2.1 AA criteria. Known limitations include:

• Interactive maps: The Google Maps integration on regional pages may not be fully accessible to screen reader users. We provide text-based alternatives for all map content.
• Third-party content: Embedded content from third-party providers (such as YouTube videos) may not fully conform to our accessibility standards. We recommend using captions and audio descriptions where available.
• PDF documents: Some linked PDF documents may not be fully accessible. We are working to remediate these files.
• Complex data tables: Some comparison tables may be challenging for screen reader users. We are working to improve their structure and labeling.

We are actively working to address these limitations. If you encounter a specific barrier, please contact us and we will do our best to provide an accessible alternative.

The site has been tested with the following assistive technologies:

• Screen readers: NVDA and VoiceOver (macOS/iOS)
• Keyboard-only navigation
• Browser zoom up to 200%
• High contrast mode (Windows)

We recommend using an up-to-date browser for the best experience. If you experience issues with a specific assistive technology, please let us know.

We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of the Study Massachusetts website. If you experience any barriers or have suggestions for improvement, please contact us:

We aim to respond to accessibility feedback within 5 business days. If you need information in an alternative format, please let us know and we will do our best to accommodate your request.

If you are not satisfied with our response to your accessibility feedback, you may contact the following bodies:

• U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division — for ADA-related complaints.
• U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights — for complaints related to educational institutions receiving federal funding.

We are committed to resolving accessibility concerns directly and encourage you to contact us first so we can address your needs promptly.