Accessibility Policy

AAWE (the AI Aware Writing Environment) is committed to providing an accessible experience for all users—students, instructors, and institutions alike. We believe that accessibility is central to our mission of supporting equitable learning and responsible AI use.

What We're Doing

To make our website and platform usable for everyone, we follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at the AA level. These internationally recognized guidelines explain how to make digital content more accessible for people with disabilities and more user-friendly for all.

AAWE monitors accessibility on an ongoing basis and makes iterative improvements as technology and standards evolve. Our most recent platform updates (May 2026) extend accessibility across the unified student assignment portal, OCR workflow, multi-round AI feedback screens, and public marketing pages.

Accessibility Features

Our platform includes several accessibility features to support diverse learning needs:

• Keyboard navigation: Core flows—including instructor assignment setup, student submission tabs, OCR workflow scan controls, and feedback actions—support keyboard operation with visible focus states
• Screen reader support: Headings, landmarks, form labels, ARIA attributes (for example, aria-live regions on workflow timelines), and button names are provided so assistive technologies can interpret page structure
• Color contrast: Interface elements on student and instructor portals are designed to meet WCAG 2.1 AA contrast targets where feasible
• Text scaling: Content remains usable when text is enlarged up to 200% in supported browsers
• Alternative text: Informative images on the landing page and instructional screens include descriptive alt text (for example, handwriting digitization, assignment workflow, and AI feedback illustrations)
• Focus indicators: Links, buttons, and form fields display clear focus outlines for keyboard users
• Skip navigation: A skip link on key policy and portal pages allows users to jump directly to main content

Feature-Specific Accessibility

Student assignment portal

The unified assignment page presents workflow steps with text labels and descriptions, submission method tabs when multiple options are enabled, due dates in readable date/time format, and AI feedback engine badges with privacy context. Workflow chips expose full step descriptions via accessible names or tooltips.

OCR workflow (handwriting digitization)

When camera capture is enabled, students must grant browser permission to use the device camera; upload-only assignments remain available when instructors disable camera access. Scan pages provide labeled buttons for capture, retake, page review, OCR, and clearing saved pages. Recognized text is editable after OCR so students can correct errors before submitting. Because OCR quality depends on image clarity and handwriting legibility, students who rely on assistive technology may prefer typed submission or upload when an instructor allows it.

AI feedback and revision

Multi-round feedback views use structured headings, sidebar feedback panels, and revision editors with placeholders and labels. Draft-comparison and export tools are intended to support reflection; if any comparison view is difficult to use with your assistive technology, contact us so we can prioritize improvements.

Email and PDF delivery

Students may download results or send them by email through modal dialogs with labeled fields, attachment previews where applicable, and keyboard-accessible controls. Email opens the user’s own mail client or sends through configured institutional mail settings; AAWE does not replace your institution’s accessible email client.

Known Limitations

Some experiences depend on third-party capabilities outside AAWE’s full control:

• Camera-based capture requires a compatible device, browser, and user permission
• OCR output may contain recognition errors that students must review manually
• PDFs generated for download or email reflect the structure of the export engine and may not always match the accessibility of HTML content in the browser
• Third-party AI and OCR APIs are governed by their own accessibility and data-handling practices

We document conformance in our VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) and continue targeted remediation as new features ship. A detailed conformance report is available upon request.

Contact Us

We value feedback from our community and are dedicated to continuous improvement. If you experience any difficulty using our site or encounter a barrier to access, please reach out at [email protected].

We are committed to responding to accessibility feedback promptly and working to resolve any issues that may arise. The May 2026 revision reflects accessibility work on the student assignment portal, OCR workflow, AI feedback and revision screens, email/PDF delivery modals, and landing-page imagery.