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Accessibility

· 13 checks — Landmarks, headings, alt text, forms, and link quality rolled into one auditable list.
SCORE
45
GRADE
F
FIX
9
REVIEW
1
PASS
3
INFO
0
Checks
13
3 PASS 1 REVIEW 9 FIX
D
Heading Hierarchy
Action
29 headings, 2 skip(s)
FIX
29 headings, 2 skip(s)
Critical::
No H1 heading found
Every page should have one H1 that describes the page content.
Warning::
Heading level skipped: H2 → H4 (missing H3)
Skipping heading levels breaks the document outline. Screen readers may interpret missing levels as structural errors.
Warning::
Heading level skipped: H2 → H5 (missing H3)
Skipping heading levels breaks the document outline. Screen readers may interpret missing levels as structural errors.
  • H2 Navigation
  • H2 ONE CREATIVE COMMUNITY BUILDING THE FUTURE
  • H2 IMAGINE. CREATE. INNOVATE.
  • H2 New & Now
  • H4 Starting Now: Spark, the University's Annual Community Celebration of Creativity, Innovation, and Impact! skipped
  • H4 New School Alum Renee Watson Wins 2026 Newbery Medal for All the Blues in the Sky
  • H4 NSSR Festival of Ideas Launches April 13, Bringing Public Intellectuals Including Cornel West, Judith Butler, and Amitav Ghosh to Campus
  • H2 Campus & Community
  • H3 TODAY at 6:00 p.m.: Novelist Egana Djabbarova on the Body as a Site of Liberation
  • H3 A day in the life of a New School Student
  • H3 Take a Virtual Tour of our NYC campus
  • H3 Stretch Your Mind and Body with Campus Yoga Classes
  • H3 See what our community is sharing
  • H3 TODAY at 7:00 p.m.: BFA Photo Artist Talk—Sean Fader on Emerging Tech and Queer
  • H2 Meet Our ChangeMakers
  • H3 Stefania Bulbarella '19: Projecting New Voices in Theater
  • H3 Joel Ross '22: Performing as an Act of Giving
  • H3 Myles Loftin '20: Photographing the Essence of Others
  • H3 Anna Conkling '21: Telling Untold Stories
  • H3 Oscar Romero '18: Leveraging Tech to Bolster Communities and Democracy
  • H4 I am looking for:
  • H2 Take The Next Step
  • H5 Notice of Nondiscriminatory Policy skipped
  • H2 University Resources
  • H2 Colleges
  • H2 Submit your application
  • H3 Undergraduates
  • H3 Undergraduate Adult Learners
  • H3 Graduates

Every page should have one H1 that describes the page content.

Why this matters

No H1 means screen-reader users can't identify the page's primary topic, and Google's content-extraction degrades.

Learn more ▾

The H1 is the document title for assistive tech and a strong signal to search engines about page topic. Pages without one force screen readers to fall back to the <title> attribute or page chrome. Add a single H1 that names the page's primary subject.

Source: WCAG 2.4.6 / Google Search Central

Skipping heading levels breaks the document outline. Screen readers may interpret missing levels as structural errors.

Why this matters

Skipping heading levels breaks the document outline — screen-reader users lose track of section nesting.

Learn more ▾

Screen reader users navigate by jumping between headings (H1 → H2 → H3). Skipping (H1 → H3) breaks the sense of hierarchy. Use sequential levels even if you don't like the default styling — restyle with CSS instead. WCAG 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) treats this as an A failure.

Source: WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.1 / W3C WAI

Skipping heading levels breaks the document outline. Screen readers may interpret missing levels as structural errors.

Why this matters

Skipping heading levels breaks the document outline — screen-reader users lose track of section nesting.

Learn more ▾

Screen reader users navigate by jumping between headings (H1 → H2 → H3). Skipping (H1 → H3) breaks the sense of hierarchy. Use sequential levels even if you don't like the default styling — restyle with CSS instead. WCAG 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships) treats this as an A failure.

Source: WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.1 / W3C WAI

F
Alt Text Quality
Action
7 of 31 images have issues
FIX
7 of 31 images have issues
Critical::
7 image(s) missing alt attribute
Images without alt text are invisible to screen readers.
Critical::
5 image-in-link without alt text
An image inside a link with no alt creates an empty link.
Info::
3 decorative image(s) correctly marked
Info::
21 image(s) with good alt text
31 images 21 good alt text 3 decorative 7 missing
IssueCount
missing7 image(s)

Images without alt text are invisible to screen readers.

Why this matters

Each image without alt text is a WCAG 1.1.1 failure — invisible to screen-reader users, lost from Google Image Search.

Learn more ▾

WCAG 2.1 Level A requires text alternatives for non-decorative images. Empty alt='' is fine for decorative; meaningful images need descriptive text. Common fixes: CMS audit + bulk add, build-time linter (alt-text-required ESLint rule), CI gate on Lighthouse a11y score.

Source: WCAG 2.1 SC 1.1.1 / WebAIM Million Report

An image inside a link with no alt creates an empty link.

Why this matters

Image-only links with no alt create empty links — screen-reader users hear 'link' with no destination context.

Learn more ▾

An <a><img></a> with no img alt is the worst-case for accessibility: AT announces the link but can't describe where it goes. Either add alt to the image OR add aria-label to the link.

Source: WCAG 2.1 SC 2.4.4

D
404 Error Page
Action
HTTP 404, custom page
FIX
HTTP 404, custom page
Info::
Correct 404 status code returned
Got: HTTP 404
Info::
Custom styled 404 page
404 Page Quality ✓ Custom 404 Page
Status Code HTTP 404 ✓Custom Styling ✓Navigation ✗Homepage Link ✗Search Form ✗
F
Favicon & Branding
Action
2 icon(s) detected
FIX
2 icon(s) detected
Info::
favicon.ico present at site root
Info::
HTML icon links detected
Info::
No apple-touch-icon detected
iOS devices use this when users add your site to their home screen. Add <link rel='apple-touch-icon' sizes='180x180' href='/apple-touch-icon.png'>.
✓ favicon.ico Present
✓ PNG Icons Present
✗ Apple Touch Missing
✗ SVG Favicon Missing
✗ Manifest Icons Missing
✗ Multiple Sizes Missing
D
Web Manifest
Action
Not found
FIX
Not found
Info::
No web manifest found
No manifest at standard paths (/manifest.json, /site.webmanifest). A manifest is optional but enables PWA features like home screen installation and standalone display.

No web manifest found.

D
Dark Mode Support
Action
No dark mode signals
FIX
No dark mode signals
Info::
No dark mode signals detected
Consider adding CSS with @media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) and <meta name='color-scheme' content='light dark'>.
Info::
Detection limited to meta tags and inline styles
External CSS files may contain prefers-color-scheme rules not visible to this scan.
Dark ModeNo Dark Mode Detected
color-scheme meta Not set ✗Dark theme-color Not set ✗CSS indicators Not detected ✗

Detection limited to meta tags and inline styles.

D
Print Stylesheet
Action
No print styles
FIX
No print styles
Info::
No print-specific styles detected
When users print this page, they get the screen layout including navigation and non-essential elements. Add @media print rules to hide navigation and optimize layout for paper.
Print Stylesheet No Print Styles
Print stylesheet Not found ✗Inline @media print Not detected ✗
F
Navigation UX
Action
No navigation patterns
FIX
No navigation patterns
Info::
1 navigation landmark(s) detected
Info::
No breadcrumbs, search, or skip link detected
These navigation aids help users orient themselves and find content efficiently, especially on large sites.
Breadcrumbs
Search
Skip Link
Labeled Navigation 1 <nav> element(s)
Back to Top
Hamburger Menu
Sticky Navigation Cannot reliably detect (CSS-based)
1 of 6 testable patterns navigation patterns detected. Limited navigation support. Consider adding breadcrumbs, search, and skip link.
C
Lighthouse Accessibility Audits
Action
Score 71/100 — 9 failing, 22 passed
REVIEW
71

Accessibility

These checks highlight opportunities to improve the accessibility of your web app. Automatic detection can only detect a subset of issues and does not guarantee the accessibility of your web app, so manual testing is also encouraged.

ARIA

Some ARIA parent roles must contain specific child roles to perform their intended accessibility functions. Learn more about roles and required children elements.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
Parsons School of Design Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts College of Perfor… div.columns > div > section.__tns_home_college > ul.m-collegeList__items

Some ARIA child roles must be contained by specific parent roles to properly perform their intended accessibility functions. Learn more about ARIA roles and required parent element.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
Parsons School of Design section.__tns_home_college > ul.m-collegeList__items > li.m-collegeList__item > a#Constellation_mobileTitle_ParsonsSchoolof
Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts section.__tns_home_college > ul.m-collegeList__items > li.m-collegeList__item > a#Constellation_mobileTitle_EugeneLangColle
College of Performing Arts section.__tns_home_college > ul.m-collegeList__items > li.m-collegeList__item > a#Constellation_mobileTitle_CollegeofPerfo
The New School for Social Research section.__tns_home_college > ul.m-collegeList__items > li.m-collegeList__item > a#Constellation_mobileTitle_TheNewSchoolfor
Schools of Public Engagement section.__tns_home_college > ul.m-collegeList__items > li.m-collegeList__item > a#Constellation_mobileTitle_SchoolsofPublic
Parsons Paris section.__tns_home_college > ul.m-collegeList__items > li.m-collegeList__item > a#Constellation_mobileTitle_ParsonsParis

These are opportunities to improve the usage of ARIA in your application which may enhance the experience for users of assistive technology, like a screen reader.

Contrast

Low-contrast text is difficult or impossible for many users to read. Learn how to provide sufficient color contrast.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
LEARN MORE div.row > div.columns > div._modal_text > a.altLink

These are opportunities to improve the legibility of your content.

Names and labels

Informative elements should aim for short, descriptive alternate text. Decorative elements can be ignored with an empty alt attribute. Learn more about the `alt` attribute.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
div.animated > article.m-post > figure#insert_image_here0 > img.a-img__image div.animated > article.m-post > figure#insert_image_here0 > img.a-img__image

Link text (and alternate text for images, when used as links) that is discernible, unique, and focusable improves the navigation experience for screen reader users. Learn how to make links accessible.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
body#ctl00_body1 > div.o-modal > a.o-modal__close body#ctl00_body1 > div.o-modal > a.o-modal__close

These are opportunities to improve the semantics of the controls in your application. This may enhance the experience for users of assistive technology, like a screen reader.

Tables and lists

Screen readers have a specific way of announcing lists. Ensuring proper list structure aids screen reader output. Learn more about proper list structure.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
Alt tag div.carousel > div._mob_slider > article.row > ul.o-multimediaGallery__items
Starting Now: Spark, the University's Annual Community Celebration of Creativit… tns-home > div._tns_home_modulues > section.o-three-col > ul.o-three-col__items
TODAY at 6:00 p.m.: Novelist Egana Djabbarova on the Body as a Site of Liberati… div._tns_home_modulues > section.row > div.gridcontent > ul.o-multimediaGallery__items

Screen readers require list items (`<li>`) to be contained within a parent `<ul>`, `<ol>` or `<menu>` to be announced properly. Learn more about proper list structure.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
Alt tag ul.o-multimediaGallery__items > div.flickity-viewport > div.flickity-slider > li.o-multimediaGallery__item
Parsons School of Design div > section.__tns_home_college > ul.m-collegeList__items > li.m-collegeList__item
Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts div > section.__tns_home_college > ul.m-collegeList__items > li.m-collegeList__item
College of Performing Arts div > section.__tns_home_college > ul.m-collegeList__items > li.m-collegeList__item
The New School for Social Research div > section.__tns_home_college > ul.m-collegeList__items > li.m-collegeList__item
Schools of Public Engagement div > section.__tns_home_college > ul.m-collegeList__items > li.m-collegeList__item
Parsons Paris div > section.__tns_home_college > ul.m-collegeList__items > li.m-collegeList__item
Starting Now: Spark, the University's Annual Community Celebration of Creativit… ul.o-three-col__items > div.flickity-viewport > div.flickity-slider > li.o-three-col__item
TODAY at 6:00 p.m.: Novelist Egana Djabbarova on the Body as a Site of Liberati… div.flickity-viewport > div.flickity-slider > a#CampusCommunity_title_TODAYat600p.m.N > li.griditem

These are opportunities to improve the experience of reading tabular or list data using assistive technology, like a screen reader.

Navigation

A value greater than 0 implies an explicit navigation ordering. Although technically valid, this often creates frustrating experiences for users who rely on assistive technologies. Learn more about the `tabindex` attribute.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts section.__tns_home_college > ul.m-collegeList__items > li.m-collegeList__item > a#Constellation_mobileTitle_EugeneLangColle
College of Performing Arts section.__tns_home_college > ul.m-collegeList__items > li.m-collegeList__item > a#Constellation_mobileTitle_CollegeofPerfo
The New School for Social Research section.__tns_home_college > ul.m-collegeList__items > li.m-collegeList__item > a#Constellation_mobileTitle_TheNewSchoolfor
Schools of Public Engagement section.__tns_home_college > ul.m-collegeList__items > li.m-collegeList__item > a#Constellation_mobileTitle_SchoolsofPublic
Parsons Paris section.__tns_home_college > ul.m-collegeList__items > li.m-collegeList__item > a#Constellation_mobileTitle_ParsonsParis

These are opportunities to improve keyboard navigation in your application.

Visible text labels that do not match the accessible name can result in a confusing experience for screen reader users. Learn more about accessible names.

Why this matters

Performance issues directly impact user engagement and conversion rates.

Failing Elements
Cookie Statement div#onetrust-group-container > div#onetrust-policy > div#onetrust-policy-text > a.ot-cookie-policy-link
○Interactive controls are keyboard focusable
○Interactive elements indicate their purpose and state
○The page has a logical tab order
○Visual order on the page follows DOM order
○User focus is not accidentally trapped in a region
○The user's focus is directed to new content added to the page
○HTML5 landmark elements are used to improve navigation
○Offscreen content is hidden from assistive technology
○Custom controls have associated labels
○Custom controls have ARIA roles
●`[aria-*]` attributes match their roles
●`[aria-hidden="true"]` is not present on the document `<body>`
●`[role]`s have all required `[aria-*]` attributes
●`[role]` values are valid
●`[aria-*]` attributes have valid values
●`[aria-*]` attributes are valid and not misspelled
●Buttons have an accessible name
●Form elements have associated labels
●`[user-scalable="no"]` is not used in the `<meta name="viewport">` element and the `[maximum-scale]` attribute is not less than 5.
●`button`, `link`, and `menuitem` elements have accessible names
●ARIA attributes are used as specified for the element's role
●Elements with `role="dialog"` or `role="alertdialog"` have accessible names.
●`[aria-hidden="true"]` elements do not contain focusable descendents
●Elements use only permitted ARIA attributes
●Document has a `<title>` element
●`<html>` element has a `[lang]` attribute
●`<html>` element has a valid value for its `[lang]` attribute
●Touch targets have sufficient size and spacing.
●Heading elements appear in a sequentially-descending order
●Document has a main landmark.
●Deprecated ARIA roles were not used
●Identical links have the same purpose.
○`[accesskey]` values are unique
○ARIA input fields have accessible names
○ARIA `meter` elements have accessible names
○ARIA `progressbar` elements have accessible names
○Elements with the `role=text` attribute do not have focusable descendents.
○ARIA toggle fields have accessible names
○ARIA `tooltip` elements have accessible names
○ARIA `treeitem` elements have accessible names
○The page contains a heading, skip link, or landmark region
○`<dl>`'s contain only properly-ordered `<dt>` and `<dd>` groups, `<script>`, `<template>` or `<div>` elements.
○Definition list items are wrapped in `<dl>` elements
○ARIA IDs are unique
○No form fields have multiple labels
○`<frame>` or `<iframe>` elements have a title
○`<html>` element has an `[xml:lang]` attribute with the same base language as the `[lang]` attribute.
○Input buttons have discernible text.
○`<input type="image">` elements have `[alt]` text
○Links are distinguishable without relying on color.
○The document does not use `<meta http-equiv="refresh">`
○`<object>` elements have alternate text
○Select elements have associated label elements.
○Skip links are focusable.
○Cells in a `<table>` element that use the `[headers]` attribute refer to table cells within the same table.
○`<th>` elements and elements with `[role="columnheader"/"rowheader"]` have data cells they describe.
○`[lang]` attributes have a valid value
○`<video>` elements contain a `<track>` element with `[kind="captions"]`
○Tables have different content in the summary attribute and `<caption>`.
○All heading elements contain content.
○Uses ARIA roles only on compatible elements
○Image elements do not have `[alt]` attributes that are redundant text.
○Tables use `<caption>` instead of cells with the `[colspan]` attribute to indicate a caption.
○`<td>` elements in a large `<table>` have one or more table headers.
A
Landmark Structure
10 landmarks
PASS
10 landmarks
Info::
<main> landmark present
Info::
1 <nav> landmark(s) found
Warning::
Skip navigation link is missing (WCAG 2.4.1)
Add a skip link as the first focusable element so keyboard users can bypass repeated navigation.
Page Structure — as a screen reader sees it
BANNER header NAV MAIN CONTENTINFO footer

Add a skip link as the first focusable element so keyboard users can bypass repeated navigation.

Why this matters

Without a skip-nav link, keyboard users tab through every nav item before reaching content — every page, every visit.

Learn more ▾

WCAG 2.4.1 (Bypass Blocks) requires a mechanism to skip past repeated content. The standard implementation is a 'Skip to main content' link that's the first focusable element, visually hidden until focused. Three lines of HTML + four of CSS.

Source: WCAG 2.1 SC 2.4.1

A+
Form Accessibility
All 1 controls labeled
PASS
All 1 controls labeled
Info::
1 control(s) properly labeled
1 controls
1 labeled
0 placeholder only
0 unlabeled
ControlTypeLabelMethod
#gsc-i-id1textsearcharia-label
A+
Color Contrast (Screenshot)
20 text elements analyzed, 0 fail WCAG AA
PASS

Analyzes text contrast against the actual rendered page, including background images, gradients, and overlays that CSS-based tools cannot detect.

20 pass
Show all checked elements (20)
ElementRatioRequiredFGBGResult
h2 Navigation4.65:13.0:1
#000000
#E42A1D
Pass
h2 ONE CREATIVE COMMUNI…4.85:13.0:1
#000000
#E82E25
Pass
h2 BUILDING THE FUTURE4.85:13.0:1
#000000
#E82E25
Pass
h2 New & Now4.85:13.0:1
#000000
#E82E25
Pass
h2 Campus &4.85:13.0:1
#000000
#E82E25
Pass
h2 Community4.85:13.0:1
#000000
#E82E25
Pass
h2 Meet Our ChangeMaker…4.85:13.0:1
#000000
#E82E25
Pass
h2 Take The4.85:13.0:1
#000000
#E82E25
Pass
h2 University Resources4.85:13.0:1
#000000
#E82E25
Pass
h2 Colleges4.85:13.0:1
#000000
#E82E25
Pass
h2 Submit your applicat…4.85:13.0:1
#000000
#E82E25
Pass
h3 TODAY at 6:00 p.m.: …4.85:13.0:1
#000000
#E82E25
Pass
h3 A day in the life of…4.85:13.0:1
#000000
#E82E25
Pass
h3 Take a Virtual Tour …4.85:13.0:1
#000000
#E82E25
Pass
h3 Stretch Your Mind an…4.85:13.0:1
#000000
#E82E25
Pass
h3 See what our communi…4.85:13.0:1
#000000
#E82E25
Pass
h3 TODAY at 7:00 p.m.: …4.85:13.0:1
#000000
#E82E25
Pass
h3 Stefania Bulbarella …4.85:13.0:1
#000000
#E82E25
Pass
h3 Joel Ross '22: Perfo…4.85:13.0:1
#000000
#E82E25
Pass
h3 Myles Loftin '20: Ph…4.85:13.0:1
#000000
#E82E25
Pass

Methodology: The top 20 text elements by font size were checked. Background color was sampled from the desktop screenshot using a 5-point pattern. WCAG 2.1 AA requires 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text.

All checks on this page are automated. Results are estimates - run targeted manual reviews when the score affects a release decision.

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