Accessibility
Ensuring every learner succeeds
Our mission is simple: to help people make progress in their lives through learning. Because wherever learning flourishes, so do people. We will only be successful when our educational materials are accessible to all users.
We’ve long been committed to providing access to learners with disabilities. Our commitment is woven into the fabric of our learning materials, development processes, innovation efforts, employee culture, and partnerships.
Our guidelines for accessible educational web media
Throughout our development process for every release, we test and retest the capabilities of our products against the highest standards. We work to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 guidelines and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.
We strive to provide equal access for all learners. To achieve this goal, we’ve created the Pearson Accessibility Guidelines for eLearning, which provide developers with standards for creating the most effective educational content.
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eTexts
Students can now instantly purchase accessible digital textbooks for select Pearson titles for affordable, fast, and efficient access to their learning materials. More information is available for:
Alternate Text Files for other Pearson titles are available for qualified students upon request and at no added cost, provided the student has purchased or is renting the print or digital textbook. Please request files from Pearson’s disability request form or via AccessText Network, a clearinghouse for files from all major higher education publishers.
Braille and large-print
Pearson and T-Base Communications, the leading provider of accessible textbook formats in North America, have partnered to significantly reduce the turnaround time and cost of providing top-selling Pearson titles in braille and reflowed large print. T-Base can deliver top-selling braille or reflowed large-print textbooks within 10 business days at a substantial cost reduction to institutions. Procuring accessible textbooks through this new, more efficient process allows educators to focus on helping students succeed in their studies.
Explore the ever-expanding catalog. To order a textbook in braille or reflowed large print, we recommend contacting T-Base Communications by email at info@tbase.com or by phone at 1-800-563-0668.
Accessible Learning Resources
Digital learning environments
Pearson is continuously updating its eLearning platforms to improve accessibility, usability, and compatibility with assistive technologies through an ongoing audit and remediation process, as well as integrating accessibility requirements into its product development. VPATs for eLearning platforms are available upon request, so that instructors and institutions can make informed choices.
Digital textbooks
Deployed in 2015, Pearson’s new eTextbook platform meets the majority of WCAG 2.0 Level AA Standards. Revised titles automatically flow into the new platform.
PowerPoint presentations
Accessible PowerPoint® presentations are available for many Pearson products and more are added each semester. Please email Pearson Disability Support at
disability.support@pearson.com to ask about specific titles.
Audio-video content
The majority of our educational videos are closed-captioned. Transcripts are available for most new audio-video content, and when unavailable, transcripts will be created upon request. Pearson assembles audio-description tracks for new videos, and we are adding them to legacy videos.
Our involvement in the accessibility community
Pearson works closely with key members of the disability and advocacy community who are committed to accessible instructional materials. We work with organizations such as W3C, the DIAGRAM Center, Book Industry Study Group, the Center for Accessible Materials Innovation, and the EDUPUB Alliance (EPUB for Education). Pearson is pleased to announce our collaboration with the Book Industry Study Group to promote the launch of the Quick Start Guide to Accessible Publishing. We are also proud to be a Platinum sponsor of the MathML Chromium project.
Pearson staff contribute time, expertise, and creativity to moving accessibility forward. We conduct user studies and a variety of research and usability studies on important topics, such as assistive technology use and product prototypes. We frequently collaborate with advocacy groups and share advances and insights through conference presentations.
