In the field of education and certification, digital accessibility is not only a legal requirement but also a key facilitator for inclusion and professional recognition. In this context, Access42, a leading digital accessibility consulting firm, partnered with BCdiploma, a company specialized in the secure and sustainable issuance of digital certificates. Audrey Maniez, co-manager of Access42, shares valuable insights about this fruitful partnership during her interview with Luc Jarry-Lacombe, CEO of BCdiploma.
LJL – Can you briefly introduce Access42 and your role within the organization?
AM – Access42 is a digital accessibility consulting firm. We support businesses and public administrations in implementing and monitoring their digital accessibility policies. We conduct digital accessibility audits based on the RGAA (General Accessibility Improvement Framework) as well as the international WCAG standards. We also offer various support services, such as monitoring the implementation of corrections or drafting multi-year plans. Finally, we provide extensive accessibility training.
As for me, I am the co-manager of Access42, focusing particularly on the development of our training center. I have also been a digital accessibility expert for over 12 years, continuing to conduct audits and provide technical training.
LJL – What were the main challenges you faced in terms of certification and issuing certificates to students?
AM – The main challenge was sharing and promoting the certificates! It wasn’t so much the generation of the document itself that was problematic, but the very format of the document, which had become very limiting in terms of communication and value for the certified individuals.
LJL – How did you discover the BCdiploma solution and what convinced you to adopt it?
AM – We discovered the BCdiploma solution while we were overhauling the digital platform used to organize our certification exams. The integrated tools for generating certifications were not satisfactory, particularly because they produced certificates in PDF format that did not meet current accessibility standards.
We needed a more modern format, one that could be distributed directly on the web and allowed certified individuals to share their achievements on social media. All of this, of course, while ensuring accessible consultation for everyone!
In searching for solutions, we found BCdiploma: a French company with whom communication was easy. When we first tested the solution, the demo models did not fully meet accessibility standards. We contacted BCdiploma to discuss this, indicating that their solution interested us, but that we had a non-negotiable requirement for digital accessibility.
This request was warmly welcomed: we quickly agreed on a partnership to ensure the complete compliance of the certificate model.
LJL – What benefits have you observed using BCdiploma compared to your previous certification methods?
AM – First, a simpler issuance of certificates. BCdiploma allows the mass generation and sending of certificates to certified individuals by simply importing an Excel file. It’s very fast!
Additionally, the email used to send the certificates is fully customizable, allowing us to maintain our graphic identity throughout. This is very appreciable for our brand image. Consequently, this email serves as an additional communication tool for both Access42 and the certified individuals, as it allows them to share their achievements on LinkedIn.
LJL – How do Access42 and BCdiploma collaborate to ensure online diploma accessibility for students with disabilities?
AM – Initially, Access42 conducted a digital accessibility audit based on the RGAA 4 to exhaustively identify accessibility errors in the base certificate model, including the certificate content and the sharing and proof panels.
This audit was accompanied by technical correction recommendations to support and facilitate the application of the recommendations. We then iterated several times with BCdiploma’s teams to validate the proper application of corrections until everything was resolved.
We also provided BCdiploma with accessibility declarations (RGAA 4, EN 301 549, and WCAG) to enable them to communicate with their clients about this major evolution of their certificate model.
This is just the first step! We will now see together how to continue this collaboration in the long term to maintain the same level of accessibility over time.
LJL – What specific measures have Access42 and BCdiploma implemented to ensure digital certificates are accessible to people with special needs?
AM – We have taken into account all the RGAA criteria.
For example, the colors of certain texts and graphical components were revised to meet the minimum contrast ratios required by criteria 3.2 and 3.3 of the RGAA, addressing the needs of visually impaired individuals.
The visibility of the focus was also modified to be visually perceptible by individuals who navigate exclusively with a keyboard, as required by criterion 10.7 of the RGAA.
We can also mention the link and button labels, which were reviewed one by one to provide meaningfully named interactive elements for blind individuals who navigate with a screen reader. Again, this is a requirement of the RGAA (criteria 6.1 and 7.1).
LJL – Can you describe the process of implementing the BCdiploma solution at Access42? Did you encounter any particular challenges during this transition?
AM – Absolutely no problems! The support from the teams was simply perfect.
We were taken care of by Alexis: he first gathered our needs, then very quickly gave us access to a first test environment. This allowed us to familiarize ourselves with the interface and the certificate creation process.
We also benefited from a demonstration of the required manipulations. This demonstration time also allowed us to refine the final technical details of the certificates.
The exchanges with BCdiploma are always very quick and efficient; all questions or modification requests are addressed very rapidly.
Une fois la phase de test réalisée, l’environnement de production est déployé, et c’est parti !
LJL – What feedback have you received from employers or external organizations that recognize the diplomas issued by Access42 through BCdiploma?
AM – For now, we haven’t received any feedback yet.
LJL – How do you measure the success of implementing the BCdiploma solution within your institution?
AM – For now, the implementation is still recent, making it difficult to gauge the impact of these measures. However, we already observe that a greater number of certified individuals are sharing their certificates on LinkedIn.
Before implementing our new certificates, we also offered certified individuals the possibility to reissue their certificates with BCdiploma models: we have already received several requests!
LJL – Finally, what are the next steps?
AM – We have worked on the base certificate models, focusing on the content and proof and sharing panels. There are additional features that we haven’t explored yet, but we intend to continue to make them compliant with the RGAA in turn.
Moreover, BCdiploma offers other products related to certificates and badges: we hope to continue our collaboration and work together on the accessibility of these products!
This partnership between Access42 and BCdiploma perfectly illustrates how technology can be adapted to include everyone, transforming accessibility challenges into opportunities for innovation and continuous improvement.