Accessibility Statement
Last Updated May 12, 2026
Our Commitment
The Textile Innovation Engine of North Carolina believes that access to knowledge and opportunity should not depend on ability. We are committed to ensuring that our website and educational resources are accessible to everyone regardless of ability because we believe that accessibility is the foundation of learning.
Textile innovation has long shaped the fabric of rural communities across North Carolina. The students, workers, industry partners, and community members we serve deserve digital experiences they can use fully and independently. We take that responsibility seriously and are actively working to meet it.
About Our Website
This statement applies to the content published at textileinnovationengine.org and to the curriculum materials (Google Slides, Google Docs, and exported PDFs) distributed through our workforce development and education programs.
The Standard We Are Working Toward
We are actively working toward conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA — the internationally recognized standard for web and digital accessibility. This includes our website and the instructional materials we create and share with learners and educators.
Our Current Status
We are in the process of identifying and addressing accessibility barriers across our digital content. We are committed to making meaningful, sustained progress and to being transparent about where we are in that journey.
Known areas we are actively working to improve include:
- Alternative text for images in curriculum slide decks and documents
- Color contrast across instructional materials
- Heading structure and reading order in exported PDFs
- Link labeling and table construction in Google Docs and Slides
We will update this statement as our remediation work progresses.
What We Are Doing
Our approach to accessibility includes:
- Conducting a pattern-based accessibility audit of representative curriculum materials, aligned to WCAG 2.1 AA
- Developing a prioritized remediation roadmap to guide internal improvements
- Providing accessibility training for staff involved in content creation
- Establishing workflow and governance practices to support accessible content going forward
- Seeking VPAT documentation and accessibility guidance from our learning management system vendor
This work is supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, which funds the Textile Innovation Engine through The Industrial Commons, a nonprofit rural innovation hub based in Morganton, North Carolina.
Contact Us
We want to hear from you.
If you encounter a barrier while using our website or curriculum materials, or if you need content in an alternative format, please reach out to connect@theindustrialcommons.org. We will do our best to respond promptly and provide what you need.
Your feedback helps us improve. We welcome input from learners, educators, and community members as part of our ongoing commitment to accessible, equitable education.
