Accessibility Statement

01The standard we work to

We target WCAG 2.1 Level AA. That standard covers text alternatives, colour contrast, keyboard operability, predictable navigation, and clearly labelled inputs — the things that determine whether the platform is usable with a screen reader, a keyboard alone, or a screen you have zoomed in on.

We describe The Compass as partially conformant with WCAG 2.1 AA: most of the platform meets the standard and is verified on every build, and the exceptions we know about are listed in section 04 rather than left for you to discover.

02What we do to keep it accessible

Accessibility is enforced by the build rather than by good intentions:

• Automated checks on every screen. Our end-to-end test suite runs an automated accessibility audit across the application. A violation at any severity — including minor — fails the build, so accessibility regressions cannot merge quietly.
• Both themes are audited. The Compass ships light and dark themes, and every screen is checked in both. Contrast that passes in one theme and fails in the other is a defect, not a preference.
• Contrast remediation. Body text, secondary text, links, badges, buttons, and status colours were reworked to meet the AA contrast ratios in both themes.
• Structure and semantics. Pages use real headings in order, landmark regions, labelled form fields, and native controls wherever a native control exists.
• Manual review. The screens with the most complex interactions — the tracker tree, the map, the payer matrix, and the community feed — are reviewed by hand with a keyboard, because automated tooling cannot judge whether a flow is actually operable.

03What you can rely on

• Keyboard operation. Interactive controls are reachable and operable with the keyboard alone, with a visible focus indicator, and dialogs and drawers return focus where you left it when they close.
• Screen readers. Content is exposed with accessible names, roles, and states; status messages and validation errors are announced rather than only shown.
• Zoom and reflow. Layouts reflow down to a narrow mobile viewport, so browser zoom and small screens do not require horizontal scrolling to read text.
• Colour is never the only signal. Status, severity, and selection are always carried by text or an icon as well as by colour.
• Reduced motion. Animations respect the operating-system “reduce motion” preference.
• Dark mode. The dark theme is a first-class, contrast-audited theme, not a filter over the light one.

04Known limitations

We would rather name these than let you find them:

• Interactive map. The map is a visual, spatial interface. The same facility, rate, and payer data is available in the accompanying tables and filters, which are fully keyboard- and screen-reader-operable; the map itself is best treated as a visual aid to that data.
• Uploaded and third-party documents. Files that organizations and partners upload — policies, templates, and reference documents — are not authored by us, and we cannot guarantee that every PDF or spreadsheet is tagged and readable. Tell us if one blocks you and we will supply an accessible alternative.
• Embedded media. Where course material or partner content is embedded from a third-party player, its captions and player controls are governed by that provider.
• Very large data grids. The widest comparison views carry a lot of information in one place. They are operable, but they can be verbose with a screen reader; narrower, filtered views of the same data are available.

05Browsers and assistive technology

The Compass is a modern web application and is developed and tested against current versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari on desktop and mobile. It is intended to work with the assistive technology built into those platforms and with commonly used screen readers.

06Tell us when something does not work

If any part of The Compass is difficult or impossible for you to use, we want to hear about it — a specific report is worth more to us than a general one. Please include the page or screen, what you were trying to do, the browser and assistive technology you were using, and what happened instead.

We aim to acknowledge accessibility reports within two business days and to tell you either when the fix will land or what we can do for you in the meantime.

07Assessment and review

This statement reflects our own assessment of The Compass, based on automated testing that runs continuously as part of our build and on manual review by our team. It has not been evaluated by an independent third party.

We review this statement when the platform changes materially and at least annually, and we revise the “Last updated” date above when we do. If you rely on a formal conformance report — for example, as part of a procurement or vendor review — contact us and we will tell you exactly where we stand.