{"id":694,"date":"2025-04-28T13:50:28","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T13:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/?p=694"},"modified":"2025-04-28T13:51:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T13:51:14","slug":"accessible-thesis-template-now-available","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2025\/04\/28\/accessible-thesis-template-now-available\/","title":{"rendered":"Accessible thesis template now available!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Ellen Wildman<\/a>, Digital Accessibility Skills Developer (ISS)<\/p>\n

If you support students who need to submit a thesis, let them know there is now a digitally accessible template available that is also aligned with the formatting requirements that the University set.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Accessible theses are created in a specific way so everyone can use them \u2013 regardless of background, circumstance, or disability. An analysis of academic papers sourced from different research areas found that about 98% had accessibility issues (Menzies et al., 2022). Making research available to everyone puts into practice Lancaster University’s lived value of <\/span>respecting a diverse and inclusive community of communities<\/span><\/a>.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Student benefits<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

As shown in the first page of the template below, by using this template, students will:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Align their thesis with the necessary layout stipulated by the Manual of Academic Regulations and Procedures.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Ensure their research is digitally accessible (when used appropriately).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Enable ease of navigation by using features of Microsoft Word, for example automatically create a dynamic table of contents with heading-use.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"Thesis<\/p>\n

    Direct relevant students to visit the <\/span>Accessible thesis page on ASK<\/a> to download the template and top-tips to make their thesis accessible. There is also a video to assist those students who might need support to use a Microsoft template.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Reference\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Menzies, R., Tigwell, G.W. and Crabb, M. (2022). Author Reflections on Creating Accessible Academic Papers.<\/span>\u202f<\/span><\/i>ACM Transactions on Accessible Computing<\/span><\/i>. doi:https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1145\/3546195.\u202f<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Written by Ellen Wildman, Digital Accessibility Skills Developer (ISS) If you support students who need to submit a thesis, let them know there is now a digitally accessible template available that is also aligned with the formatting requirements that the University set.\u00a0 Accessible theses are created in a specific way so everyone can use them … Continue reading Accessible thesis template now available!<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1661,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[15],"tags":[22,48,49,9],"class_list":["post-694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pedagogy","tag-accessibility","tag-inclusion","tag-research","tag-sharing-practice"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":280,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2023\/08\/03\/how-accessible-is-your-lancaster-university-wordpress-site\/","url_meta":{"origin":694,"position":0},"title":"How accessible is your Lancaster University WordPress site?","author":"Elizabeth Walkden","date":"August 3, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"What is WordPress and how can it be used for digital teaching and learning? WordPress (WP) is a popular open-source website builder and Lancaster University\u00a0hosts 772 active WP sites. One of the advantages of WP is you don\u2019t need any experience using computer programming languages; a great website can be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pedagogy"","block_context":{"text":"Pedagogy","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/category\/pedagogy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/08\/LancasterUniLibrary20160113_2593-002-300x199.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":743,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2025\/08\/12\/enhancing-digital-accessibility-upcoming-training\/","url_meta":{"origin":694,"position":1},"title":"Enhancing Digital Accessibility: Upcoming Training","author":"Elizabeth Walkden","date":"August 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Digital Accessibility Team are offering a series of engaging training sessions to kick off the 2025\/26 academic year designed to boost digital accessibility skills across the University. Whether you're a staff member or student, these workshops and webinars provide practical guidance on creating inclusive digital content. The hands-on Accessible\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/category\/event\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":306,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2023\/08\/18\/10-top-tips-on-improving-accessibility\/","url_meta":{"origin":694,"position":2},"title":"10 ‘Top Tips’ On Improving Accessibility","author":"Elizabeth Walkden","date":"August 18, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, the Inclusive Learning Network at Lancaster University met via Teams, led by Dr Ann-Marie Houghton, Dean for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). The Inclusive Learning network is an open network that meets regularly to hear from colleagues across the University. The network includes representatives from a range of areas\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pedagogy"","block_context":{"text":"Pedagogy","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/category\/pedagogy\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The banner and tabs at the top of Microsoft Word. With the 'Review' tab open and 'check accessibility' highlighted with a red square around it.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/08\/Check-accssibility.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/08\/Check-accssibility.png?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/08\/Check-accssibility.png?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/08\/Check-accssibility.png?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/08\/Check-accssibility.png?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/files\/2023\/08\/Check-accssibility.png?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":618,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2024\/10\/31\/training-offering-winter-2024\/","url_meta":{"origin":694,"position":3},"title":"Training Offering – Winter 2024","author":"Elizabeth Walkden","date":"October 31, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"We are currently offering the following lunch-time training sessions to staff in the Faculty of Health and Medicine (FHM) but staff from across the University are very welcome to join: Monday 25th November (12-12:30): Moodle H5P Activities: A Showcase H5P activities are interactive and often gamified content on Moodle such\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/category\/event\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":399,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2023\/11\/24\/dlt-sharing-practice-event-4\/","url_meta":{"origin":694,"position":4},"title":"DLT Sharing Practice Event #4","author":"Elizabeth Walkden","date":"November 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Come and join the Digital Learning Team and colleagues for our 4th Sharing Practice Event! The theme for this event is \"Collaboration\". We will hear from colleagues on how to facilitate effective groupwork and collaboration amongst students. The event will be held on Wednesday 13th December 2023 from 2-5pm in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/category\/event\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":648,"url":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/2025\/02\/19\/lent-term-2025-training-offering\/","url_meta":{"origin":694,"position":5},"title":"Lent Term 2025: Training Offering","author":"Elizabeth Walkden","date":"February 19, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"We will be offering the following lunch-time training sessions to staff in the Faculty of Health and Medicine (FHM) but staff from across the University are very welcome to join: Wednesday 5th March (12-12:30): Making Resources Digitally Accessible in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint In this session, we will look at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Events"","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/category\/event\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1661"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=694"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":697,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694\/revisions\/697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.lancs.ac.uk\/lu-digitaldigest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}