What is Affinity?

Affinity is the Content Management System (CMS) that is deployed to provide support to department websites at Fleming College.

Affinity utilizes WordPress as a core, with additional layers of infrastructure and security to meet the needs of the institution. WordPress started as just a blogging system, but has evolved to be used as a full content management system and so much more.

Why Affinity?

Prompted by recent provincial legislation and core infrastructure changes at Fleming College, Affinity was born.

af·fin·i·ty noun
A resemblance of structure or behaviour that results from or implies a phylogenetic relationship.

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), demands that all websites must meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. Which dictates the following.

Beginning January 1st, 2014:

• If you launch a new public website or your existing site undergoes a significant refresh, the site and any of its web content published after January 1st, 2012, must conform to the World Wide Web Consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, Level A.

Beginning January 1st, 2021:

• All public websites and all web content on those sites published after January 1st, 2012, must conform with WCAG 2.0 Level AA, other than providing captions on live videos or audio descriptions for pre-recorded videos.

With AODA in mind, Affinity was developed to ensure that sites could be deployed to departments in such a way to help enforce and give all members an equal opportunity of delivering their content in an accessible manner.

Affinity also ensures that each department website adheres to branding standards. This gives each visitor the confidence that they are still within the delivered content of the institution.

Each page provides the date for which it was last modified as well as the contact information for the individual who maintains the information, in the event of a discrepancy.