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Course Accessibility Checklist

Course Accessibility Checklist

As part of the course proposal process, provide a new or updated accessibility checklist to the Dean’s office prior to the semester when the course is taught.

• For brand new courses, these checklist items can be considered as guidelines to be followed, as appropriate, at the time your course will be offered.
• The checklist applies to existing courses either at the point of course redesign, or when a student with a disability enrolls in the course.

Following course approval, and prior to the start of the semester in which the new or revised course will be taught for the first time, please complete an accessibility checklist and submit to the appropriate Dean’s Office.

Download Accessibility Checklist

Accessible Formatting

Accessible instructional materials isn't whether your students can access your files online or in Canvas - it's about content that has been formatted in such a way that it can be used by a variety of users, including users with disabilities who may be using assistive technologies, such as screen readers, screen magnification and text-to-speech software, people using tablets and e-readers, or those who are working from a remote location with a slower Internet connection.

Accessible document formatting includes elements such as:

• Section headers
• Alternate text (alt-text) for images
• Table headers for tables
• Setting title and language in documents

While accessibility can be accomplished retroactively (after content is created, purchased, or distributed), it's easiest to add accessible formatting to your documents as you create them. Retrofitting documents for accessibility can be time consuming.

Accessibility Training

In advance of the April 2026 ADA Title II digital accessibility requirements all ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ course materials must meet, we're holding refresher trainings this spring - schedule coming soon!

On-Demand Training Resources

In the meantime, revisit these topic-specific training videos and resources to help you to create, update, and ensure course materials are accessible for your audiences.

Word Document Accessibility

Practical Strategies for Better Documents

Learn how to structure content, improve readability, add alternative text to images, and how to check for accessibility issues with built-in accessibility checkers.

Topics covered include:

• Structuring content using headings and styles for proper reading order
• Best design practices for fonts, colors, and contrast to improve readability
• Alt-text how to's for images and descriptive hyperlinks
• Accessible tables including table headers and summaries
• Using Word's built-in tools including accessibility checker to identify and fix issues
• Converting Word docs to PDFs while preserving formatting

PDF Accessibility

Best Practices for Inclusive Documents

Accessible PDFs improves readability, usability, and inclusivity for all users. Learn how to create accessible PDFs using Adobe Acrobat, through document structure, tagging, adding alternative text to images, and how to use built-in accessibility tools. Topics covered include:

• Properly structured source documents for accessible PDFs
• Navigate Adobe Acrobat's accessibility tools and panels
• Tagging PDFs for proper structure and reading order
• Alt-text how to's for images and other visual elements
• Table skills including identifying headers and adding summaries
• Tag lists and hyperlinks for proper structure
• Using Adobe Acrobat's built-in tools including accessibility checker to identify and fix issues
• Free third-party tools/plugins to ensure PDF compliance

UDOIT Accessibility & TidyUp Overview

Learn how to scan and fix accessibility issues, streamline Canvas content, and improve course organization using UDOIT and TidyUp to ensure a better learning experience for all students.

PowerPoint Accessibility: Best Practices for Inclusive Presentations

Create inclusive, accessible presentations with clear structure and design.

Video: PowerPoint Accessibility

Accessibility Best Practices for Captioning in Zoom and Panopto

Learn how to add, edit, and post captions, and identify captioning issues using UDOIT.