Digital Accessibility
Distance Education is committed to supporting faculty in using digital tools and creating content designed to provide greater access to everyone. Below are some accessibility resources that faculty can reference as they design their online course(s).
Accessible course design is crucial because it ensures that everyone has an equal opportunity to access learning materials and participate in courses regardless of abilities or disabilities. Accessible course design is also required by law under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. By designing courses in an accessible way, courses can be more inclusive and reduce barriers that may exist due to disability or other factors.
This checklist (opens new window) will provide a starting point to help you evaluate your online course(s) and determine if your course content is accessible. The links in the descriptions will take you to a full explanation of each item. You can also locate this checklist in the nav bar on the left. Please remember, Instructional Designers are available to assist you in your efforts to resolve any accessibility issues you may come across.
- All text in the course is accessible, meaning sans-serif fonts and high contrast are used.
- Proper headings are used to organize documents and HTML content.
- Tables are properly formatted.
- Descriptive hyperlinks are used instead of the full URLs.
- All of the course images, tables, and graphics have appropriate alternative text.
- All of the course videos and audio files have accurate captions and/or transcripts.
- All documents (e.g. Word, PowerPoint, PDF) have no errors when checked with the built-in accessibility checker tool.
- The accessibility of all tools and content from external sources has been confirmed.
Do you need additional guidance on creating accessible materials for your online course? One of our Instructional Designers would be happy to assist you!
Please fill out this ticket (opens new window) specifying what you need, and we will contact you soon to set up an appointment. For more information, check out our webpage for Instructional Design Consultations (opens new window).
Additional Accessibility Resources:
- Accessibility Quick Guide (opens new window)
- Accessible Syllabus (opens new window)
- W3C Accessibility Overview (opens new window)
- Distance Ed Vendor Accessibility Statements (opens new window)
- Microsoft Accessibility Statement (opens new window)
- Quality Matters Free Accessibility Resource Site (opens new window)