Digital Accessibility

On April 24, 2024, the Department of Justice updated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This update mandates that all digital course content offered by public universities conform to accessibility industry standards by April 24, 2026.

 

 

Accessible Course Content

Accessible courses are built through clear structure, thoughtful formatting, and careful attention to content elements. Use proper headings, lists, and tables; make links descriptive; use color wisely; add alt text for images; ensure media has captions and transcripts; and provide accessible documents with properly formatted elements. Applying these practices will help all students access and engage with your course effectively.

Alternative Text for Images

Images can make your course more engaging, but they need to be accessible. Always add alternative text, or alt text, for any image that conveys important information. Alt text is a short, written description that screen readers can read aloud, helping students who are blind or have low vision understand the image. Images can make your course more engaging, but they need to be accessible. Always add alternative text, or alt text, for any image that conveys important information.

  • Add alternative text (alt text) for all meaningful images.
  • Mark decorative images as decorative.
  • Provide descriptions for complex visuals.
  • Avoid using images of text; use real text instead.

Color Contrast & Readability

Color can make your course more engaging, but it’s important to use it thoughtfully. Make sure there’s strong contrast between text and background so everyone can read it easily. Avoid using color alone to convey meaning, like highlighting vocabulary in red without any other cue, and use bold, underline, or icons in addition. This helps ensure all students can access and understand your content.

  • Ensure strong contrast between text and background (4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text).
  • Avoid using color alone to convey meaning.
  • Use additional cues like bold, underline, or icons to reinforce information.

Logical Heading Structures & Clear Organization

Heading styles are built-in formatting tools (like H1, H2, H3) in Canvas and other editors such as Microsoft Word that create structure for a page. Unlike simply making text bold or larger, heading styles tag content so screen readers can recognize and navigate it, allowing students with disabilities to jump between sections easily. They also keep your course organized and visually consistent, showing the relationship between main topics and subtopics.

  • Use heading styles (H1, H2, H3) in logical order.
  • Title pages clearly to reflect purpose.
  • Keep formatting consistent (fonts, sizes, spacing).
  • Use numbered lists when order or sequence matters.
  • Use bulleted lists when items are related, but not sequential.

Tables

Tables are a great way to present data clearly, but they shouldn’t be used just to organize or format a page. When you do use a table, include row and column headers so students, and screen readers, can understand the information. Adding captions can help explain what the table shows. Keeping tables simple and straightforward makes them easier for everyone to read and navigate.

  • Use tables only for data, not for layout or positioning.
  • Include row and column headers.
  • Add captions when needed to clarify content.
  • Keep tables simple and easy to read.

Descriptive Links

Links are an important part of accessibility and navigation. Make sure your link text is descriptive so students know exactly where it will take them. For example, type ‘Read the full course syllabus’ instead of just ‘click here.’ Whenever possible, provide more than one way to reach important content, like including a link in both the Modules and the course navigation menu. This helps all students find what they need quickly and easily.

  • Use descriptive, meaningful link text (e.g., “Read the full course syllabus”).
  • Avoid vague text like “click here” or “more info.”
  • Provide multiple ways to access important content (e.g., in Modules and the navigation menu).

Captioning and Transcripts

For video and audio media in your course, be sure to include captions for all videos and provide written transcripts for audio files. For videos without audio, be sure to add a description of the content. Here at Kent State, we can use Kaltura Reach to add captions to our videos. These are auto-captioned and can be edited for accuracy. Ensure that all media can be paused, stopped, or muted by students and avoid autoplay when possible.

  • Provide captions for all videos.
  • Include transcripts for audio-only files.
  • Describe video-only content in text or narration.
  • Avoid autoplay, or provide controls to pause, stop, or mute.

Accessible Document Formatting

When adding documents to your course, use accessible formats such as Word, tagged PDFs, or PowerPoint. For Word documents, use heading styles, alt text for images, and proper tables and lists. For PDFs, make sure the text is selectable, headings are tagged, and the reading order is correct; avoid scanned pages such as book copies or printed handouts. In PowerPoint, use built-in slide layouts, add alt text to images, and ensure the reading order matches the visual content. Inside all documents, format images, links, tables, and other elements properly to maintain accessibility. When possible, convert static documents into Canvas pages to improve readability and accessibility for students.

  • Use accessible formats (Word, tagged PDFs, PowerPoint).
  • Avoid scanned PDFs; ensure PDFs are tagged for screen readers.
  • Properly format images, links, tables, and other elements within documents.
  • Convert documents to Canvas pages when possible.

Training

Digital and instructional accessibility ensures all members of the Kent State community can engage fully with technology, course materials, and classroom experiences. Our Equal Access Learning hub offers guidance and resources to help faculty and staff reduce barriers, meet legal standards, and design with inclusion in mind.

Questions?

Please email EqualAccess@kent.edu for questions regarding the Department of Justice updated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and/or your course materials. 

Additional Resources

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