Accessibility Resources

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Digital Course Content Accessibility

UTA is working toward full compliance with new Department of Justice ADA regulations for digital accessibility (28 C.F.R. §35, Subpart H), which take effect April 24, 2026, with a focus on ensuring online course materials are accessible to all learners. Faculty are encouraged to use Canvas Ally, OIT Resources, CDE Resources, and CRTLE resources to support this work, keeping in mind that the goal is regulatory compliance and meaningful accessibility—not simply achieving a perfect Ally score; additional guidance is available in the Digital Course Content Accessibility and Digital Course Content Accessibility FAQs from UTA Office of Legal Affairs.

Digital Course Content Accessibility
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Who is this Page for?

This resource is designed for all UTA instructors, including full-time faculty, adjunct instructors, graduate student instructors, and online-only faculty. Anyone who creates digital course content will find guidance, tools, and workflows to support accessibility and continuous improvement.

Illustration of students and a teacher collaborating around a laptop displaying an accessibility symbol, representing inclusive digital learning and assistive technology for people with disabilities.

Accessibility & Course Design Support

This page provides updated, faculty-friendly guidance on accessibility, and course remediation workflow suggestions. These ideas focus on supporting faculty in building more inclusive, legally compliant, and student-centered learning environments.

Remediation means improving or fixing course materials so they meet accessibility standards.

Start Here: Quick-Start Box (if you haven't yet started):

  • Step 1: Run your Ally Course Report in Canvas (see links below).
  • Step 2: Fix severe/major issues in *student-visible Spring content
  • Step 3: Clean files with TidyUP and track remaining issues

Student-visible materials might include (but aren't limited to):

  • Course Syllabus
  •  Module pages
  • Assignment instructions
  • PDFs posted in Week 1
  • Lecture slides students access before class
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Accessibility Tools & Resources

Key Resources

OIT Accessibility Toolkit Known Issues Tracker ALLY Tool Resources TidyUP Canvas Tool WebAIM Accessibility Guides Exception Form Color Contract Checker

Upcoming Spring 2026 Training Resources

Self-Enroll in the Accessibility Self-Paced Bootcamp on Canvas

The Center for Distance Education’s Accessibility Bootcamp (asynchronous version) is a guided, hands‑on experience designed to help you prepare your Canvas courses for accessible, high‑quality delivery. Throughout this asynchronous Canvas-based bootcamp, you’ll build practical skills using tools like TidyUP and Ally while applying accessibility best practices to clean up course content, remediate files, and support an accessible learning experience for all Mavericks. The bootcamp is user‑friendly and includes helpful videos, screenshot tutorials, and supportive guidance to help you make meaningful progress with confidence.

By the end of the course, you will have:

  • A cleaned and organized course structure
  • Remediated key files (images, HTML, Word, PowerPoint, PDFs)
  • An inventory of remaining items
  • A clear path to full course accessibility.

OIT Training: Training - Office of Information Technology. Look for accessibility training sessions.

 

Link to Self-Enroll in the self-paced Bootcamp (Canvas-based)

Guiding Principles for Accessibility Remediation

  • Focus on legal compliance for accessibility.
  • Prioritize improving student-facing instructional materials first.
  • Use Ally and TidyUP as tools to guide what you will remediate.
  • Adopt a continuous-improvement approach: accessibility evolves over time. All faculty are responsible for continuously reviewing and improving course accessibility.
  • The law does not distinguish essential vs. optional materials. All instructional materials must be accessible. Supplemental materials (notes, recordings) still support student success and should remain available; faculty should remediate them to the best of their ability.

Recommended Workflow

What to do before the semester starts

  • Run your ALLY Course Report and fix severe issues in syllabus, Week 1 materials, module pages, PDFs, slides, and assignment instructions.
  • Clean up course files with TidyUP so students only see what's needed.
  • Review the known Issues Tracker for any campus wide items already being addressed.
  • Ensure all Week 1 and syllabus linked PDFs are OCR'd, properly structured, and readable.
  • Prepare accessible versions of your first lectures/slides.
Team collaboration workflow planning process diagram

Continue with this list:

  1. Review your Ally course report and note severe, major, and minor issues. Start With What Students See. Focus on Spring 2026 visible content first: syllabus, modules, instructions, PDFs, slides, assignments.
  2. Fix severe and major issues first, focusing on content students will immediately encounter. Fix remaining items (major and minor).
  3. Use TidyUP to locate, organize, and clean up course files.
  4. Remediate documents. Use the Key Resources above and the Quick Tips section below to help.
  5. Use the Known Issues Tracker to get additional assistance. This tracker identifies recurring accessibility problems in Canvas courses and instructional materials.
  6. Visit the Accessibility Resource Toolkit and other self-guided resources (see above links). Review the links for assistance. Should you have additional questions, contact accessibility@uta.edu.
  7. Attend the Center for Distance Education Accessibility Roadmap Bootcamp (online), if needed.
  8. Document remaining issues and inaccessible items on an Excel spreadsheet that cannot be immediately fixed, noting whether they require remediation or an exception request.
  9. Submit Exception Requests Only When Needed. See below for criteria and process. Faculty should submit exceptions only after attempting remediation on their own, documenting this, and identifying barriers, and through the bootcamp workflow.

When to Submit an Exception

  • After attempting remediation and documenting barriers.
  • For items that cannot be made accessible due to technical limitations.

When Not to Submit an Exception

  • When remediation is possible using Word, PowerPoint, PDF tools, OCR, or TidyUP.

Get help, if needed: Contact your Digital Champion, CRTLE, CDE, or OIT Accessibility depending on your need (see final section below).

Accessibility

Tools and How to Use Them

  • Ally (Canvas): Identify accessibility issues, preview alternative formats, and learn how to repair flagged items.
  • TidyUP: Detects duplicate, unused, or outdated materials; helps streamline course content.
  • MS Word, PowerPoint, PDF Accessibility Guides: Ensure documents have corrected heading structure, alt text, readable formatting, and OCR where needed.
  • The Known Issues Tracker is a quick, faculty friendly guide to the most common accessibility issues in Canvas. It explains each issue clearly, why it matters, and what you can do to address it. Updated regularly by the EIR Accessibility team, it highlights which fixes are handled centrally and which require small local adjustments, helping you save time and create more accessible, student ready course materials.
Monitor with Books

Quick Tips

Scanned PDFs are images and unreadable by screen readers. OCR converts them into real text.

How to OCR a PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro:

  • Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro.
  • Go to Tools → Scan & OCR → Recognize Text → In This File.
  • Choose the correct Document Language.
  • Click Recognize Text to convert the scan into selectable text.
  • Go to Tools → Prepare for Accessibility to check for reading order, tags, and missing structure.
  • If the scan is poor quality, export to Word, fix the text, and save back as a tagged PDF.
  • For complex PDFs (math, code, tables), an accessibility exception may be needed.

All videos must be captioned—and auto‑captioning alone is not compliant until edited.

How to caption in Canvas Studio:

  • Upload the video to Canvas Studio.
  • Click Captions → Request Captions and select a language.
  • Once generated, click Review and Edit to correct accuracy, punctuation, and terminology.
  • Save and publish.

Tips:

  • Break long sentences for readability.
  • Correct names and discipline-specific vocabulary.
  • If using YouTube, edit captions there, export the VTT file, and upload it to Studio.

Headings allow screen readers to move easily through a document.

How to add headings:

  • Highlight a section title.
  • Go to Home → Styles.
  • Apply Heading 1 for major sections, Heading 2 for subsections, Heading 3 for details.
  • Use View → Navigation Pane to ensure the outline is correct.
  • Run Review → Check Accessibility to fix errors.

Tips:

  • Do not skip heading levels.
  • Do not rely on bold or large text to “look like” headings—screen readers won’t detect these.

Low contrast makes slides difficult to read, especially for students with low vision.

How to improve contrast:

  • Select the text box.
  • Change either the text color or background so they contrast strongly.
  • Use Review → Check Accessibility for warnings.

Contrast rules:

  • Normal text: ratio of 4.5:1 or higher.
  • Large text (18pt+ or 14pt bold): 3:1 ratio.

Tips:

  • Use dark text on light backgrounds or vice versa.
  • Avoid decorative fonts; use Arial, Calibri, or Verdana.
  • Increase transparency when placing text over images.

Alt text describes what an image conveys and why it matters.

How to write alt text:

  • Right‑click the image → choose Edit Alt Text.
  • Write 1–2 concise sentences describing the important content.
  • Mark the image as Decorative if it conveys no meaning.

Tips:

  • Don’t start with “Image of…”
  • Focus on what students need to understand.
For charts, summarize the key takeaway.

A correct reading order ensures screen readers read content in the intended sequence.

PowerPoint:

  • Open Home → Arrange → Selection Pane.
  • Reading order flows from bottom to top of the list.
  • Reorder objects: titles → body text → images.

PDF (Adobe Acrobat Pro):

  • Open Tools → Prepare for Accessibility → Reading Order.
  • Select each content block and assign roles (Text, Heading, Figure, etc.).
  • Adjust reading order so it matches the visual layout.

Table headers help screen readers interpret row/column structure.

Word:

  • Click inside your table.
  • Go to Table Design.
  • Check Header Row and/or First Column.
  • Run Review → Check Accessibility.

PowerPoint:

  • Manually label the top row and first column with clear headers.
  • Avoid merged cells or complex layouts.

Screen readers rely on document language to pronounce words correctly.

Word & PowerPoint:

  • Press Ctrl + A to select all text.
  • Go to Review → Language → Set Proofing Language.
  • Choose the language of the document.

PDF (Acrobat Pro):

  • Go to File → Properties → Advanced.
  • Set the document language.

Tip:
In mixed‑language documents (e.g., Spanish + English), set language for each section manually.

Ally gives real‑time feedback on accessibility issues.

How to use Ally:

  • Open a Canvas page or file.
  • Click the colored Ally indicator.
  • Review the issue list: missing alt text, low contrast, headings, tables, etc.
  • Follow Ally’s guided instructions to fix issues.
  • Re-upload or save the corrected version.

Tip:
Focus first on pages students will use most (syllabus, instructions, modules)

Getting Help: Who Does What at UTA?

This section provides help on who to contact: CRTLE, CDE, OIT, or their Digital Champions.

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Digital Champions

Peer support within each College.

Exceptions Form

New: Digital Course Content Accessibility Exception Form

UTA has launched the Digital Course Content Accessibility Exception Request (DCAREQ) for documenting course materials that are inaccessible and cannot be remediated without compromising instructional integrity.

Use the form when:

  • A specific item cannot meet WCAG 2.1 AA without altering learning objectives
  • You need to document inaccessible content and outline plans for future remediation

Qualifying examples:

  • Construction drawings or landscape paintings that must be analyzed visually.
  • Musical scores that must be read as notation.

Examples that do NOT qualify:

  • Decorative images or illustrative examples (infographics), which can be tagged appropriately.
  • Handwritten mathematical formulas, which can be remediated.

What you’ll submit on the linked form:

  • Description of the item and its instructional purpose
  • Whether the resource was created at UTA or by a vendor
  • Whether you expect to remediate or replace it
  • A link to your syllabus
  • A faculty commitment to coordinate accommodations with appropriate campus units
Click here to access the DCAREQ form

Qualifying and Non‑Qualifying Examples

Qualifying examples:

  • Construction drawings or landscape paintings that must be analyzed visually.

  • Musical scores that must be read as notation.

Examples that do NOT qualify:

  • Decorative images or illustrative examples (infographics), which can be tagged appropriately.

  • Handwritten mathematical formulas, which can be remediated. title for this

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Digital Champions

At The University of Texas at Arlington, Digital Champions are faculty and staff who volunteer to help strengthen a culture of digital accessibility across our campus. They serve as approachable guides who promote accessible digital practices. Digital Champions are not compliance officers or technical remediators. Instead, they act as connectors: pointing teams to the right tools, sharing tips and training resources, and helping raise awareness about accessibility as a shared responsibility. Their support advances UTA’s commitment to equity, student success, and high‑quality digital learning experiences.

Below is the growing network of Digital Champions from across the university who are contributing to this effort from the academic units (colleges and schools).

comprehensive list of digital champions
College Name Champion Name
College of Architecture, Planning, & Public Affairs (CAPPA) Eric Garner
College of Business Christy Spivey
College of Education Luis Pérez Cortés
College of Liberal Arts Jayce Smith
College of Liberal Arts Lily Tanner
College of Engineering Mohsen Shahandashti
College of Engineering Nadhia Grewal
College of Nursing & Health Innovation (CONHI) Vicki Robinson
College of Science Greg Hale
School of Social Work Mandi Rivers

CRTLE Accessibility Video Series

This video series features short, practical conversations focused on making accessibility a meaningful and manageable part of everyday teaching. Beginning with a discussion with Megan Zara (UTA Libraries) on Open Educational Resources (OER) and including conversations with Laura Hopkins (Accessibility/OIT) Laurel Stvan (faculty), and other faculty and campus partners, the series brings together multiple perspectives that support inclusive course design. Together, these videos share real experiences, reflective insights, and workflow‑friendly strategies to encourage conscientious approaches to accessibility that benefit all learners.

Illustration of a laptop displaying a video play button on the screen, sitting on a desk with a coffee cup, small plant, pencils, and notes.

Open Educational Resources (OER) & Accessibility: Supporting Student and Faculty Success at UTA

In this video, Peggy Semingson, Interim Director of the Center for Research on Teaching and Learning Excellence (CRTLE) at The University of Texas at Arlington, is joined by Megan Zara, Open Education Librarian at UTA Libraries, for a conversation about Open Educational Resources (OER) and their role in accessibility, affordability, and student success.

Accessibility in Teaching Made Practical: Universal Design Tips for Faculty

In this CRTLE video on Accessibility and Teaching, Peggy Semingson, Interim Director of the Center for Research on Teaching and Learning Excellence (CRTLE), is joined by Dr. Laurel Stvan, Professor of Linguistics and TESOL at The University of Texas at Arlington, for a practical, faculty‑centered conversation about accessibility in higher education. Rather than focusing on accessibility as a compliance checklist, this discussion reframes accessibility as good teaching design—one that improves clarity, usability, and learning for a wide range of students. Dr. Stvan draws on years of experience as a campus leader in Universal Design for Learning (UDL) to address common faculty questions and misconceptions, especially around slides, captions, course documents, and accessibility checking tools.

Accessibility as Good Teaching: Practical Strategies, Campus Support, and What’s Changing

In this episode of the CRTLE Accessibility Video Series, Dr. Peggy Semingson (Center for Research on Teaching and Learning Excellence) sits down with Laura Hopkins, UT Arlington’s Electronic and Information Resources (EIR) Compliance Lead and Accessibility Coordinator, for a practical, faculty‑centered conversation about digital accessibility and why it matters for teaching, learning, and student success. This conversation reframes accessibility not as a compliance burden, but as good teaching practice—highlighting how small, intentional design choices can significantly improve the learning experience for all students. Laura explains what EIR means at UTA, what types of digital materials are covered (from Canvas content and PDFs to videos, software, and websites), and how accessibility intersects with everyday instructional decisions faculty already make.