YES to Inclusion: Accessible materials ensure that everyone—students, faculty, staff, and the public—can fully participate, from cheering at games and attending performances to learning in classes and applying for campus jobs.

YES to Usability: Clear, flexible design benefits all. Students learn more effectively, faculty and staff work more efficiently, and the community connects more easily with our services.

YES to Engagement: When access works for all, learning deepens, support strengthens, and the campus experience becomes more vibrant—for every Zip, every team, and every guest.

Assistive technologies are tools that help individuals maintain or enhance their abilities. Common examples include:

• Eyeglasses – used by millions to improve vision
• Screen readers – convert text to speech for blind or low-vision users
• Voice recognition software – helps users write without typing
• Screen magnifiers – enlarge content for easier viewing
• Ergonomic tools – reduce strain and prevent injury

By designing accessible materials, you’re not just meeting legal requirements—you’re creating a more inclusive, supportive learning environment for everyone.

A video with closed captions may be essential for a student who is hard-of-hearing, but it also supports:

• Visual People
• People for whom English is a second language
• People in noisy or quiet environments

Choose textbooks and readings available in accessible formats (e.g., screen reader-compatible PDFs).

Use videos with accurate closed captions.

Provide alternative text for images and graphics.

Ensure digital content is navigable by keyboard and screen readers.

Use Panorama to check content accessibility. Panorama uses the guidelines of the WCAG 2.1 AA standards. This ensures content is accessible to all students.

Describe images used in documents - Why Alternative Text Matters

Including a text description—also known as alternative text or alt text—for images ensures that content is accessible to students using screen readers, particularly those who are blind or visually impaired.

Beyond accessibility, writing clear and meaningful alt text can also enhance your teaching. It encourages intentional image selection by prompting you to consider what the image communicates and how it supports your course content.

Tips for Writing Effective Alt Text

• Be concise but descriptive: Aim to convey the essential information in a few words or a short sentence.
• Focus on function: Describe what the image is meant to communicate in the context of your content.
• Skip “image of…”: Screen readers already announce that it’s an image.
• Mark decorative images appropriately: If an image adds no meaningful content, mark it as decorative so it’s skipped by screen readers.

Alt Text Examples

Alt text (alternative text) makes images accessible to students using screen readers, especially those who are blind or visually impaired. It also helps clarify the purpose of the image in your teaching.

Heading Structure Best Practices

Using proper heading styles improves accessibility and helps all students navigate your content more easily.

• Use built-in heading styles in Word, Google Docs, or PowerPoint—don’t just change font size or bold text.
• Follow a logical order:
  • Heading 1: Document title or main section
  • Heading 2: Major section
  • Heading 3–6: Subsections (don’t skip levels)
• Keep headings clear and concise - they should summarize the section’s content.
• Customize styles (font, size, color) through the style settings—not manual formatting—to maintain accessibility.
• Limit to Heading 1–6 for compatibility with PDFs and web content.

Quick Guidelines

• Keep it short and meaningful.
• Describe the image’s purpose, not just its appearance.
• Skip “image of…”—screen readers already announce it.
• Mark purely decorative images as decorative.

Avoid vague link text like “click here” or “read more.” These phrases don’t describe the link’s purpose and can create barriers for users navigating with keyboards, screen readers, or mobile devices.

Best Practices

• Use descriptive text that explains where the link goes.
• Link a phrase—not just a single word—so it makes sense out of context.
• Avoid non-informative phrases like:
  • “here”
  • “more”
  • “this link”
  • “info”

Example

Click here for the syllabus

View the course syllabus

Simplified slides make your content more accessible and easier to understand for all students, including those using screen readers or assistive tech. Clear layouts, readable fonts, and concise text improve focus, support diverse needs, and meet accessibility standards.

Good color contrast ensures that all students—including those with low vision or color blindness—can read your content comfortably.

Best Practices

• Use high contrast between text and background.
• Avoid using color alone to convey meaning (e.g., red for “wrong”).
• Test your slides, documents, and web content with a contrast checker.

Good Contrast:

• Black text on a white background
• Dark blue text on a light gray background

Poor Contrast:

• Maroon text on black
• Orange text on maroon
• Light gray text on white

Closed captions make your video content more inclusive and easier to follow—for everyone.

Benefits of Captions

• Accessibility: Essential for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.
• Comprehension: Helps multilingual learners and supports focus.
• Flexibility: Useful in quiet or noisy environments.
• Searchability: Improves video discoverability in search engines.

When Captions Help

• A student watching a lecture on mute in a library
• A multilingual student reviewing complex terminology
• A viewer catching missed dialogue due to background noise

Simplifying or summarizing helps students quickly grasp your key points without getting overwhelmed by details. It improves clarity, supports learning, and benefits all students—especially English Language Learners, students with disabilities, and emerging readers.

Benefits

• Highlights the most important information
• Activates prior knowledge
• Increases comprehension and retention

Examples

“This unit covers three key concepts: supply, demand, and market equilibrium.”

“In this unit, we will explore a variety of interconnected economic principles that influence how goods and services are exchanged in a competitive environment…”

“Use the checklist below to review your draft.”

“Before finalizing your paper, consider revisiting the various components that contribute to a strong academic argument…”