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Digital Accessibility

Frequently Asked Questions

 

What are WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards?

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standards are a set of guidelines published to make content accessible for those with disabilities. These are considered the best practices for accessibility compliance, including by the ADA Title II rule. For more information on WCAG 2.1 Level AA, please review their full guidelines: WCAG 2.1 Level AA

What aspects of my course or website need to comply?

All digital media are required to comply with WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards. This includes webpage content, documents, videos, images, assignments, quizzes, and forums. All course materials that are shared with students should be fully accessible, including when printed. This includes materials such as PowerPoint slides, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, PDFs, hand-written resources, and all web-based tools.

What are the consequences for inaccessible content?

The consequences of non-compliance include legal action and fines, both for the university and for the person responsible for making the content available

What are the steps to make content accessible?

It is best practice to make content accessible before putting the content on Brightspace or another website. Please see the guides for Word, PDF, Excel, PowerPoint, Kaltura, and more on CELT’s Accessibility Page.

Here are a few key places to begin:

  • Structure documents and web pages with the pre-formatted headings to provide an effective organizational hierarchy.
  • Describe the purpose or content conveyed by an image using concise alternative (alt) text, following the guidelines given on section508.gov. When appropriate, a caption below or above the image may be included to convey additional context and details.
  • Use link text that effectively describes the link’s destination or function. Avoid the use of vague phrases such as “Click Here” or “Read More.”
  • Use text colors that strongly contrast with the background; do not use color alone to convey meaning.
  • Format numbered or bulleted lists using the tool provided by the application.
  • Use the built-in table tool for tabular data (not page layout) and include helpful column or row headers to describe the data.
  • Ensure all videos are accurately captioned and provide transcripts for audio-only files (such as podcasts or audio feedback).
  • Use tools within Microsoft, Adobe, and Brightspace products to review accessibility.

What do I do about third-party content?

Instructors, web administrators, application builders, and others who are responsible for making content available online and in courses (including in Brightspace) are responsible for selecting content that meets WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards before committing to using it.

If content from a third-party is not accessible and is not copyrighted, you may be able to make the content accessible before making it available online. However, if the content is copyrighted and cannot be updated, such as an article from a library database or publisher, then the responsibility is placed on the external tool and organization. This content should be linked to from the original source, not downloaded and uploaded into the Brightspace course or webpage.

Are there any exceptions or digital content that does not need to meet accessibility standards?

There are few exceptions for online content to not have to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards. These include preexisting (posted prior to April 2026) social media posts, archived and unchanged web content no longer in use and kept only for reference (such as digitized records or images held in a digital archive), and individualized documents pertaining to a specific person (such as a PDF of a tuition bill sent to a student).

For more information see “Summary of the Exceptions” in the ADA Fact Sheet.

Do my recorded class lectures need to have accurate captioning, even if they are viewed only partially by students or by students who miss class? What about YouTube videos that are linked to from my Brightspace course?

Under WCAG 2.1, either captioning or a transcript must be provided on any digital video content shared digitally (i.e. Posted for students in Brightspace, or emailed). Both captioning and transcripts must be accurate. Generally, under the guidance and information available, it seems that digital content creators (i.e. instructors) are responsible for ensuring that any third-party content is accessible and nor made available through a non-accessible provider. A starting reference place in WCAG 2.1 is Section 1.2.2. All faculty and staff are encouraged to familiarize themselves with WCAG 2.1 and the DOJ's Final Rule. All faculty and staff are responsible for their own familiarity and understanding of WCAG 2.1 and the DOJ's Final Rule. 

Who do I ask for help with accessibility?

Is there a Brightspace course example to review?

The Disability Access Center is currently developing a course to function as a resource and a guide for making accessible course content.

Who will review or check my course content for accessibility?

Plans are still underway for procedures to check compliance, and processes may differ by department. Check with your department chair or school dean for more information.

My Word document passed an accessibility check, but when it was exported as a PDF, it fails the Adobe accessibility check. What do I do?

First, ensure that you are exporting/saving the PDF from Word and not selecting "Print to PDF." 

  1. In the original Microsoft tool, navigate to the File tab.
  2. Select Export.
  3. Select Create XPS/PDF Document option from menu, then again as a button in the right panel. Note: Avoid Print to PDF – this creates untagged PDFs. Note: if you are using a Mac, you’d need to select “Best for electronic distribution and accessibility.”

Second, be aware that there are some accessibility features that Adobe accessibility checker is not effectively able to detect as being compliant. Therefore, there are some features that may be compliant but still will be flagged as an error or as “Needs Manual Check.” Some examples are below:

  • Reading Order: Create a logical structure using headings. For example, Heading 2 should be under Heading 1, and Heading 3 should be under Heading 2, and so on. Once verified and in the PDF accessibility tool, you can right click on the issue and select pass from the menu. If the original Word document used to create the PDF has confirmed accessible nested headings, these should remain in order in the conversion to PDF. Once this is verified, you can right click on the issue in the PDF accessibility tool and select “pass” from the menu.

  • Color contrast: In general, using only dark-colored (black, dark grey, or dark blue) text with a white background will ensure adequate contrast. It is also recommended to avoid relying on coloration alone (such as highlighting something yellow or making text red) to convey meaning because the emphasis may be lost on visually impaired users. It is best practice to convey meaning in a text-based format. Once the color contrast is verified, you can right click on the issue in the PDF accessibility tool and select “pass” from the menu.

Note:  It is a known bug in Adobe that marking “pass” in the tool will not always save, so items marked with “pass” may be flagged again by an accessibility check. However, it is not recommended to select “pass” on everything to clear the checker without manually verifying and/or updating the document.