Spring 2026 Accessibility & ADA Compliance for Your Courses

Posted by Mendy Smith on

Why Accessibility & ADA Compliance Matter

Accessibility is more than meeting a legal requirement; it’s about ensuring that every student can participate fully in your course.

  • Legally. Our institution must comply with federal accessibility regulations and align web and digital content with WCAG 2 standards by April 24, 2026.
  • Institutionally. The Provost’s December 12, 2025 announcement places course accessibility alongside other key technology initiatives, reinforcing that accessible courses are a core expectation of our teaching mission.
  • Educationally. Accessible courses lower barriers for students with disabilities and improve the learning experience for all learners, especially those using assistive or mobile devices, reading in a second language, or managing work and family responsibilities.

As an instructor, you are not expected to become a legal expert. Your role is to take reasonable, documented steps to make your courses accessible, using the tools and support the university provides.

ADA Compliance At a Glance

Who: All instructors (full-time, part-time, and adjunct) teaching any credit-bearing course, including fully online, blended/hybrid, and face-to-face courses.

What: Federal accessibility regulations require that all public colleges and universities ensure their websites and digital content conform to WCAG 2 accessibility standards. This includes all Canvas course sites and all instructional materials provided to students.

When: Federal accessibility regulations take effect on April 24, 2026. Faculty are encouraged to begin aligning their course materials with these standards now, so that students will experience more accessible courses well before the deadline.

What Instructors are Expected to Do Before the April Deadline

The federal regulations and WCAG 2 standards translate into concrete course design practices. In practical terms, instructors are expected to:

  1. Use accessible formats for core course materials. Syllabi, readings, slides, and assignments should be formatted for screen readers and keyboard navigation.
  2. Ensure videos are accurately captioned. All required course videos should have accurate captions (reviewed and edited as needed).
  3. Provide meaningful text alternatives for images. Images that convey information (graphs, charts, diagrams, photos used for instruction) should have alt text or equivalent descriptions.
  4. Use clear structure in Canvas and documents. Headings, lists, and tables should be used correctly so that assistive technologies can navigate content. Avoid using formatting alone (bold, bigger text) to indicate structure.
  5. Address high-impact accessibility issues identified by tools. Review and address issues flagged by the Panorama accessibility reports for your courses.

Jump to:

Step-by-Step: How to Get Your Course Content Ready

1. Start with Automated Accessibility Checks from Panorama

Look for the Panorama accessibility icon indicators next to files and content in your Canvas course. Review the overall accessibility score for each Canvas site and course files. Prioritize crucial files flagged with a red icon and update them using Panorama’s remediation guidance. Tip! Start with the courses you will teach in Spring/Fall 2026 and the materials students use most frequently (syllabus, key readings, weekly modules).

Check out these Panorama tutorials for faculty:

2. Make Your Documents Accessible (Word, PowerPoint, PDF)

Focus first on documents that students must read or interact with to succeed in the course.

General principles:

    • Use built-in styles for headings (Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.) instead of changing font size manually.
    • Ensure text is actual text, not embedded in images or scanned PDFs.
    • Provide a logical reading order (especially in PowerPoint).
    • Avoid conveying meaning by color alone (e.g., “items in red are required” without additional indicators).

Word & PowerPoint:

    • Run the Accessibility Checker (Review > Check Accessibility).
    • Add alt text to all images that convey information.
    • Ensure tables have clear header rows and are used for data (not for layout).

PDFs:

    • Whenever possible, start from an accessible Word/PowerPoint document before creating a PDF.
    • Avoid all scanned PDFs that are just images.
    • If you don’t have an accessible version of a resource, contact your Library Liaison to ask for help.

3. Ensure Multimedia is Accessible (Kaltura and Beyond)

Captions:

    • For all required course videos in Kaltura:
      • Request or enable machine-generated captions.
      • Review and edit captions for accuracy, especially for technical terms and names.
    • For third-party videos (e.g., YouTube, publisher videos):
      • Confirm that they have accurate captions.
      • If not, consider alternatives (a different resource, creating a transcript, or a brief written summary of key points).

Audio-only content:

    • Provide a transcript for audio files that don’t have video.
    • If the content is brief, a detailed written outline may suffice.

4. Design Your Courses with Diverse Learners in Mind

Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) complement each other. As you improve accessibility, consider:

    • Providing multiple ways to access key information (e.g., text plus visuals).
    • Organizing your Canvas modules with clear, consistent structures (e.g., 1. weekly overview, 2. readings, 3. activities, 4. assessments).
    • Using plain, student-friendly language for instructions and deadlines.

These choices help not only students with disabilities but also students who are balancing work and family responsibilities, from disadvantaged academic backgrounds, new to U.S. pedagogical strategies, or managing heavy course loads.

Priorities If You’re Short on Time

We recognize that most instructors are juggling heavy workloads. The steps below are organized so you can make the biggest impact first.

Priority 1 – Must-Do Before the Deadline

Focus here if time is limited:

  • Caption required course videos in Kaltura and review captions for accuracy.
  • Fix inaccessible core PDFs and documents, especially:
    • Syllabus
    • Required reading packets
    • Major assignment guidelines
  • Add alt text to images that carry instructional meaning (graphs, diagrams, important visuals).
  • Address critical issues flagged by Panorama.

Priority 2 – Do Next as Time Allows

Once Priority 1 is underway or complete:

  • Improve structure in Canvas and documents
    • Use headings, lists, and descriptive link text (e.g., “Download Week 3 Readings” instead of “Click here”).
  • Check color contrast and text size
    • Avoid light gray text on white, color combinations that are hard to see, or very small font sizes.
  • Clean up older materials
    • Replace older, hard-to-read PDFs with newer, accessible versions when possible.

Priority 3 – Ongoing Improvement

As you update and revise your courses over time:

  • Revisit legacy content each semester and bring it up to accessibility standards.
  • Incorporate more UDL-aligned practices into your classes, such as multiple assignment formats or flexible ways for students to demonstrate learning.
  • Document your improvements as part of your teaching portfolio, annual review, or course reflection.

Training, Support, and Templates

You are not expected to do this alone. Our goal is to provide practical support, not just requirements.

Instructional Development: Accessibility Resources

  • Guidance on creating accessible course content in Canvas
  • Strategies for improving the accessibility of documents and instructional media
  • Recommended tools and workflows for checking and remediating materials

University-Wide Accessibility Information

  • University-wide accessibility information and policies
  • Contacts and additional resources to support meeting accessibility standards
  • Information to ensure that all members of our community can fully access and engage in university activities

Additional Supports

Who Can Help?