Digital Accessibility in Teaching

Digital Accessibility in Teaching

At its best, a university is a place where knowledge is openly shared and the widest possible community is invited into inquiry, discovery, and debate. In this digital age, that invitation is only meaningful if our tools, platforms, and content are accessible to all who seek to engage with them.
Provost Long and Chief Civil Rights Officer/ADA Coordinator Commissiong, in Digital Accessibility: Help Make UO Inclusive

These pages provide an overview of digital accessibility, guidance on how to make your syllabus and course more accessible, and a list of resources to support your work.

Get support making your materials accessible at our Digital Accessibility Teaching Support Drop-In Hours, every Thursday from 10am-12pm on Zoom.

What does "digitally accessible" mean?

"Digital accessibility" refers to designing web-based content to a set of standards so that it can be fully used by people with disabilities. 

What content needs to be accessible?

Web-based content is anything viewed with a web browser. Web-based course materials that faculty and GE instructors create or provide include:

  • Web-based documents, such as Microsoft Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and PDFs;
  • Canvas courses and other course websites;
  • Web-based exams and quizzes, web-based textbook components/integrations, online forms, mobile applications, and any web-based third-party products (learning platforms and integrations);
  • Videos and other media on the web. 

What is UO's accessibility standard?

UO's Digital Accessibility Standard is the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA. Accessibility practices that provide a starting point include use of:

Learn more about the technical aspects of digital accessibility, including guidelines, trainings, policies and regulations, and options for consultation on the Digital Accessibility at UO website.

How do I make my content accessible?

Much of the work of making content accessible is straightforward and transferrable across formats. For more technically complex or discipline-specific challenges not addressed here, please read the Resources section for the relevant contact person, support, or tool.

Making Your Syllabus Accessible

Guidance for Making Your Course Accessible

What resources can help me in this work?

To learn about digital accessibility:

For support making course content accessible:

  • TEP and UO Online offer consultations. While we do not revise materials for instructors, we are happy to provide guidance on questions or approaches, and if your question is beyond our scope of knowledge, we can help you identify where to direct it.
  • Pope Tech for Canvas, a "simple, easy-to-use tool that is integrated into the Canvas interface." Read more at Pope Tech Dashboard and Accessibility Guide.
  • The Canvas Support Desk can assist faculty in navigating the Pope Tech Dashboard. They have drop-in hours at PLC room 68 between 8:30 and 4:30, Mondays through Fridays. Please note that staff will not be able to remediate course content.
  • Canvas Course Templates created by UO Online provide a digitally accessible, ready-to-use course structure for the entire term. While templates provide a foundation for accessibility, content that is added must also be made accessible.
  • The Libraries may be able to help you find a more accessible version of a reading. Consider contacting your Subject Librarian or the Textbook Affordability team to explore eBook options, or request digitized print materials through Scan & Deliver (which will ensure scanned content is "real text" as opposed to an image of text).

For complex technical questions or questions about ADA compliance: