Body
Description
In April 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice issued final regulations under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that directly impacted public universities. The required areas include public websites (such as isu.edu), mobile apps (such as library access and registration), online learning platforms, course content (e.g. syllabi, videos, lecture slides, PDFs), student services portals, and internal systems used by staff, faculty, and students.
Accessibility requirements include:
- Alternative text for images (e.g. Canvas, slides, etc.)
- Captioning and transcripts for multimedia (all videos)
- Keyboard navigability (you can move through a form in logical format using the arrow keys)
- Logical heading structures
- Color contrast and readability
- Accessible document formatting (e.g. PDFs, Word docs, PowerPoints, etc.)
The deadline for compliance is April 24, 2026.
How Do I Add Alternative Text to Images?
Add appropriate text descriptions (alt-text) to all the images in your course content. This includes Canvas pages and uploaded materials such PowerPoint slides, PDFs, etc. Resource:
POET Training Tool: How to Describe Images.
How do I Ensure that my Videos are Accessible?
How Do I Make My Links Accessible?
How Should I Format My Course?
-
Indicate structure in your course content with consistent headings rather than relying on bolded font or changing the font size or color. This applies to Canvas content as well as uploaded files. The headings should clearly define the intent of the subsequent elements within.
-
Make sure lists are numbered (ordered) or bulletted (unordered) using the tools within the rich content text editor.
-
Apply a consistent course format across modules, course materials and activities to make navigation easy for all users.
-
The
Accessibility Checker in the Rich Content Editor in Canvas detects common accessibility errors within the editor.
-
What Types of Files Should Be Accessible?
- All uploaded files should be formatted for accessibility. This includes:
- Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel
- Google Workspace: Forms, Docs, Sheets and Slides
- PDFs
- Scanned materials
- Resources:
How Do I Create an Accessible List and/or Bullet Points?
Use the tools within the rich content editor to format numbered lists (ordered) or bulleted (unordered) items. Pro Tip: Add a period “.” at the end of each item list, this lets the screen reader know the end of the list has been reached and pauses before going onto the next list item. Resource:
CUNY Library Services: Lists
Can I Use Color in My Course?
-
-
To meet basic accessibility guidelines, text must have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1.
-
Avoid using color as the only way to communicate information - always make sure meaning is conveyed in multiple ways.
-
Where Can I Find Out More?