Course Content

Accessible course content ensures that all students can fully participate in learning, regardless of disability or the delivery method. All electronic instructional materials, whether required or optional, must be accessible in face-to-face, hybrid and online courses, and across all electronic distribution methods, including Western Michigan University’s Elearning system, email and other platforms.

This includes course materials such as syllabi, textbooks, presentations and handouts, as well as instructional activities such as videos, web conferencing, discussion boards, and collaborative online tools. Use the resources on this page to learn how to create accessible course content in the Elearning system.

Who is responsible?

• Instructors, teaching assistants, instructional designers, academic technologists and anyone else who creates or uploads course content.
• Department chairs, program leads and wmich.edu administrators overseeing web‑to‑course content.
• Vendors and publishers supplying digital learning materials used in WMU courses.

What standards do you need to meet?

All course content must comply with the required WCAG 2.1 AA standards. These guidelines are referenced in WMU’s Web Accessibility Policy and in the ADA Title II federal regulations.

What to do?

Instructors don't have to do this work alone. The Instructional Technology Center (ITC) is here to support you every step of the way, with personalized guidance and help with things like video captioning and PDF remediation. The items below highlight key things to keep in mind when building courses in Elearning.

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.
   1. Use Elearning files/web pages or accessible Microsoft Word or Google Doc files over PDFs when possible.
   2. Use built in accessibility checkers in Microsoft Office or Google applications before uploading.
   3. PDFs in Elearning will be automatically remediated.
2. Ensure videos are accurately captioned. All required course videos should have accurate captions (reviewed and edited as needed).
   1. To support accessibility, all instructor owned videos in Elearning and Mediasite are automatically captioned by the system; no additional steps are required.
   2. Videos from third party sources like YouTube or streaming services are not automatically captioned, but AI generated captions can be used; please contact the Digital Accessibility Team for additional options or assistance.
   3. Fill out the caption request form for any WMU-owned content outside of these systems. Ensure that any third-party content has accurate, synchronized captions.
3. Provide meaningful text alternatives for images. Images that convey information (graphs, charts, diagrams and photos used for instruction) should have alt text or equivalent descriptions.
4. Use clear structure in Elearning 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. Use Elearning accessibility tools (Ally and Accessibility Checker) to review and address issues flagged by the Ally accessibility reports for your courses.

STEM, symbols and complex visuals

• Use the Elearning Equation Editor to create accessible equations (LaTeX, MatchML); do not use images of equations.
• Provide data tables or text alternatives for complex charts and infographics; ensure color independent cues.
• For code examples, use proper markup and syntax highlighting with sufficient contrast.

Assessments and activities (Elearning tools)

• Use the Quiz tool; it supports keyboard and screen readers. Provide clear instructions, time accommodations and alternatives for any timed or proctored activities.
• Use Accommodations (Classlist > learner menu > Edit accommodations) to set a default time multiplier and Special access in Quizzes/Assignments for date/time exceptions.
• Avoid question types that rely on drag and drop without keyboard alternatives.

Ally for Elearning

• Watch the indicators: Red, orange and green gauges appear next to files and HTML pages. Select a gauge to open the Ally feedback panel.
• Fix with guidance: Follow Ally’s targeted tips (add alt text, set heading levels, define table headers and scope, replace a scanned image with text based content, etc.).
• Replace and recheck: Upload a corrected file via the feedback panel. Ally rescans automatically and updates the score.
• Use course reports: Open the Ally Course Accessibility Report to find the highest impact issues first.

Third‑party applications and publisher tools

• Route digital third-party learning applications and publisher tools through Procurement before adoption. All third-party textbooks, publisher courseware and e-text platforms that integrate with Elearning must go through WMU Procurement and IT accessibility review.
• Submit with your request: A current Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR/VPAT®) (WCAG 2.1 AA; dated within 12–18 months), the vendor’s accessibility statement and roadmap, sample instructor/student access, LTI 1.3/Deep Linking documentation, and data/privacy terms.

What tools are available?

• Elearning Accessibility Checker
• Ally for Instructors
• Accessible Web’s WCAG Color Contrast Checker

See also Events and Meetings for information on using live captioning during classes.

What training and resources are available?

• Instructional Accessibility Resources
• Caption Request Form
• Siteimprove’s Accessibility for the Classroom
• Siteimprove’s Accessibility for Virtual Classrooms

Siteimprove Learning Hub

Some Siteimprove links and learning resources require special access. As the University works toward a single sign‑on (SSO) solution for the Siteimprove Learning Hub, you may need to request access to continue using these learning and training resources.

To request Siteimprove Learning Hub access, contact the Digital Accessibility Team.