Digital Accessibility

Western Michigan University
Kalamazoo MI 49008-5200 USA

Training

All members of our university community have access to comprehensive training opportunities to ensure compliance with ADA Title II regulations, which require public entities such as universities to make their programs, services, and activities accessible to individuals with disabilities. The Instructional Technology Center (ITC) offers regular workshops and online modules covering key topics such as an Overview of ADA Title II, creating Accessible PDFs, and designing accessible course content using Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. Other topics include creating accessible email messages and social media posts.

Department-specific training sessions can be arranged to address discipline-related accessibility considerations. For personalized guidance or to schedule training for your department, contact the ITC at (269) 387-6958, which can provide tailored support to help ensure that all campus community members have equal access to our university's educational opportunities and services.

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). To request captioning:
  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 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. Address high-impact accessibility issues identified by tools. Review and address issues flagged by the Ally accessibility reports for your courses.

On-Demand resources

Here are some on-demand resources to assist you in making digital material compliant.

  • Americans with Disabilities Act Title II - DOJ This hour-long webinar provides introductory information and a summary of the law.
  • How Colleges Can Comply with Web-Accessibility Laws. This hour-long forum discusses how ADA Title II regulations affect higher education. It explores topics such as providing top leadership guidance and direction to ensure prioritization and implementation, auditing digital content and identifying high-priority areas for remediation, managing third-party vendor compliance effectively, and building sustainable accessibility training programs.

Introduction to PDF Accessibility. In this hour-long session, learn what it means to make a PDF accessible, how to set up Acrobat Pro to work on PDFs for accessibility, and the conversion process from a source document to a PDF.