Accessible Materials are Key
Research shows that by adopting inclusive design practices, like accessibility, we enhance the user experience for all students and foster a culture of diversity and inclusion.
The digital accessibility requirements in Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (2024) are broad and impact digital files shared across campus. Given breadth of these requirements, accessibility will become part of our daily work. As we advance in our accessibility compliance efforts, it will be essential for those of us creating shared documents, recording videos, and managing websites to understand the guidelines for producing accessible content.
Instructor-Led Professional Development
ION Professional eLearning Programs offer asynchronous online courses taught by highly qualified instructors in topics relevant for higher education professionals. UIS faculty and staff may register for these courses at no cost using the UIS membership code. The ION discount code for UIS faculty and staff members may be accessed through Box when you log in with your UIS account.
Digital Accessibility Certificate & Courses
The courses in this certificate were developed with higher education professionals in mind. The courses explain why and how to make common course materials accessible with software that is available at UIS. Technical IT jargon is not used. Learn more about this accessibility certificate. The skills taught satisfy current WCAG standards upon which U.S. accessibility laws are based.
Two courses in the certificate that will be especially useful for UIS faculty and staff are Creating Accessible Documents (Word, PowerPoint, and Excel) and Creating Accessible Videos. Each course is short -- only 4 weeks! -- and the instructor will guide you and give you feedback as you work to improve the accessibility of your own documents and videos. View the ION course schedule and register for classes.
Self-Paced Learning Resources
Captioning in Videos
Videos are a key content type on our websites and in our classes. Learn to create accessible videos including captions in Kaltura and YouTube.
Create Accessible Materials
Create accessible document and websites contains information on MS Word, MS PowerPoint, and Adobe PDF, as well as Canvas. Learn about creating accessible content for UIS websites.
How to Write Good Alt Text
Alternative text (alt text) is text that describes the content of an image that can be read by a screen reader. Learn to writing good alt text for images in context.
Accessibility Remediation Assistance
The Office of Digital Accessibility (ODA) and its Digital Accessibility Remediation Team (DART) can help you ensure that your Word documents, PowerPoints, PDFs, video lectures, podcasts, and other materials meet the accessibility requirements outlined by the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Email ODA today to join the queue for an accessibility check of your materials. For Canvas course accessibility questions, please contact COLRS.
Learn More
Inclusive Design from the Nielsen Norman Group