Digital Accessibility for Teaching and Learning
Digital accessibility is the practice of creating digital content so that all people can access and use the materials, including individuals with disabilities who utilize assistive technology. In the context of instruction, digital accessibility considerations impact the design and delivery of course material, as well as the structure of learning activities involving educational technology.
Overview
Designing your course materials to meet standards for digital accessibility ensures access for all students and is a key component of UCLA and UC commitments to inclusive excellence. Goal 4 of UCLA’s Strategic Plan prioritizes access, opportunity, and equity in realizing an institutional culture of inclusive excellence and specifically aims to increase the number of courses that are (re)designed in ways evidenced to improve learning and support all students in achieving their educational goals. The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has mandated that state and local government institutions, including UCLA, meet WCAG 2.1 standards by April 24, 2026, to ensure compliance with accessibility laws and regulations (see final rule). These guidelines require instructors to take the necessary steps to make digital materials accessible – such as using the embedded heading structures for documents, adding alternate text to images, and providing captions or transcripts for video and audio content. This deadline underscores an urgent need for the university to reaffirm its commitment to inclusive excellence, support the success of all students, and take immediate action to eliminate barriers that prevent individuals with disabilities from equally and fully participating in academic and campus life.
Instructor Support for Digital Accessibilty
Teaching Guide: Getting Started with Digital Accessibility in Teaching and Learning
This guide provides an introduction on how to improve accessibility of digital materials in your courses.
Step-by-Step Guidance for Building an Accessible Course
UCLA’s Disability and Computing Programs provides step-by-step information on creating accessible course documents, PDFs, media, images, and other course materials.
Bruin Learn Ally Tool
UCLA also now provides Ally, a tool already integrated into Bruin Learn that instructors can use to run accessibility checks on course content and files in their courses. Learn more about how to leverage Ally’s tools and features to improve accessibility in Bruin Learn.
Consultations
Instructors can contact bruinlearn-support@it.ucla.edu for assistance and to schedule a consultation for support with digital accessibility. The Bruin Learn Center of Excellence also hosts regular office hours for instructors and staff.
Training on Digital Accessibility
UCLA’s Disabilities and Computing Programs offers training over Zoom on various topics related to digital accessibility. You can view their full events calendar for details about upcoming workshops.
Workshops for Teaching and Learning
The Teaching and Learning Center offers workshops and training on many topics that support teaching and learning, including digital accessibility.
Additional Resources
Checking the Accessibility of Websites
Departments, instructors, and staff can use tools to ensure that their websites meet the standards for digital accessibility. UCLA has a license for a tool called SiteImprove, which you can access through UCLA Disability and Computing Services. Another tool that is available online is the Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool.
Online Training for Digital Accessibility
BruinLearn Course “Accessibility and Instruction”: This course provides detailed guidance for UCLA instructors on how to make digital materials accessible, along with additional background on accessibility in the context of teaching and learning. This course serves as a professional development resource for those interested in learning more about the topic of accessibility.
UC Accessibility A11Y Project: This pilot UC Online-funded grant project aims to cultivate a collaborative learning community around accessibility, disability justice, and Universal Design for Learning through asynchronous Canvas modules, synchronous Zoom meetings, and monthly newsletters. We hope to establish a robust, UC-wide anti-ableist task force and helpful resources for instructors, students, and staff in the University of California system. Sign up to be added to the UC A11Y Canvas course.
Online EdX Course: “WC3G: Introduction to Web Accessibility”: This course was created by W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) in cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Information Technology in Education (IITE). It brings together international expert trainers from Deque, Infoaxia, Intopia, Knowbility, The Paciello Group, and Web Key IT, and implements the open curriculum developed by the W3C WAI Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG). In the course, you will learn the broad scope of web accessibility, how people with disabilities use different assistive technologies and adaptive strategies, the business benefits of web accessibility, and where to find W3C resources on implementing accessibility.
LinkedIn Learning provides targeted training on specific topics related to digital accessibility, including advanced training on PDF remediation. LinkedIn Learning is available to UCLA employees through single sign-on.
Recorded webinar from Adobe: “The Basics of Remediating an Inaccessible PDF | Adobe Document Cloud”. You can also review the Adobe instructions on accessible PDFs.
Standards and Guidelines
ADA Ruling on Digital Accessibility
On April 24, 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) published a new rule on digital accessibility under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This rule requires the University’s web content, including academic course content, to be accessible starting on April 24, 2026.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 outline the requirements for web accessibility. See also: Video Introduction to Web Accessibility and W3C Standards
UCOP IT Accessibility Policy
The University of California Information Technology Accessibility Policy requires compliance with the WCAG 2.0 level AA standards for all web-based information, but an update is in progress to change the policy standard to WCAG 2.1 level AA to align with federal accessibility regulations before they take effect. You can view standards and best practices on the UCOP website on electronic accessibility.
Campus Partners
Disability and Computing Programs
The mission of UCLA’s Disabilities and Computing Program at the Office of Advanced Research Computing is two-fold. The first goal is to facilitate the integration of adaptive computing technology into the areas of instruction, study, research, and employment at UCLA. The second goal is to make information – including electronic text and multimedia – accessible to all students, faculty and staff.
Digital & Technology Solutions
DTS is the central IT department at UCLA and is home to the Bruin Learn Center of Excellence (CoE). DTS provides support to instructors on digital technology broadly and CoE supports course instruction through the learning management system, Bruin Learn.
Center for Accessible Education
The mission of the Center for Accessible Education (CAE) is to create an accessible, inclusive, and supportive learning environment. Through a collaborative effort with faculty, staff, and students, the CAE facilitates academic accommodations, disability advocacy, and serves as an educational resource for the campus community.