Making Your Course Accessible
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
The Teaching and Learning Center (TLC), Bruin Learn Center of Excellence (CoE), Disabilities and Computing Program (DCP), and additional campus partners are working to enhance our digital accessibility resources for instructors in alignment with UCLA and UC commitments to inclusive excellence. The U.S. Department of Justice has mandated that state and local government institutions, including UCLA, meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards by April 24, 2026, to ensure compliance with accessibility laws and regulations (see final rule). To meet these guidelines, instructors may need to adjust some course materials for digital accessibility, such as adding alternate text to images, confirming that captions or transcripts are available for video and audio content, and ensuring documents such as PDFs are shared in a format that all students can access and understand. Making course materials accessible supports the university’s ongoing commitment to elevate teaching and create learning environments where all students can thrive.
The following video provides an introduction to why digital accessibility matters in the college classroom and how instructors can proactively remove digital barriers.
Making Courses Digitally Accessible
The following are a few examples of steps instructors can take to begin to make your course materials digitally accessible:
- Heading Structure: Rather than increasing text size or formatting text to indicate headings, use the built-in heading tools in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Bruin Learn.
- Descriptive Links: Create concise and clear hyperlinks that indicate where the link will direct the user, or the file that it will open. Links to websites should be set to open in the same window, not a new window.
- Images with Alt-Text: Ensure that all images have alt-text added that describes the image concisely and in a helpful manner. Indicate when images are decorative only. For more complex data visualizations provide descriptions in text and link to data tables when possible.
- Media: Videos should be uploaded into Bruin Learn in order to apply captioning via Kaltura, UCLA’s media management system. Check all auto-generated captions and transcriptions for accuracy and edit if needed.
- Color Contrast & Fonts: High contrast color selection and san serif fonts are easier to view and support accessibility for individuals with dyslexia or low vision.
- Tables: Use headers for columns and rows. Tables are for data representation only (not for styling pages).
- Delete Old Files: Remove or delete course files that you are no longer using from your course in Bruin Learn.
Get Training and Support
This guide provides an introduction on how to improve accessibility of digital materials in your courses.
UCLA’s Disabilities and Computing Programs and Bruin Learn Center of Excellence offer training over Zoom on various topics related to digital accessibility.
Instructors can contact Bruin Learn for assistance or to set up a consultation.
This six-week facilitated program helps instructors update course materials in advance of the quarter they are planning to teach.
This LinkedIn Learning module from the UC Office of the President demonstrates practical strategies to create accessible course materials.
Detailed guidance on how to make digital materials accessible for teaching and learning.
This pilot UC Online-funded grant project aims to cultivate a collaborative learning community around accessibility, disability justice, and Universal Design for Learning.
Learn How to Make Course Materials Accessible
Accessibility Check: Sourcing Course Readings for Accessibility
- Work with the UCLA library to find accessible versions of your course readings.
- When downloading articles from a journal (publisher website), view the different formats available. Sometimes the default is the smallest file size, but not fully accessible. Once downloaded, use the accessibility checker in Adobe.
- If needed, contact the publisher and request an accessible version.
- When saving PDFs, do NOT save using the “print” feature. This creates a flattened image-like version that is not accessible. Instead, use “File” –> “Save As”.
- Remove duplicate or outdated course materials from your Bruin Learn Course site. All inaccessible files in Bruin Learn impact accessibility metrics for your course and UCLA.
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.
Are you an instructor with a disability? Connect with the UCLA Disability Management Office for resources, and visit the TLC’s Instructor Wellbeing Initiative webpage for additional campus support.