The UCLA Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) and our campus partners are working to enhance digital accessibility resources for instructors to elevate all students’ learning and align with UCLA and UC commitments to inclusive excellence. Additionally, 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).
Practicing digital accessibility involves creating online content that allows everyone to access and engage with instructional materials, including those who use assistive technology. To meet these upcoming guidelines, those teaching at UCLA may need to adjust their course materials so that all students can access and understand them. Our digital accessibility guides provide detailed instructions to help make your materials accessible. Learn about document heading structure, descriptive links, accessible slides, color contrast, adding alt text, captioning and transcripts, and more.
Learn more about making your course accessible
More Resources and Training
Training Events from UCLA Disabilities and Computing Program (DCP)
The UCLA Disabilities and Computing Program (DCP) provides in-depth resources to the UCLA community on digital accessibility. They offer Zoom trainings throughout the fall on topics including digital accessibility basics, digital accessibility testing, and more. See the full list of options and register on the DCP events page.
Online Training Module in Bruin Learn
This course provides detailed guidance to help UCLA instructors 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 accessibility. Self-enroll in the online module in Bruin Learn.
Using the Bruin Learn Ally Tool
The Ally tool makes Bruin Learn content more accessible by generating alternate formats of class material, such as electronic Braille, audio, or HTML. It also indicates the accessibility level of documents uploaded to Bruin Learn and provides feedback on improving their accessibility. Learn about Ally.
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.