Make Accessible Course Materials

Truman strives to remove barriers to learning in such a way that course materials, activities, and interactions are accessible to all, and in the event that barriers can’t be adequately removed, that accommodations are appropriately afforded.

Truman uses the guidelines from Universal Design for Learning, Quality Matters, and the Worldwide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1, Level AA) to inform our practices.

Get Started

Using the principles from those three main entities, we have developed a quick guide to this complex subject. We encourage faculty to use the following tips to get started in creating accessible content.

  1. Design and layout of webpages, handouts, Brightspace modules, and other course materials should be easy to use, navigate, or read.
  2. Ensure that text and images are accessible – which typically means the information is available in multiple formats.
    • Action Items –
      • Make sure images (including graphs and formulas) are alt-tagged, have long descriptions, or audio descriptions.
      • Tables are set up using in-application tools and text and not as images in web pages and Blackboard content.
      • Do not use only text color or underlining for meaning.
      • Ensure that PDFs are not “scanned images” of text, but that the text is selectable and searchable.
  3. Ensure that multimedia content can be accessed and interacted with by all learners.
    • Action Items –
      • Provide text versions of multimedia which are easily and readily available.
        • Transcripts for lectures
        • Closed-captioning for demonstrations
      • Multimedia content must work/play and be audible or of sufficient resolution to be understandable
      • It should be interoperable across typical devices/platforms
      • Controls are available to start and stop playback
      • Clips are of short duration (~15 min) or, if longer – are searchable
      • Multimedia should be used to support learning outcomes and not merely as decoration or distraction.
  4. Provide links to the VAS (Vendor Accessibility Statements) for each required technology used in a course.
    • Action Item –
      • If you require students to use a particular technology, e.g. Poll Everywhere or SPSS, you must list those technologies and provide a link to the VAS statements within your course/syllabus.
      • To facilitate this – link to Truman’s full list of accessibility & privacy statements. Note – if you don’t see your chosen software/application on this list, please contact the Learning Technologies Team to begin the appropriate research and approval process.

Important Campus Resources for Faculty

We also encourage faculty to reach out to support staff with questions, and to delve into the research from UDL, QM, and WCAG in order to continue to refine and update content to improve accessibility for all learners.

For More Information, visit: