Accessibility FAQs

Accessibility Guidelines

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a law that bans discrimination against people with disabilities. The ADA has several sections including 504 and 508 that directly impact higher education and online courses.  The ADA standards address access for people with physical and mental disabilities.

What does accessible mean?  The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights defines accessible this way:

"Accessible means a person with a disability is afforded the opportunity to acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services as a person without a disability in an equally effective and equally integrated manner, with substantially equivalent ease of use. The person with a disability must be able to obtain the information as fully, equally, and independently as a person without a disability.” https://www.ed.gov/media/document/11116002-bpdf-21699.pdf

As you create your online course, be aware that all content should be fully accessible for all students.  Files and documents should be formatted to meet accessibility guidelines.  Multimedia or videos should include a transcript or closed captioning.  Course pages should be designed using a clear, consistent layout.  If you use external webpages or other resources, it is your responsibility to ensure that they meet accessibility requirements.

Reference

OCR Resolution Agreement. (nd). Retrieved from: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/investigations/11116002-b.html

Additional Accessibility Resources

For a more detailed look at creating accessible content, see the Accessibility's 101 Overview page.