Digital Accessibility

In April 2024, the Department of Justice published a new rule on digital accessibility under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This new regulation mandates that public entities provide fully accessible digital content by April 24, 2026. (Note: This deadline has been extended.)

MCLI is supporting Maricopa’s Accessibility Plan Task Force to provide resources to ensure that Maricopa Community Colleges remain in compliance with the new accessibility regulations. The resources below are focused on assisting faculty in developing or revising digital course materials that are accessible.

If you have specific questions about making your course materials accessible, please contact your College's Center for Teaching and Learning and/or Disability Resources Services.

Self-paced Microdevelopment Courses

To support our faculty in creating accessible course materials and meeting the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) compliance deadline of April 24, 2026, we are offering self-paced microdevelopment courses in Canvas. These short, focused learning opportunities are designed to help you develop the skills necessary to ensure your course content is accessible to all learners.

Each microdevelopment emphasizes a specific aspect of accessibility, such as using styles, formatting tables, creating readable content, adding alternative text for images, and improving color contrast, making it easy to learn at your own pace and immediately implement best practices in your courses.

How to Self-Enroll in Canvas:

  1. Select the microdevelopment(s) you wish to join.
  2. Click on the specific microdevelopment Self-Enroll link (see below).
  3. Click Enroll and then Go to Course to get started. (If you are not already logged into Canvas, you might be asked to log in.)

These resources will guide you step-by-step to ensure your materials meet accessibility standards well before the compliance deadline. At the end of some modules, you will find a quiz where you can test your knowledge.

If you need assistance accessing these modules, please email [email protected]

The Course Materials Subcommittee has created this Priority Checklist for Accessible Course Materials for your review to help you determine what to focus on first, as well as the core accessibility elements for you to review and revise in your courses.

Creating readable content for all users involves thoughtful typography, color, layout, and formatting to make information accessible to various visual, cognitive, and reading abilities. Good, readable content reduces cognitive load, enhances comprehension, and ensures that everyone can access and understand your information, regardless of their abilities or the assistive technology they use.

Using styles in documents and web pages is more than just formatting—it’s essential for accessibility. Styles offer structure, consistency, and meaning, aiding navigation and understanding. Correctly applied, they improve readability, support assistive tech like screen readers, and ensure content is inclusive and standards-compliant.

Tables organize data clearly and are useful for comparisons, schedules, and more. Properly used, they improve comprehension for all, including assistive technology users. However, tables should not serve design purposes like aligning text and images, as this renders them inaccessible. If not coded for accessibility, tables can hinder users dependent on screen readers or keyboard navigation. 

Images enhance course content and the student experience, but they pose accessibility challenges for users with disabilities, especially those using assistive technology. Creating accessible images requires understanding alternative text, selecting suitable formats, and considering context.

Making multimedia course content accessible ensures all students, including those with disabilities, can fully engage with materials. Providing captions, transcripts, and audio descriptions meets legal requirements, supports diverse learning styles, improves comprehension, and fosters inclusivity. Accessible content benefits all learners by increasing flexibility and usability.

Making course materials accessible is simplified with built-in accessibility checkers. These tools help identify and fix common barriers, ensuring documents, presentations, and online content are more accessible in meeting standards.

YuJa Panorama is an accessibility tool that integrates directly with our Canvas learning management system. It automatically scans course content, identifies accessibility issues, and provides guidance and alternative formats for students and faculty. The tool also provides students with alternative formats for accessing your course content.

Several guides and videos have been produced on using 

Improving Access Blog Posts

Throughout the academic year, we are publishing blog posts focusing on improving the accessibility of your courses. Our goal is for accessibility to shift from meeting external requirements to ensuring every student has an opportunity to learn and participate fully.