New federal regulations require the University to meet accessibility standards for all web content and mobile applications by April 24, 2027. This means that instructional materials provided via the web or mobile apps will need to be accessible. The below provides: (1) information about resources currently available to assist you in making your course materials accessible; (2) additional resources we anticipate coming online in the very near future; and (3) tips for getting started.
Have a question about this accessibility mandate?
Check the Letters and Science FAQ page here:
https://ucdavis.box.com/s/egzk19haqyja47dzhmftac2scml0jahu
Submit additional questions to [email protected].
Campus Digital Accessibility Website
This website is the main collection point for information and resources about the digital accessibility mandate and should be considered the authoritative source of this information:
https://accessibility.ucdavis.edu/digital
Center for Educational Effectiveness - Accessibility Toolkit for Instructors
CEE has published a toolkit with step-by-step guidance for creating or updating accessible course materials:
https://cee.ucdavis.edu/accessibility-toolkit-for-instructors
Other Available Tools and Resources for Digital Accessibility
The information below summarizes the current state:
What’s available now
Many tools are already available to help you make your course materials compliant, including:
- Canvas Accessibility Checker
Canvas has a built-in accessibility checker that will identify accessibility issues in your course materials and walk you through remediation options. See Getting Started with the Canvas Accessibility Checker for more information. Enhanced content will be available February 21. - SensusAccess
The Sensus Access tool built into Canvas can help you produce any document in a Canvas shell as an accessible PDF, HTML, Word, or MP3 file, among others. See Learn to enable SensusAccess on AggieVideo for more information. - AggieVideo
AggieVideo uses Kaltura, a YouTube-like video management portal, that helps create, upload, edit, store, and stream accessible videos. ServiceHub provides steps to get started with AggieVideo. - Automated Meeting Captions
Both Zoom and Microsoft Teams meetings provide automated captions for virtual meetings. Check out IET’s knowledge base article on Zoom Automated captions, and Microsoft’s instructions on using captions in Teams meetings. - Siteimprove
For websites, Siteimprove provides automated accessibility scores and guides you through fixing recurring issues. Send an email to [email protected] to get your website enrolled on Siteimprove. - CPE Accessibility Toolkit
CPE has developed an accessibility toolkit for its partners to create accessible training materials, including templates, guidance and tutorials for various digital platforms. - Digital Access Q&A
The Digital Accessibility Program Manager hosts Digital Access Q&A Wednesdays at 1:00 PM. Meeting links and up-to-date schedules can be found on the Digital Accessiblity website. - UCOP Resources
The UC Office of the President provides standards, best practices, and recommended guidelines for digital accessibility, including an eCourse Accessibility Checklist on the UCOP Electronic Accessibility website.
Please note: many of these tools rely on automated remediation processes to minimize the amount of editing required. That said, you will need to review automated content for accuracy.
What’s on the way
In the coming months you can expect:
- Comprehensive Canvas LMS Scanner
We are in the process of evaluating accessibility scanning tools for Canvas. Once installed, this tool will provide digital accessibility scores for each course and walk you through raising these scores by remediating your course materials. - Automated or Assisted PDF Tool
We also aim to provide an automated or assisted PDF remediation process that will allow us to work at scale, and take the bulk of manual editing off your shoulders. These tools save an estimated 75-90% of remediation work, and streamline remaining processes to further save time and resources. - Generative AI
UC Davis already has a number of AI tools available at Aggie AI. We are in the process of developing workflows and recommendations to use Microsoft Copilot, Google Notebook LM, and/or ChatGPT to scan inaccessible files and generate compliant Word or HTML documents. - A11y Helpdesk
We will be establishing an A11y Helpdesk to provide guidance and ongoing support in all areas of accessibility. Once hired and trained, student staff will provide technical support, hands-on training, and troubleshooting in support of staff and faculty remediation efforts. - Training Opportunities
We are in the process of identifying, consolidating, and developing new role-based training opportunities. This will include hands-on training with instructional designers and digital accessibility specialists, one-time intensive workshops, and self-paced modules you can return to as needed.
How can you get started?
This process is both a sprint between now and April, and a marathon to build accessibility into our content creation and maintenance processes. As we develop support and workflows for the marathon, there is plenty you can do now to improve the accessibility of your materials.
- Focus on Spring Quarter Content
The regulations take effect on April 24, 2026. By using tools and features already available in Canvas, and prioritizing Spring Quarter content, you can make a big difference in the accessibility of your coursework, and the experiences of students with disabilities. - Evaluate PDFs
This is a good time to review and evaluate the PDFs you regularly use. Most PDFs originate as another file type, and the export process can cause accessibility issues. For each PDF you’re preparing for student use, consider if it can be replaced with a link to the original source (like third party news articles) or the file it was originally exported from (often a Google Doc, Word Doc, or PowerPoint file). Using the original file is usually more accessible than the exported PDF, and almost always easier to remediate. - Attend a Zoom Training
Zoom training sessions are available on the Digital Accessibility Training web page. These sessions are an opportunity to get step-by-step demonstrations of how to create and remediate digital content, including Word and Google Docs, PowerPoint and Google Slide decks, and video captions in AggieVideo and YouTube. - Archive/Delete Content
If you are not actively using content, you can archive and move it to a space clearly dedicated to archived content. You can accomplish this in Canvas by unpublishing the content. Archived or deleted content is exempt from the regulations. However, if you reuse the content, it must be made accessible.