Ten (10) Key Practices for Designing Accessible Course Materials

Creating accessible course content ensures that all students, regardless of ability, can engage fully with your materials. The following practices offer a clear starting point for faculty members seeking to enhance accessibility in their courses.

Include Required Accessibility Statements

A Syllabus Statement that includes information about Academic Accommodations and Learning Technologies available to all students. These statements communicate your commitment to accessibility and guide students to available resources.

Use Semantic Structure for Clarity and Navigation

• Always use heading styles to organize content: Title, Section Headings, Subsections. Creating headings by bolding and/or increasing font size is not accessible.
• Use bold (strong) and italics (emphasis) through structural styles—not manual formatting.
• Include a Table of Contents and, if applicable, a Table of Figures, both generated from heading styles.
• Format lists, columns, and tables using built-in tools—avoid using tabs or spaces to simulate structure. Never insert a picture of lists, columns, or tables, as these are not considered accessible and cannot interact with screen readers.
• Proper semantic formatting improves readability and compatibility with screen readers, ensuring access for blind/low vision users and individuals with other print disabilities.

Enhance Readability

• Break up long paragraphs into shorter sections
• Use clear, concise language and avoid overly complex sentences
• Choose an ADA-compliant font at 12-point size or larger for optimal legibility

Provide Text Descriptions for Visual Elements

Add ALT text, a brief (under 100 characters) text description of images and graphics, which is a critical part of making content accessible to students using screen readers. If more detail is needed, include a long description in the surrounding text or as a separate document. Image Accessibility tools can be found online.

Avoid Relying Solely on Color

• Color should never be the only method used to convey meaning
• Always pair color with text, symbols, or patterns to ensure understanding for students with color vision deficiencies

Ensure Adequate Color Contrast

• Make sure there is a strong contrast between text and background elements. (Online Contrast Checker)
• Avoid backgrounds that distract from or obscure the content—especially in slides and web pages

Use Descriptive Hyperlinks

• Hyperlink text should clearly describe the destination
• Instead of vague phrases like "Click here" or "Email me," use meaningful labels such as: "Visit the Writing Center Website" or "Download the Course Syllabus (PDF)"
• Avoid typing out entire URLs (raw URLs) unless necessary

Run Accessibility Checks

• Most software tools (Word, PowerPoint, Adobe Acrobat, etc.) include built-in accessibility checkers
• Use them regularly and follow the suggested fixes to address any issues

Make Multimedia Content Accessible

• Audio-only: A written transcript
• Video-only: A text-based description of key visual elements
• Audio + Video: Closed captions, transcript, and video description
• Tip: You can combine the transcript and video description into a single accessible document

Continue Learning and Improving

These practices offer a strong foundation, but accessibility is an ongoing journey. For further guidance, explore resources such as:

• Microsoft Accessibility Support
• Broward College Ally webpage
• Broward College Instructional Design webpage

Download Accessible Course Materials Guide (PDF)

Digital course materials refer to any files or content shared through online platforms, such as Learning Management Systems (e.g., D2L or Canvas), email, websites, or social media. These materials may include Microsoft Word documents, PDFs, PowerPoint presentations, and other file types.

To ensure access for all students, especially those using assistive technologies like screen readers, keyboard navigation, or text-to-speech tools, it is essential that both text and visual elements in these documents are made accessible. Designing with accessibility in mind supports universal learning and enables all students to engage effectively with course content.

Document Design Tips for Faculty

• Check Before You Scan: Before scanning books, articles, or journals to create a PDF, take a moment to search online. Many academic resources are already available in accessible digital formats.
• Avoid Image-Only PDFs: Ensure that any PDF you share contains selectable, searchable text. If you cannot highlight or copy the text, it is likely an image and not accessible to screen readers.
• Start with Accessible Source Files: Create your documents in programs like Microsoft Word or PowerPoint and use their built-in accessibility checkers before converting to PDF.
• Prefer Word Files Over PDFs When Possible: Word documents often retain accessibility features better than PDFs and are easier to navigate with assistive technology.
• Use Proper Heading Styles: Apply heading styles (Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.) rather than just bold or enlarged text. This helps screen readers understand the structure of your content.
• Structure Lists with Built-In Tools: Use the bullet and numbered list features in your editor instead of manually typing symbols or numbers.
• Maintain Logical Heading Order: Follow a clear hierarchy: Heading 1 for titles, followed by Heading 2, Heading 3, and so on, just like an outline.
• Add Descriptive Alt Text to Visuals: Every image, chart, or diagram should include alternative text that describes its purpose and content.
• Write Clear, Informative Link Text: Avoid vague phrases like "click here" or pasting full URLs. Instead, use meaningful descriptions like "Download the syllabus" or "View assignment guidelines."
• Ensure Strong Color Contrast: Use color combinations that are easy to read for everyone, including those with color vision deficiencies. Tools like contrast checkers can help.
• Do Not Rely on Color Alone: Use bold text, symbols, or labels in addition to color to convey meaning or emphasis.
• Underline Only for Links: Avoid underlining text for emphasis — this can confuse users who associate underlines with hyperlinks.
• Use Built-In Accessibility Checkers: Most authoring tools (like Word, PowerPoint, and Ally in D2L) include accessibility checkers. Use them to catch and fix issues before sharing materials.
  Use Equatio for Equations: When creating math content, use MathML or other accessible formats to ensure compatibility with screen readers.

Under this section, please include the following data. For this section, I would like it to be a collapsible tab; otherwise, it might be information overload.

When incorporating video or audio into your course—whether it is a recorded lecture, an embedded YouTube clip, or a podcast—it is essential to ensure that all students can access the material.
Videos should include accurate closed captions, and audio-only content should be accompanied by a written transcript. This supports not only students with hearing impairments or approved accommodations, but also benefits those learning in noisy environments, non-native English speakers, and anyone who prefers to read along.

Captions and transcripts should reflect the spoken content verbatim, including punctuation, and should aim for at least 99% accuracy to ensure clarity and comprehension.

By providing captions and transcripts, you are enhancing the learning experience for everyone and aligning your materials with accessibility best practices.

Video and Audio Accessibility Guidelines for Faculty

To support students with approved accommodations and to enhance learning for all, both live and recorded media must be accessible.

Live Zoom Sessions
If you are hosting real-time classes or meetings via Zoom, ensure that live captions are enabled when students require captioning or transcription services. For help setting this up, reach out to your campus accessibility coordinator/AT Specialist.

Recorded Lectures
All pre-recorded instructional videos must include closed captions to meet accessibility standards. This ensures that students who rely on captions can fully engage with your content.

Using External Videos
When embedding or linking to videos (such as from YouTube or other platforms), choose content that already includes accurate captions. Here are a few ways to find accessible videos:

• Google Search: Add terms like +closed captions or +transcript to your search.
• YouTube: After searching, click the Filter option and select Subtitles/CC to narrow results to captioned videos.
• Streaming Platforms: Some services, like Netflix or Amazon, may offer captioned versions for rent or purchase.
• Educational Sites: Platforms like TED Talks and Khan Academy typically provide high-quality captions.
• Review and Edit Captions

If you are using auto-generated captions (common in YouTube, Panopto, and Zoom), always review them for accuracy. Captions should be word-for-word, properly punctuated, and at least 99% accurate to ensure clarity.

Academic Accommodations

Broward College is committed to fostering a learning environment that supports all students. Any student seeking academic accommodations due to a disability should either use the QR code on the right to begin the registration process or contact the office on your primary campus as soon as possible.

If approved, and in accordance with Broward College Policy 6Hx2-5.09 (PDF), it is the student's responsibility to approve delivery of their accommodation plan to each instructor they so choose. Accommodations are not retroactive. Students who wait until after completing the course or an activity to request accommodations should not expect any grade to be changed, or to be able to retake the course or activity.

Assistive Technologies (AT) are available for students with disabilities who are registered with the Accessibility Resources office. All registered students are encouraged to go through an AT assessment as early as possible.

Learning Technologies for all Students

Read&Write is a powerful set of reading and writing tools available to all students that supports the ways we think, work, and learn, including reading text out loud, understanding unfamiliar words, researching assignments, creating outlines and study guides, and proofing written work.

Ally is a tool that is embedded into all D2L courses and websites, which is available to all students. Ally can convert electronic text into alternative formats such as MP3 files and readable PDFs at the click of a button.

Accessible design is good design. Create your content/space with accessibility in mind, and everyone benefits.

Professional Development credit opportunities are available via My Learning > Browse Learning Content > Accessibility

LinkedIn Learning (Accessible through My Learning)

• Creating Accessible PDFs
• Advanced Accessible PDFs