Accessible Course Design

Accessibility is proactive, accommodation is reactive. Creating accessible course content will save time in the long run. Accessible content improves the learning experience for all students, not just individuals with disabilities, as it meets the needs of a variety of learning preferences. As accessibility exists on a spectrum, there is always room to improve.

As you design and develop your online course, you'll want to make sure that your course navigation facilitates ease of use—in other words, students of all abilities can access all course modules, pages, links, and downloads. In addition, your course should provide alternative means of access to course materials in order to meet the needs of diverse learners. This includes providing alternative text for images, accompanying videos with closed captions or transcripts, and ensuring that all text is searchable so it can be detected by screen readers.

You'll also want to include information about the accessibility of your course. This includes the course materials and technologies students are expected to use, an accommodations statement that explains how students with disabilities can obtain accommodations from Student Accessibility Services (SAS), and how students can access alternative formats of materials using Ally.

Best Practice: Create text alternatives for audio/visual content within the first week of your course content so that if a student who requires accommodation enrolls in your course they will not fall behind while captions, transcripts, or other means of access are being created for the remainder of the course.

For more best practices and resources, visit CIRT's Canvas Accessibility page and the Faculty & Staff Resources page on the SAS website.

Student Accessibility Services at UNF

At the University of North Florida, Student Accessibility Services (SAS) is responsible for providing accommodations for students with diagnosed disabilities. These accommodations may include but are not limited to extended testing time, transcripts for audio or video presentations, and audio-for-text materials.

Some students may need appropriate accommodation as required by disability laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), in order to complete their coursework. Students who seek reasonable accommodations must first register with SAS and then present their instructor with a current Letter of Accommodations (provided by SAS) that states allowed accommodations for the student.

CIRT is working with SAS to streamline the process of faculty notification when a student requiring an accommodation enrolls in their course and developing a more systematic approach to accessibility in online courses at UNF.