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University of Nebraska Medical Center

ADA Title II Guidelines

Digital Accessibility for Course Content 

We have compiled checklists and resources for faculty members to aid in changing or creating course content that meets federal accessibility requirements. 

Checklist for Faculty 

  • Review the New Rule: Become familiar with the new rule and raise awareness about it and its requirements within your unit. 

  • Complete the  Title II and What It Means for You training in Nebraska Bridge. 

  • Audit Digital Content: Review and update all online content, including course materials and public webpages, to eliminate outdated or redundant information and pages.  Reduce the use of external documents by integrating content into web pages wherever possible.  This will shrink the footprint of content that needs to be remediated to meet digital accessibility standards. 

  • Update Forms: Replace PDF forms and other non-accessible webforms with forms created through a compliant platform. Use accessibility checkers on existing webforms. 

  • Update online documents with accessible versions, following these WebAim instructions: Acrobat/PDF and Word/PowerPoint documents. Consider moving content to a webpage rather than linking to a document. 

  • Practice Accessibility: Learn more about accessibility and practice your skills 

Canvas Accessibility Checklist

Add captions and transcripts with Echo360 transcript editor, and Yuja auto-captions and transcripts. 
Ensure color contrast between text and its background meets requirements. Use a color-contrast checker. Choose UNMC brand-compliant colors. 

Include alt text to help those using screen readers understand an image. Alt text should be no more than 120 characters but must include all the information a fully sighted user gleans from the image. Use a caption if more than 120 characters are needed. Do not use “image of” or “photo of” wording.  Tutorials: 

Use simple sentences, dividing large blocks of text into smaller sections to aid text readability. Employ scannable text for both eyes and ears. 
  • Use accessibility checkers to ensure documents are accessible. 
  •  Before creating a document, consider placing the content on a Canvas page or using the original file format. 
  • Before creating a PDF, start with a Word document, then export as a PDF. Evaluate Word and PowerPoint accessibility and PDF accessibility. 
  • Share PDFs with “view only” access or direct uploads. 
  • Consider survey software for forms. 
  • Link journal articles using online links. Use UNMC McGoogan Library OER or Journal links. 

Content Structure

When creating Word or Canvas pages, break up content using required headline nesting, with the headings found in the Styles pane. Microsoft Quick Styles. 
Use the UNMC design theme for formatting in Word and PowerPoint. UNMC templates. 
Use bullets for ordered and unordered lists rather than using the spacebar or tab. Use tables when necessary to organize data. Bullets and accessibility. 
Use linear and logical layouts. 
  • Use descriptive text for links. Avoid “find it here,” “more information,” “read more,” “continue” and “email me.” 
  • When designing a document to be printed, include the full URL and the full email address. 
  • If a URL is long, consider using the UNMC’s link-shortening tool, Go URL.