Six Steps to Incorporating Accessibility
Step 1 Identify job impact.
Start by recognizing how accessibility relates to your role. Consider the ways you create, manage, or share digital content and identify where accessibility requirements apply. This may include websites, documents, course materials, emails, or software tools. Understanding your level of involvement helps you focus your efforts where they will have the greatest impact.
Step 2 Learn foundational concepts.
Develop an understanding of the core principles of digital accessibility. This includes learning how users with different abilities interact with technology and how accessibility standards apply across platforms. A strong foundation will help you make informed decisions when creating or reviewing digital content. The previous step will help guide you through concepts that pertain to your role within the organization.
Step 3 Adopt best practices.
Begin applying accessibility best practices in your daily work. This includes using proper heading structure, adding alternative text to images, ensuring sufficient color contrast, and creating content that can be navigated by keyboard. Incorporating these practices early helps prevent barriers and improves overall content quality. Remember that there are people behind our processes, with our end goal being improving access for everyone, not just striving for compliance.
Step 4 Update content and technologies.
Review your existing digital resources and prioritize updates to materials that are frequently used or publicly available. Address common accessibility issues and consider whether older tools or content should be updated, replaced, or removed. Focusing on high-impact areas helps improve access more quickly. Don’t forget to review the degree of accessibility compliance for technology tools and products your unit utilizes.
Step 5 Adjust processes
Integrate accessibility into your regular workflows. This may include adding accessibility checks to content reviews, using accessible templates, or building accessibility into project planning. Establishing consistent processes helps ensure that accessibility is maintained over time rather than addressed only as needed.
Step 6 Monitor progress.
Accessibility is an ongoing effort. Regularly review your content and processes to ensure they continue to meet accessibility expectations. Track improvements, identify new areas for enhancement, and stay informed about evolving standards and tools.
Curated Training and Resources
Find accessibility training and resources curated for different roles.
To deliver accessible course content, faculty have access to specific tools, teams and step-by-step “how-tos” that offer real-time support.
Guiding the daily efforts of many to create and distribute accessible content, a series of step-by-step “how-tos”, frequently used tools and other resources are available.
Recognizing this is about more than just turning in accessible content, students can grow in their capabilities and knowledge base for the future with these resources.