Use this guide to decide how to address digital accessibility issues. This is a decision tree—ask these questions to ensure you know whether your digital item needs to be fixed, the most efficient way to fix it, and what to do after you’ve completed your work.
Step One: Decide if the item needs to be accessible.
The Department of Justice’s Final Rule on Digital Accessibility applies to (1) digital content that is (2) used by one or more people besides yourself.
Do you intend to ever share your item digitally with one or more people? If so, it needs to be accessible as defined by the WCAG 2.1 AA standard.
If your item no longer receives active use and will not be used again in the future, you may archive it instead of working to make it accessible.
Step Two: Determine if the item is already accessible by using available accessibility checkers.
Most tools you use should have an accessibility checker built in. For example, all Microsoft 365 desktop programs include an accessibility checker, Canvas has two available for different purposes, and email tools like Outlook include one as well.
- Available in all Microsoft Products: Check accessibility while you work in Office apps – Microsoft Support
- Available in Adobe Acrobat: Create and verify PDF accessibility using Acrobat Pro
- Available in Canvas:
- Available for checking websites: WebAIM WAVE browser plugin
Step Three: Consider whether to repair accessibility issues in your item or find an alternative resource.
If your item has a few accessibility issues, it may be quick to fix them. If your item has many accessibility issues, resolving them may be very time-consuming. Ask yourself these questions before attempting to edit the item to resolve the issues.
Can I replace this item with accessible content that is already available?
Is the same information already available in another way that is digitally accessible?
If the item is a document, is this information already available on a UW web page or as a library resource?
Can I recreate the item in a simpler, more accessible format?
If the item is a document, can its content be conveyed as a web resource instead, like a website page, or Canvas page? Web formats are typically the easiest to make accessible, and Word documents are easier to make accessible than PDFs. In some cases, it may be simpler to start over and recreate the item from the ground up. For example, if you have a PDF created from scanned book pages with many accessibility issues, recreating it in Canvas or Word may take less time than fixing those issues in Acrobat.
If the answer to the two questions above is “no,” fix the accessibility issues in your existing document.
Start by applying any changes your accessibility checker suggests. For additional guidance on how to identify and resolve accessibility issues, please refer to CATL’s “Essentials of Accessibility for Faculty and Staff” Canvas course or the blog post “10 Dos and Don’ts of Digital Accessibility.”
Step Four: My item is now digitally accessible. Are there any final steps to complete?
Distribute the accessible version of your item. Make sure everyone who might also share this resource is aware that the old copy is out of date and not digitally accessible, and that they should only use the new version going forward.
If you’re fixing an item used in Canvas, make sure you remove the old version from all active courses using it and replace it with the new version. This is particularly important when teaching multiple sections of the same course or when various instructors in a department use the same course design. Remember to update any versions of the item in your sandbox courses as well, or, for sandbox courses you will no longer use, add “Archived” to the course name so that you won’t accidentally reuse its outdated resources.
Make sure to archive your old copy in a way that ensures you don’t accidentally use it in the future. Consider adding “Archived” to the filename or title of the old version, and ensure that it is no longer published online.
How do I get help?
Please start by searching for solutions using online documentation for the program you’re using. For example, search the product’s official documentation, like Microsoft Support for Office 365 programs or Instructure’s Canvas Guides directory for issues in Canvas.
If you need assistance, different support teams may be able to help.
- If you need help with a Microsoft 365 item (Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, Outlook email) not used in Canvas, please submit a GBIT Service Desk ticket or visit the Service Desk in person.
- If the issue is in Canvas, contact Canvas Support (we recommend the “Chat” option) available from the “Help” menu in Canvas.
- For all other digital accessibility questions regarding issues outside of Canvas, please submit a GBIT Service Desk ticket or visit the Service Desk in person.
Quick Reference and Printable Digital Accessibility Checklist
There are common accessibility errors you can avoid every time you create digital content once you become aware of them. Read UW-Madison’s Digital Accessibility Fundamentals page to help you “keep track of the core principles of accessibility while creating and editing digital resources.”
Visit UW-Madison’s “Make It Accessible” page for more information about digital accessibility.
Need More Information?
UW-Superior has published several useful guides on digital accessibility on their KnowledgeBase site:
- Digital Accessibility – How to Emphasize Text
- Canvas – Introduction to the UDOIT Cloud Accessibility Tool
- Canvas – How to Use the UDOIT Digital Accessibility Tool
- Canvas – How to Make a Canvas Course Accessible
- UDOIT – How to Resolve Link Errors
- UDOIT – How to Resolve Image Alternative Text Errors
You can also search LinkedIn Learning for training videos on your product’s accessibility features.
If you need additional support or would like to talk with someone about working through this decision tree, please reach out to CATL (catl@uwgb.edu) or request a CATL consultation.
Acknowledgements
This article was adapted, with permission, from the Digital Accessibility Troubleshooting Guide on the UW-Superior KnowledgeBase website.