What is Digital Accessibility?
Digital accessibility standards provide guidelines for creating content, tools, and technology that anyone can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with, regardless of ability. Users with certain disabilities may rely on assistive technologies, such as screen readers or speech-to-text tools, to interact with digital content. To work properly though, these assistive tools require digital content to meet certain technical accessibility standards. When digital content does not meet these standards, it creates a barrier to information and can negatively impact a person’s daily life.
Adopting digital accessibility best practices not only supports users with disabilities and those who rely on assistive technologies, but it also increases usability for all users. For example, using clear headings and descriptive link text in a document enhances comprehension for everyone.
What are the Legal Requirements for Digital Accessibility at UWGB?
In 2024, the Department of Justice published their final rule for Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This update defined Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Version 2.1, Level AA as the technical standard for the accessibility of web content and mobile apps. Public universities are required to meet these accessibility standards by Spring 2026. This includes not only university public websites and mobile apps, but also digital courses materials.
At UW-Green Bay, accessibility isn’t just a legal obligation. It’s a shared commitment to equity, innovation, and inclusive learning. Meeting these standards may involve some changes to how we design and share content, but they can be implemented in manageable steps, and CATL is here to support you throughout the process.
CATL regularly shares tips in our Teach Tuesday e-newsletter on how you can make accessible design a regular part of your workflow. This page brings those tips together so you can revisit them anytime or catch up on anything you’ve missed. Each tip includes practical, actionable steps to make your digital materials more accessible.
Explore the Topics Below to Learn More
- Using Formatted Lists (Canvas/Documents)
- Reviewing Scanned PDFs and Using Optical Character Recognition
- Adding and Editing Closed Captions for Videos (Media)
- Creating Accessible and Meaningful Links
- Adding Formatted Headings and Using Them Correctly (Canvas/Documents)
- Creating Accessible Tables (Canvas/Documents)
- Adding Alternative Text to Images (Canvas/Documents)
Further Accessibility Training
Ready to dive deeper into digital accessibility? Essentials of Accessibility for Faculty and Staff is a free, self-paced, online course that will teach you the basics of digital accessibility and accessibility best practices for several key applications that UW-Green Bay employees may use in their daily work. We encourage you to self-enroll in the course to learn practical approaches for remediating digital accessibility issues in a variety of use cases and applications.
Connect with CATL
You are not alone in your accessibility journey! While CATL cannot advise on the legal specifications of Title II, instructors are always welcome to schedule a consultation with us or stop by our office (CL 405) to discuss the accessibility of your teaching materials.
