Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Accessibility Essentials
For Academic Year 2024–2025
Ensuring compliance with ADA accessibility standards requires a collaborative effort across the institution, involving faculty, staff, and administrators. Regular training, auditing, and updating of materials and resources will help maintain compliance and support an inclusive learning environment for all students.
For academic year 2024–2025, focusing on the most essential aspects can greatly enhance ADA compliance and accessibility in your courses across all modalities.
Here are the six (6) most critical items to start with:
Captioned Multimedia
Provide closed captions for all video and audio content: This ensures that all students, including those who are deaf or hard of hearing, can access multimedia content. Captions also benefit students who are non-native speakers or those who prefer to read along.
Alternative Text Descriptions
Include alt text for all images, graphs, and charts: This is crucial for students who use screen readers. Alt text allows these students to understand the content of visual elements.
Accessible Course Syllabus
Provide the syllabus in accessible formats (e.g., HTML, accessible PDFs): An accessible syllabus is the foundation of an accessible course. It ensures that all students can access course information, policies, and schedules.
Text-Based Materials
Ensure all PDFs, Word documents, and other text materials are accessible: Text-based materials should be properly formatted to be read by screen readers. This includes using tagged PDFs and structured headings in documents.
Accessible Assignments and Assessments
Ensure all assignments and assessments are accessible: This includes providing alternative formats for assessments when necessary and ensuring that any interactive elements (like quizzes) are accessible.
Training and Support for Faculty
Provide training for faculty on accessibility standards and best practices: Empowering faculty with the knowledge and tools to create accessible content is critical. Continuous support and training will help maintain and improve accessibility standards across all courses.
Starting with these six (6) essential items in academic year 2024–2025 will lay a strong foundation for ADA compliance and significantly enhance the accessibility of our courses for all students.
These six items must be maintained and integrated with the next twelve items planned for the 2025–2026 academic year.
Subsequently, all eighteen items must be sustained and incorporated with the following thirteen items, aiming to achieve full ADA compliance for Wright State University by the end of the 2026–2027 academic year.
