EIU Faculty Development and Innovation Center

Digital Accessibility Toolkit

⚠️ Important Compliance Deadline: Under updated ADA regulations, all public university digital content, course materials, and websites must meet federal accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 Level AA) by April 26, 2027. This toolkit is designed to help faculty and staff meet these requirements.

💡 FDIC Support & Resources: Accessibility is a collaborative effort! The Faculty Development and Innovation Center (FDIC) is here to help. Whether you need one-on-one instructional design consultations, help navigating D2L, or support fixing complex documents, please reach out to the FDIC or use the request link below.

1. EIU Policies & Institutional Guidelines

Core compliance documents and internal resources to ensure campus alignment.

• Public Syllabus Statement:

  Below is a sample statement you can add to your syllabus to let your students know you are commited to an inclusive classroom.

  "I am committed to making this course inclusive and accessible for everyone. If you need formal accommodations due to a documented disability, please contact The Office of Accessibility & Accommodations at accommodations@eiu.edu so we can implement a support plan.

  Accessibility is an ongoing effort. If you encounter any barriers with our digital course materials, readings, or technology, please let me know right away. I will work with you to provide an alternative format and resolve the issue."

• ADA.gov: Fact Sheet on the New Web Rule: A plain-English summary of the 2024 ADA ruling requiring compliance by 2027.

• Federal Register: Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability: The full, official legal text of the law.

• ADA & Accessibility Guidelines (EIU): Eastern Illinois University's specific guidelines mapping to federal laws.

• General Accessibility Resources (EIU): The FDIC's main hub for faculty accessibility support.

• IT Accessibility Standards (EIU): Guidelines for campus software and instructional technology.

• Submit a Request for Help (EIU): Direct link to ask the FDIC for hands-on help fixing inaccessible documents or media.

• Federal Grants & Research Data: Faculty publishing research, managing data dashboards, or running websites funded by federal grants (like the NSF or NIH) must ensure their digital dissemination platforms strictly meet federal accessibility standards.

Upcoming Digital Accessibiltiy workshops and triaining

ISTS Training

General Digital Accessibility Checklists

WebAIM WCAG 2.2 Checklist: A simplified, plain-English translation of the dense Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, distilling complex mandates into actionable Universal Design for Learning principles.

Accessibility Resources

• Accessibility Resources for Digital Materials (FDIC Website)
• Accessibility Statements for Instructional Technologies @ EIU(FDIC Website)
• WCAG 2.1 Accessibility Standards(WCAG Website)
• Essential Components of Web Accessibility (WCAG Website)
• Scanning Documents to PDF with OCR(FDIC Guidance Document)

General Digital Accessibility Training

W3C Web Accessibility Perspectives Videos:Short videos illustrating the "why" behind accessibility, highly effective for opening training sessions and building empathy.

2. Roadmap to 2027 (Where to Start)

With the deadline approaching, prioritize your work using these strategies to avoid feeling overwhelmed.

• 1. Active & Required Content First: Start with syllabi, homepages, and required readings for courses running right now or next semester.

• 2. High-Traffic Public Pages: Departmental homepages, application forms, and resources for prospective students must be top priorities for staff.

• 3. New Content Creation: Adopt a "born-accessible" mindset. Ensure all new documents, videos, and modules created from today forward are fully accessible, which stops the backlog from growing.

• 4. Older or Archived Content: Archived courses or optional documents that are rarely opened can be addressed last, or fixed "on-demand" if a student specifically requests an accommodation.

3. Creating & Fixing Content

Practical guides, tool-specific instructions, and decision trees for fixing existing materials.

Documents, Presentations & Tables

• Start with Accessible Templates: The easiest way to ensure a syllabus or slide deck is accessible is to use a pre-formatted university template where heading styles, color contrast, and reading order are already set up correctly for you.

• Clear File Naming Conventions: Screen readers read file names aloud to students. Always use clear, descriptive file names without spaces or strange characters (e.g., use FA26_BIO101_Syllabus.pdf instead of Untitled_document_final_v3.pdf).

• Accessible Typography & Fonts: Choose clean, sans-serif fonts (like Arial, Calibri, or Verdana) and avoid using ALL CAPS or heavy italics for long blocks of text, as they can be difficult for dyslexic students to read.

• Color Coding (Don't Rely on Color Alone): If you use color to convey meaning (e.g., "Required readings are highlighted in red"), you must also include a text cue (e.g., "Required readings are highlighted in red and marked with an asterisk*") because screen readers do not read color formatting aloud.

• Microsoft 365 Accessibility Tools: Overview of built-in features to make Office documents accessible.

• Accessibility Tools for Word: Step-by-step instructions for using the Word accessibility checker.

• Accessibility Tools for PowerPoint: Guide to fixing reading order and image descriptions in slides.

• Document Headings Guide: Explains how to properly use Heading 1, 2, and 3 tags so screen reader users can easily navigate your document.

• Complex Data & Tables: Tables are notoriously difficult for screen readers to read, and faculty use them constantly. Properly formatting tables prevents major headaches later.

  • Accessibility Best Practices with Excel: Tips for creating accessible data tables and charts.

  • W3C Table Concepts: Essential guidelines for formatting data tables with designated header rows. Always avoid merged or split cells in Excel, Word, or D2L tables, as complex layouts break the reading order.

PDF Guides

• Security vs. Accessibility (Locked PDFs): When securing a PDF to prevent printing or copying, ensure you do not disable the "Enable text access for screen reader devices for the visually impaired" option. Locking down a document too tightly will block assistive technology from reading it entirely.

• Create & Verify PDF Accessibility (Adobe): Official Adobe guide on using Acrobat's built-in accessibility checker.

• How to Use Adobe Acrobat Tags Tree (CU Boulder): Advanced guide on fixing the reading order behind the scenes in PDFs.

• Removing Sensitive Content in PDFs (Adobe): How to properly hide or redact information without breaking the document's accessibility.

• PDF Decision Tree (Duke): A flowchart to help you decide if a PDF should be fixed, converted to a web page, or replaced entirely.

Library Reserves, Textbooks, & Scanned Documents

• Scanning Documents to PDF (FDIC Guidance): Reach out to the FDIC for EIU's specific instructions on scanning physical documents properly.

• OCR and PDF Accessibility (WebAIM): Why simply scanning a book chapter creates an unreadable "image of text," and how to use text-recognition tools to make it readable for a screen reader.

• OER Accessibility Evaluation Guide: Guidelines to ensure that free, Open Educational Resources (OER) meet ADA standards before you adopt them for a course.

D2L Brightspace & Web Content

• D2L Brightspace Accessibility Checker: How to use the checker built directly into the D2L text editor.

• EIU D2L Accommodations: Campus instructions for setting up extended time on quizzes.

• Quiz and Screen Readers (D2L Community): Best practices for formatting quizzes for students using assistive technology.

• Descriptive Links Guide: Explains why saying "Click Here" is unhelpful and how to write clear link text.

• WebAIM: Link Text: Additional techniques for writing meaningful web links.

• Screen Reader Forms Guide (Deque): Technical guide for ensuring online forms are accessible.

• Design Readability (Harvard): Tips on text layout and formatting for cognitive ease.

• Accessibility (Penn State): Comprehensive hub for higher ed web accessibility.

• WebAIM Articles: A large directory of articles on web accessibility techniques.

• Mobile Accessibility: Remember that many students read course materials on their phones. Ensure your D2L pages and documents are easily readable on small screens without requiring horizontal scrolling.

Images, Video, Math, & Charts

• Image Alt-Text Decision Tree (W3C): Helps you determine exactly what kind of text description your image needs.

• Alt-Text Decision Tree (American University): An alternative visual guide for determining image descriptions.

• Alternative Text Guide (WebAIM): Comprehensive guide on writing good image descriptions.

• Charts, Graphs & Infographics: Complex data visualizations cannot be summarized in a short sentence. They require an extended text description or a data table equivalent so screen reader users can understand the trends being shown.

  • Complex Images and Charts Guide (WebAIM)

• Audio Description: If a course video features important visual actions (like a chemistry experiment or a silent film clip) that are not spoken aloud, you must provide an "audio description" or detailed text alternative so visually impaired students understand what is happening on screen.

• EIU Kaltura Captioning: Campus instructions for generating and editing captions in our video platform.

• Captions & Transcripts Guidelines: Rules on when to use closed captions versus text transcripts.

• Determining if Captions, Transcripts or Audio Descriptions Are Needed for Video or Audio (UWM): Helpful guide for determining how to make your multimedia accessible.

• D2L Video Captioning (UCalgary): Specific higher ed guide for captioning in the LMS.

• Math Accessibility (W3C): Guidelines for presenting equations and math formulas accessibly.

• Overleaf LaTeX Mathematical Expressions: Documentation for formatting accessible math using code.

Virtual Meetings & Live Instruction (Zoom/Teams)

While there are many resources for pre-recorded video, live classes require different accessibility strategies.

• Enabling Captions and Spotlighting: Faculty and staff need to know how to turn on live auto-captions and "spotlight" ASL interpreters so they stay pinned on the screen for students who need them.

  • Zoom Accessibility Features

  • Accessibility tools for Microsoft Teams

• Accessible Remote Meetings Guide (W3C): Comprehensive guide on running inclusive online sessions.

• Describing Visuals Aloud: A vital teaching practice. Whenever pointing to a slide or chart during a live Zoom/Teams session, always describe what you are looking at out loud (e.g., instead of saying "As you see here," say, "As you see in this bar chart, sales peaked in 2024 at 50%").

Interactive E-Learning (Articulate & H5P)

For instructional designers and faculty building interactive game-like modules.

• Authoring Tools: Software like Articulate Storyline, Rise, or H5P requires specific workflows to ensure drag-and-drop activities and click-to-reveal elements can be operated with just a keyboard. Always check the vendor's accessibility guidelines before publishing an interactive module.

Communications, Events & Social Media

• Accessible Event Planning: For staff managing campus events, this resource outlines how to ensure marketing flyers, registration forms, and live presentations are all accessible, successfully bridging the gap between digital and physical accessibility.

  • Planning Accessible Meetings & Events (Harvard)

• Digital Campus Maps: Ensure that interactive web maps used for finding campus buildings or accessible entrances are navigable via keyboard and provide clear text-based directions as an alternative.

• Accessible Email Messages: How to ensure mass communications and student emails can be read by everyone.

• 2026 Guide to Creating Accessible Emails (Litmus): A deeper dive into email coding and formatting for accessibility.

• Create Accessible Social Media Posts: Essential guidelines for managing departmental Facebook, Instagram, or X accounts (covering image descriptions, capitalized hashtags, and video captions).

Student-Created Content (Peer-to-Peer)

• Course Expectations: If you require students to upload videos, slides, or documents to discussion boards for their peers to review, those materials become course content and must be accessible.

• Educator’s Accessibility Toolkit: Toolkits for faculty to introduce basic accessibility rules to their students.

⚠️ Navigating AI in Accessibility (The Double-Edged Sword)

• The Double-Edged Sword: Faculty are increasingly using AI tools to automatically generate image descriptions and captions. Artificial Intelligence is incredibly helpful for saving time and getting a "first draft" finished quickly.

• Human Review Required: However, AI output is not legally compliant on its own. You must always review and edit AI-generated text for accuracy. Auto-captions often misspell complex academic terms, and AI image descriptions are frequently vague (e.g., stating "A group of people" instead of "Five EIU students presenting at a science fair").

4. Testing and Checking Tools

Software, browser add-ons, and screen readers for verifying your content is accessible.

Document & Presentation Tools

• The A11y Project Resources: A community-driven list of tools and articles.

• PAC (PDF Accessibility Checker): Industry-standard software that checks PDFs for structural errors.

• PAC Quickstart Guide & Resources: Help documentation for using the PAC tool.

• Check Axes (axes4): Web-based version of the PAC checker to quickly catch surface-level PDF errors.

• PDFaccessible: Web-based PDF checker that highlights and explains errors in plain English. You can upload a document to this website and it will check the accessibility of you submission.

• Accessr.net: Web-based tool for Word documents that catches errors and auto-fixes small issues.

• SensusAccess: A powerful file conversion tool that can transform inaccessible documents into alternative formats (like MP3 audio files or Braille).

• SlideSpeak PowerPoint Checker: A free (beta) tool that catches common errors in PowerPoint presentations.

Web & System Checking

• WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool): A highly visual browser extension that highlights color and structural errors directly on web pages.

• axe DevTools: A developer extension for automated testing in web environments and LMS platforms.

• AccessibilityChecker.org: A free web tool that scans website links against ADA standards.

• Colour Contrast Analyser (CCA): Infromation and a free desktop tool to instantly check if text and background colors have enough contrast to be easily read.

• W3C Official Free Evaluation Tools List: A comprehensive database of testing software.

Screen Readers & Manual Testing

• Keyboard Navigation Testing Guide (WebAIM): The most critical manual test: ensuring a site or module can be used using only the Tab, Enter, Spacebar, and Arrow keys (no mouse).

• NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access): Free screen reader for Windows.

• (Keyboard Shortcuts for NVDA (WebAIM))

• JAWS (Job Access With Speech): The most popular premium screen reader for Windows.

• Apple VoiceOver Guide: The built-in screen reader for Mac and iOS devices.

5. Buying Software & Alternative Plans

Ensure third-party tools, textbooks, and software are accessible before purchasing or adopting them for a course.

• Vendor Reports (VPAT): A Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) is a document where vendors prove their software meets accessibility rules. Always ask reps for one.

• Security & Risk (HECVAT): A questionnaire that measures vendor cybersecurity risk. It is generally paired with VPAT reviews before the university buys a product.

• Questions to Ask Vendors: A simple best practice is to ask sales reps during demos: "Can a student complete all tasks in your platform using only a keyboard?" or "Do your videos come with accurate closed captions?"

• Publisher Content & External Homework: If you assign required homework in external platforms (like Pearson, McGraw-Hill, or Cengage), the university is still responsible for ensuring those platforms are accessible to your students. Always vet publisher content early.

Backup Accessibility Plans (EEAP)

Sometimes, specialized software or a crucial simulation is simply not accessible yet. If a department must use non-compliant technology, you must establish an EEAP.

• What is an EEAP? An Equally Effective Alternative Access Plan (EEAP) is a documented, formal backup plan. It explains how the university will provide the exact same educational experience to a student with a disability, and it must be created before an accommodation is even requested.

• Creating an Equally Effective Alternate Access Plan (EEAAP): A breakdown of how colleges manage alternative access plans for software that doesn't meet the rules.

6. Official Rules & Checklists (WCAG)

Official documentation and simplified checklists for the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

• WebAIM WCAG Checklist: Widely considered the best plain-English checklist for making content accessible.

• WCAG 2.1 Full Standard (Official): The complete, official technical rulebook.

• How to Meet WCAG (Quick Reference): A customizable, filterable checklist of all success criteria (highly recommended for web developers).

• W3C Accessibility Principles: High-level breakdown of the core rules (Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust).

Specific WCAG Requirements (Deep Links)

Quick links to specific rules within the technical guidelines.

• Name, Role, Value

• Consistent Navigation

• Reflow Requirements | Understanding Reflow

• Info and Relationships

• Text Spacing

• Target Size

• Captions (Prerecorded)

• Non-Text Content

• Audio/Video Transcripts

• Timing Adjustable

7. Media, Literature & Community Support

A curated collection of videos, podcasts, and reading materials focusing on empathy-building and community support.

Training & Community Groups

• Workshops & Training: Look out for upcoming Digital Accessibility Workshops, ISTS Training, and campus Podcast Sessions.

• ATHEN: A professional association for instructional support and access technology.

• AHEAD: Focuses heavily on disability services and legal compliance.

• WebAIM Email Discussion List: An active email list dedicated entirely to digital accessibility problem-solving.

• A11y Slackers: A large Slack community of accessibility advocates and designers.

Videos & Multimedia

• Web Accessibility Perspectives (W3C): Short videos illustrating the "why" behind accessibility, perfect for building empathy.

• I'm not your inspiration (TED Talk): A powerful talk by Stella Young redefining societal views on disability.

• Microsoft Inclusive Design: Videos explaining how designing for disabilities ultimately benefits everyone.

• Introductory YouTube Guides:

• • Identifying Barriers and Improving Accessibility
  • Radical Accessibility: Including Everyone, No Exceptions
  • Tips for Creating Accessible Learning Experiences in Higher Education
  • WCAG for beginners - What are the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines? - Web Accessibility

Foundational Articles & Terminology

• Getting Started with Digital Accessibility (UCLA): A beginner's guide to accessible teaching and learning.

• CAST UDL Guidelines: The official framework for Universal Design for Learning.

• Center for Universal Design in Education (UW): Hub for applying UDL to physical and digital spaces.

• Mayer's Principles of Multimedia Learning: Cognitive theory on how people learn from words and pictures.

• The Curb-Cut Effect: Explains how designing for disabilities benefits all users.

• Embedded Digital Accessibility: Argument for building accessibility into daily higher ed workflows.

• Neurodiverse-Friendly Design: Examples of designing spaces for cognitive accessibility.

• Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities (Guidelines for Writing About People with Disabilities): Essential guide to respectful language.

• Digital Accessibility Terms Glossary: Government directory of common accessibility acronyms.

• Glossary of Document Terminology: Specific vocabulary related to fixing documents.

• Exploring the Impact of Universal Design: Academic journal analyzing the success of inclusive design in education.

• Digital Accessibility: A Critical Imperative for Inclusive Information Access : Research on practical implementation.

Podcasts & Blogs

• Siteimprove Blog: Updates on compliance and web governance.

• ThinkUDL: Conversations with advocates on inclusive teaching.

• Teaching in Higher Ed: General teaching podcast that frequently covers inclusive practices.

• 13 Letters by BeMyEyes: Interviews with accessibility leaders.

• A11y Rules: Discussions on web accessibility guidelines and testing.

• FDIC (FDIP)- Digital Accessibiltiy in your EIU Courses with Instructional Designer Kim Ervin

Books for Higher Education Professionals

• Reach Everyone, Teach Everyone: Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education by Thomas J. Tobin and Kirsten T. Behling

• Mismatch: How Inclusion Shapes Design by Kat Holmes

• Accessibility for Everyone by Laura Kalbag

• Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally by Emily Ladau

• Universal Design in Higher Education: From Principles to Practice by Sheryl E. Burgstahler

• A Web for Everyone: Designing Accessible User Experiences by Sarah Horton and Whitney Quesenbery

• Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education by Jay Timothy Dolmage

• Universal Design for Learning in Action: 100 Ways to Teach All Learners by Whitney H. Rapp

• Design Meets Disability by Graham Pullin