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Accessible Instructional Materials
Our commitment to student success hinges on equal access for every Hornet. As a faculty leader, it is your obligation to maintain the accessibility of course materials. The University system provides a host of resources and training opportunities to help support you in creating an engaging, compliant, and inclusive standard for instructional materials, and to enhance the teaching and learning experience at Sacramento State.
While sometimes used interchangeably, accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) are not equivalent. Accessibility for learners with disabilities is an integral part of universal design. However, as the name implies, universal design concepts apply universally, with the goal of making education more effective for all learners.
Accessibility Training & Resources
In advance of the April 2026 ADA Title II digital accessibility requirements all Sac State course materials must meet, we're offering virtual training and on-demand resources.
Spring 2026 Accessibility Training Session Schedule
- Word Document Accessibility: Practical Strategies for Better Documents
February 11, March 11 or April 8 | 11:00am - 12:30pm
Register - PowerPoint Accessibility: Best Practices for Inclusive Presentations
February 18, March 18, or April 15 | 11:00am - 12:30pm
Register - PDF Accessibility: Best Practices for Inclusive Documents
February 25, March 25, or April 22 | 11:00am - 12:30pm
Register - UDOIT Accessibility & TidyUp Overview
February 3, March 3, April 7, or May 5 | 1:00pm - 2:00pm
Register
- Accessibility Best Practices for Captioning in Zoom and Panopto
February 26, March 19, or April 23 | 11:00am - 12:30pm
Register
On-Demand Training Resources
Can't attend training or would like an any-time refresher? Revisit these same topics to help you to create, update, and ensure course materials are accessible for your audiences:
Word Document Accessibility: Practical Strategies for Better Documents
Learn how to structure content, improve readability, add alternative text to images, and how to check for accessibility issues with built-in accessibility checkers.
Video: Practical Strategies for Better Word Documents
PowerPoint Accessibility: Best Practices for Inclusive Presentations
Create inclusive, accessible presentations with clear structure and design.
PDF Accessibility: Best Practices for Inclusive Documents
Accessible PDFs improves readability, usability, and inclusivity for all users. Learn how to create accessible PDFs using Adobe Acrobat, through document structure, tagging, adding alternative text to images, and how to use built-in accessibility tools.
Video: Best Practices for Inclusive PDF Documents
UDOIT Accessibility & TidyUp Overview
Learn how to scan and fix accessibility issues, streamline Canvas content, and improve course organization using UDOIT and TidyUp to ensure a better learning experience for all students.
Accessibility Best Practices for Captioning in Zoom and Panopto
Learn how to add, edit, and post captions, and identify captioning issues using UDOIT.
Session Slide Deck: Accessibility Best Practices for Captioning in Zoom and Panopto
Video: Accessibility Best Practices for Captioning in Zoom and Panopto
Course Accessibility Checklist
Course Accessibility Checklist
As part of the course proposal process, provide a new or updated accessibility checklist to the Dean’s office prior to the semester when the course is taught.
- For brand new courses, these checklist items can be considered as guidelines to be followed, as appropriate, at the time your course will be offered.
- The checklist applies to existing courses either at the point of course redesign, or when a student with a disability enrolls in the course.
Following course approval, and prior to the start of the semester in which the new or revised course will be taught for the first time, please complete an accessibility checklist and submit to the appropriate Dean’s Office.
Download Accessibility Checklist
Determining Document Accessibility
Tips for Improving Accessibility
- Start by making any new files you create accessible from the start. It is easiest and least time consuming to design accessible materials from the outset, rather than retrofitting accessibility after the fact.
- Tackle materials you have created. It is easiest to improve files in their original format, particularly Word and PowerPoint files.
- PDFs can be challenging. Many full text articles and other PDF based materials have a low accessibility score. Start with your files in Word and PowerPoint formats, or contact the ATS team to assess strategies and alternatives.
- Let us help. Our team can teach you techniques for improving file accessibility, assess the materials in your course and help to create an action plan, and in some cases help to fully remediate the materials in your course.
Accessible Formatting
Accessible instructional materials isn't whether your students can access your files online or in Canvas - it's about content that has been formatted in such a way that it can be used by a variety of users, including users with disabilities who may be using assistive technologies, such as screen readers, screen magnification and text-to-speech software, people using tablets and e-readers, or those who are working from a remote location with a slower Internet connection.
Accessible document formatting includes elements such as:
- Section headers
- Alternate text (alt-text) for images
- Table headers for tables
- Setting title and language in documents
While accessibility can be accomplished retroactively (after content is created, purchased, or distributed), it's easiest to add accessible formatting to your documents as you create them. Retrofitting documents for accessibility can be time consuming.
Templates & Guidelines
Syllabus Templates
Syllabus Guide & Template Documents
Instructional Materials Accessibility
Get Support
The IRT Academic Technology Services (ATS) team is here to support faculty with accessibility and Universal Design for Learning practices, instructional materials creation/remediation, and more.
Virtual Technology Support Options