Course Accessibility FAQ

Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that state and local governments, including public colleges and universities, ensure equal access to all programs, services, and activities for individuals with disabilities. This includes digital environments like websites, learning management systems, course materials, and online tools.

In the context of course accessibility, Title II now explicitly applies to digital content, meaning all instructional materials, videos, documents, and platforms used in a course must be accessible to students with disabilities. This includes meeting standards such as WCAG 2.1 Level AA, ensuring compatibility with assistive technologies, and providing alternatives, such as captions, transcripts, or accessible document formats.

These updates reflect the Department of Justice’s 2024 final rule, which affirms that digital accessibility is a civil right under the ADA.

In April 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice updated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, clarifying that digital materials must be accessible. Public universities like Rutgers must ensure all websites, learning platforms, documents, and digital content meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA by April 24, 2026, with limited exceptions.

Each academic unit should develop a three-to-five-year Digital Accessibility Plan (DAP) and a Course Accessibility Plan (CAP) using local structures and practices with support from universitywide tools and resources. These plans should address the processes and procedures for a systematic approach to digital and course accessibility, including clear goals, strategies, assessments, and processes to ensure compliance with federal, state, and university laws and policies.

Rutgers Access and Disability Resources (RADR) will support academic units in understanding the new legislation, developing a strategic plan for their units, and providing implementation plans for complying with the new legislation. Please contact RADR at radr.cap@echo.rutgers.edu to discuss how to develop a DAP or CAP for your school or unit.  You can also fill out the Course Accessibility Plan Form and someone from RADR will get in touch with your school or unit.

An accessible course is one in which all digital materials—such as documents, videos, presentations, and online activities—meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standards. This means content must be perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for all users, including those with disabilities. For more in-depth resources and information, visit the Course Accessibility Checklist.

Yes. The new digital accessibility rules under Title II of the ADA apply to all courses, regardless of format—fully online, hybrid, or in-person. Any digital content or technology used to support instruction, such as syllabi, readings, slides, videos, assessments, or online tools, must meet accessibility standards, including WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

This ensures that all students, including those with disabilities, have equal access to course materials and learning experiences.

A Digital Accessibility Plan (DAP) is a structured, multi-year roadmap that outlines how an academic unit, department, or organization will ensure that digital content, tools, and technologies are accessible to all users, including people with disabilities.

Rutgers units or departments are encouraged to be innovative in addressing digital technology accessibility. At a minimum, the Digital Accessibility Plans must include the following:

1. Authority and Responsibility: Clear assignment of roles, authority, responsibilities, and accountability for achieving policy compliance.
2. Prioritization: A process for prioritizing efforts based on local needs, practices, and available resources, while leveraging universitywide tools, resources, and support.
3. Procurement: A procedure to incorporate digital technology accessibility into the procurement process, including the establishment of a formal means for evaluating the accessibility of products or systems under consideration for procurement, as well as assessing current systems and contracts.
4. Training and Professional Development: A plan for training and professional development for personnel who develop and maintain electronic information resources, author web content, develop or teach courses, or make digital technology-related purchases.
5. Awareness Campaign: A communication and marketing plan (CMP) and a campaign to raise awareness about digital accessibility.
6. Compliance Monitoring: Processes for monitoring compliance, including compliance with accessibility standards and institutional policies.
7. Evaluation: An evaluation process to measure the overall effectiveness of the plan.
8. Exception Process: A clearly defined process for managing exceptions and ensuring that alternate forms of access are developed, documented, and communicated when standard accessibility cannot be achieved.

To start a conversation about creating a DAP for your school or unit, please contact RADR at radr.cap@echo.rutgers.edu.

A Course Accessibility Plan (CAP) is a document or strategy developed by an instructor, academic unit, or department to ensure that all aspects of a specific course are accessible to students with disabilities and usable by all learners.

An example of strategies for a Course Accessibility Plan:

1. Create a Course Prioritization System: Develop a system to identify which courses should be remediated first, based on school-determined criteria such as enrollment size, modality, or known accessibility issues.
2. Assign Responsibility: Designate individuals within each school or unit to oversee the CAP and report regularly on progress.
3. Conduct a baseline audit: Use tools like Canvas Ally to assess the current accessibility of course content within your school or department.
4. Implement a Course Content Review Process: Align accessibility reviews with the development of new courses and course redesigns to proactively remove or prevent future access barriers.
5. Utilize an Accessibility Checklist: Adopt or create a standardized checklist to guide accessibility remediation and the creation of new content. This helps ensure consistency and sets clear expectations.
6. Support Instructor Development: Provide training opportunities and resources to help instructors build their skills in accessible course design. Recommended tools include Ally, TidyUp, SensusAccess, and document accessibility checkers.
7. Monitor and Report Progress: Use Ally reports to track improvements, identify remaining accessibility issues, and measure progress toward unit-wide accessibility goals.
8. Incentivize Professional Development: Encourage faculty participation in digital accessibility training by offering incentives and establishing a process to document and report engagement. Make professional development a core part of your unit’s accessibility goals.
9. Align with Accreditation Efforts: Integrate both the Digital Accessibility Plan (DAP) and Course Accessibility Plan (CAP) into broader institutional initiatives, including Middle States Accreditation and assessment reporting.

To start a conversation about creating a CAP for your school or unit, please contact RADR at radr.cap@echo.rutgers.edu. You may also complete the Course Accessibility Plan Form, and a RADR representative will follow up with your unit directly.

Many students who need accommodations may not disclose their disabilities, whether due to stigma, lack of diagnosis, or uncertainty about the accommodation process. By designing accessible materials from the start, you ensure that all students have equal access to learning, regardless of whether they disclose a need.

In addition, accessible design:

• Improves usability for everyone (e.g., captions help non-native English speakers, transcripts aid studying)

• It is now a legal requirement under Title II of the ADA, even if no individual requests accommodations

• Reduces the need for last-minute fixes if a student does come forward later in the semester

Accessibility is about proactive inclusion, not just compliance.

Whether you are editing an existing course or creating new content, please review our Fundamental Course Accessibility Checklist and Training Modules and begin making changes to your existing and newly created content.

Simple changes like making your syllabus accessible, using Tidy Up to clean out unused materials, choosing accessible course materials, using Ally for ensuring course content and documents are accessible, creating accessible presentations and slides and ensuring video and multi-media is captioned and accessible will make a huge difference for all learners in your course.

Yes—all new materials you create or use for your course should be accessible from the start. Under Title II of the ADA, accessibility is not optional or reactive; it’s a legal requirement to ensure equal access for all students.

Whether you are editing an existing course or creating new content, please review our Fundamental Course Accessibility Checklist and Training Modules and begin making changes to your existing and newly created content. Simple changes like making your syllabus accessible, using Tidy Up to clean out unused materials, choosing accessible course materials, using Ally for ensuring course content and documents are accessible, creating accessible presentations and slides and ensuring video and multi-media is captioned and accessible will make a huge difference for all learners in your course.

That said, you don’t need to retrofit everything all at once, especially for older materials that are not in active use.

Focus on:

• Ensuring all required course materials (documents, videos, slides) meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards

• Using tools like Ally, Microsoft accessibility checkers, or captioning services to improve materials as you go

• Replacing or updating inaccessible content over time with more accessible alternatives

If you’re unsure where to start, reach out to your campus accessibility team—they can help prioritize and provide support.

To effectively support instructors in creating accessible course content, start by coordinating with your school or departmental leadership. Strategic planning at the local level ensures accessibility efforts are consistent, scalable, and embedded into course development processes.

One of the most impactful places to begin is with the course syllabus and lecture slides. These core instructional materials set the foundation for inclusive learning and should be formatted with accessibility in mind. This includes using clear headings, accessible fonts and colors, alternative text for visuals, and readable file formats.

• For planning your Course Accessibility Plan for your school, contact RADR and fill out the Course Accessibility Benchmark Plan Form. RADR has also developed a faculty resources page that includes general resources, resources for providing accommodations, and a course accessibility checklist. 

• For syllabus guidance and downloadable templates, visit the Accessible Syllabus page.

• For help with visual content, including slide design and meaningful image descriptions, visit the Alternative Texts for Images page.

• For professional development and one-on-one course accessibility assistance, reach out to University Online Education Services (UOES).

• For help with your unit, department, or school's web accessibility plan and making websites accessible, visit Information Technology Accessibility Services (OITA) to support your web developers and content providers.

You don’t have to do it alone—universitywide support teams are here to help:

• University Online Education Services (UOES) – Offers guidance on course design and accessibility integration within online and hybrid learning environments.

• Office of Information Technology Accessibility (OITA) – Provides tools, training, and consultation for implementing accessible technology and digital content.

• Rutgers Access and Disability Resources (RADR) – Serves as a hub for best practices and resources to promote inclusive teaching and learning.

Explore more tools, templates, and guidance on the Rutgers Course Accessibility Resources webpage to help make your course materials inclusive from day one.

Rutgers supports built-in tools in Canvas to help you make images accessible by adding alternative (alt) text descriptions.

When uploading an image, use the "Image Options" panel that appears during upload to enter meaningful alt text. If the image is decorative and doesn't convey important information, check the "decorative image" box instead.

After uploading, click on the image in the "Rich Content Editor," then select "Image Options" from the toolbar. In the panel that appears:

• Add or revise the "Alt Text" field with a short description of what the image communicates.

• Or check “Decorative Image” if the image is for visual flair only and doesn't add instructional value.

Best practice – Avoid generic phrases like “picture of” or using file names that are too generic. Instead, focus on what the image shows and why it’s there.

For step-by-step instructions and examples of effective alt text, visit the Alternative Texts for Images page on the Rutgers Accessibility website.

Videos are a powerful instructional tool, but they must be accessible to ensure all students can fully engage with your course content. When selecting or creating videos, the two most important accessibility components are:

• Closed captions are for students who are deaf or hard of hearing, or who prefer to read along.

• Audio descriptions are for students who are blind or have low vision and need visual information conveyed verbally.

For more information, visit the Create and Use Accessible Video Content webpage.

Captioning Tools Supported at Rutgers

Rutgers supports several tools to help you caption your course videos—whether you're using Kaltura Reach, Panopto, or YouTube.

• Kaltura Reach: Upload your video through the Kaltura Course Gallery in Canvas. Captions are generated automatically, and you can edit them directly within the platform to improve accuracy.

• Panopto: If your course uses Panopto, you can upload or record videos that receive automatic captions. Use Panopto’s built-in editor to review and refine them.

• YouTube: Upload your video to YouTube, then edit the auto-generated captions in YouTube Studio. You can embed these videos into Canvas with the caption toggle enabled.

For step-by-step instructions and tips on using all three tools, visit the Video Accessibility Tools page.