Federal and State regulations require the University to meet accessibility standards for all web content and mobile applications by April 24, 2027. This means that digital content and instructional materials provided via the web or mobile apps will need to be accessible. The below provides: (1) information about resources currently available to assist you in making your course materials accessible; (2) additional resources we anticipate coming online in the very near future; and (3) tips for getting started.
Responsibilities
Staff, Faculty, and (in some cases) Students
Documents (Word, PDF, PowerPoint, Google Docs) must be made accessible through semantic standards. How do I do this? The quick answer is 1) watch videos, 2) read documentation. Links to those are below, depending on your individual relationship / classification with the University.
Guidance for Formatting Documents
If you start all your documents with these fundamental principles, you will have less to do after using accessibility tools.
- Heading Hierarchy and Styling
-
- Do: Use built in styles (H1, H2, H3, H4, H5) in order
- Do: You can jump from a paragraph of text following an H3, H4 or lesser heading, back up to an H2 to start a new section
- Do: Use headings to correctly describe sections of content
- Don't: Skip a heading level (H1 -> H3)
- Don't: Recreate heading styles through custom text sizing, colors, or other traits
- Don't: Use headings as only a visual indicator. Headings must be used to separate content in a meaningful way - think landmarks (for understanding and navigation) and not simply "I need this to look different"
Example:
Heading 2
Headings describe the paragraph of text following a heading.
Heading 3
More paragraph text to expand on the subject for Heading 3.
Heading 4
You should have text between headings.
Heading 5
More text here.
Heading 2 New Section
Paragraph of text.
- Data tables
-
Do: Use data tables for "data" only - this is typically quantitative (numerical data) and/or textual information that has consistency (each row has order and the same category of information)
Example:
Test Data from Sample Test Identifier Average First Score Average Second Score TEST1 81/100 95/100 - Do: Add table title / caption, set row and column headers
- Images
-
Do: Provide an alternate text description that accurately describes the context and content of the photo contents
Example:
King Hall East Entrance Do: If an image is simple and decorative in nature (image does not provide context to text), mark the image as decorative and skip the alternative text description
- Links
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Do: Use descriptive text. Examples: link the person's name, link the document title, link the page title.
Example: The current Dean of UC Davis School of Law is Dean Jessica Berg.
- Don't: Link text "Click here" or "Learn more" or similar
- Color Contrast
- Do: Adhere to color contrast requirements
- Don't: Color text or other content items that make them difficult to perceive
- Learn: Color Contrast Tutorial
- Language
- Do: Write language appropriate to the intended audience
- Do: Write language in concise, succinct manner
- Avoid: Ambiguous language, unnecessary repetition
- Audio Files
- Info to come
- Video Files
- Info to come
Software Specific Guidelines
- Google Docs
Video Overview:- Google Slides
Video Overview:- Microsoft Outlook
- More information coming soon.
- Microsoft Word
Video Overview:- Microsoft PowerPoint
- More information coming soon.
Video Overview: - Canvas
- Canvas Default Accessibility Checker
Canvas has a built-in accessibility checker that will identify accessibility issues in your course materials and walk you through remediation options. See Getting Started with the Canvas Accessibility Checker for more information.
SensusAccess
The Sensus Access tool built into Canvas can help you produce any document in a Canvas shell as an accessible PDF, HTML, Word, or MP3 file, among others.
Blackboard Ally
Blackboard Ally is an enhanced accessibility checker for Canvas. Testing began July 7th, 2026 and will be available to all courses September 2nd, 2026. Campus IET is in charge of this integration. Once installed, this tool will provide digital accessibility scores for each course and walk you through raising these scores by remediating your course materials. The intention is for Ally to be "the standard" and for Faculty to use this reporting tool as the means to 100% compliance.
Campus resources:
CEE Support Site
CEE Course Toolkit
Accessibility and Canvas Webinar - Joshua Hori - Adobe Acrobat
- If you have access to the original document for a PDF file, we recommend starting with fixes inside Microsoft Word or similar document editing program.
We also recommend using the UC Davis Readable website for initial PDF review. This tool should help you get to near 90% compliance.
1. Upload your PDF to UC Davis Readable
2. After the application queues and processes your file (should only take a few minutes - depends on file size and complexity), review the report
3. Manually fix final items (if any)
4. Reach out to [email protected] if you can't get to 100% compliance
More details to come for the built in accessibility tools inside Adobe Acrobat. - Adobe Premiere Elements / Pro
- More information coming soon.
- Zoom
- IET Documentation for Automated Captioning
We're working on a long term solution for our video capture technology to meet compliance. The Law School utilizes Media Site and Zoom. Additional information will be released in late 2026. - Microsoft Teams
- Enabling Automated Captioning in Teams
- MediaSite
- We're working on a long term solution for our video capture technology to meet compliance. The Law School utilizes Media Site and Zoom. Additional information will be released in late 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
This section was last updated 8/26/26 11:15AM PST.
- 100% Compliance - What does it mean and how do I achieve it?
- Use Microsoft products as a starting point. There is some nuance once you export to other formats - especially PDF - but try to stick to using Microsoft products and the built-in accessibility checker first.
Campus intends to use the Ally integration within Canvas as the standard by which document compliance will be scored and judged / audited.
Faculty should follow and abide by the report for their Course inside Canvas and the Ally dashboard specifically. - For Course Materials, are Faculty required to use a specific font family?
- No. WCAG does not specify or dictate a specific font family must be used. Sans-serif font families are more accessible. Sans-serif use is best practice. A good rule of thumb is to keep font family use consistent throughout your documents.
- Does UC Davis letterhead require alt-test for images, such as the logo at the top?
- Yes. Official UC Davis letterhead should already be accessible by default (if you're using the latest available - older versions may not be). The alt-text for UC Davis logos should simply be "UC Davis."
- Are Faculty required to teach "accessibility" generally, to students?
- No. Faculty are not required to teach accessibility standards to students.
- Are students required to make their coursework accessible?
- No.
Campus Provided Video Quicklinks:
- ADA Title II, Section 504, and UC Davis (webinar recorded 2/3/26 by the Campus Accessibility Office)
- Approximately one hour long and provides an overview of what's in the new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II Rules, what staff and faculty responsibilities are, and how UC Davis is preparing for compliance ahead of the April 24 deadline.
- Formatting text documents (Word, Google Docs) (webinar recorded 2/12/26 by the Campus Accessibility Office)
- This hour-long training covers digital accessibility basics and responsibilities in text-based Word and Google documents, and how to best share and export (or not) these files to maintain accessibility.
- Formatting presentations (PowerPoint, Google Slides) (webinar recorded 2/5/26 by the Campus Accessibility Office)
- This hour-long training covers digital accessibility basics and responsibilities in slide deck applications supported on campus, and how best to share and manage presentation files.
- Adobe Acrobat and PDF Formatting Guidelines (UCOP website page)
Center for Educational Effectiveness - Accessibility Toolkit for Instructors
CEE has published a toolkit with step-by-step guidance for creating or updating accessible course materials:
https://cee.ucdavis.edu/accessibility-toolkit-for-instructors
Other Available Tools and Resources for Digital Accessibility
The information below summarizes the current state:
- Sitefarm Websites
Practical tips and tools available for checking website content is provided by the Sitefarm team documentation website. - Siteimprove
For websites, Siteimprove provides automated accessibility scores and guides you through fixing recurring issues. Send an email to [email protected] to get your website enrolled on Siteimprove. - CPE Accessibility Toolkit
CPE has developed an accessibility toolkit for its partners to create accessible training materials, including templates, guidance and tutorials for various digital platforms. - Digital Access Q&A
The Digital Accessibility Program Manager hosts Digital Access Q&A Wednesdays at 1:00 PM. Meeting links and up-to-date schedules can be found on the Digital Accessibility website. - UCOP Resources
The UC Office of the President provides standards, best practices, and recommended guidelines for digital accessibility, including an eCourse Accessibility Checklist on the UCOP Electronic Accessibility website.
Please note: many of these tools rely on automated remediation processes to minimize the amount of editing required. That said, you will need to review automated content for accuracy.
What’s on the way or in beta
In the coming months you can expect:
- Blackboard ALLY for Canvas
Blackboard Ally is an enhanced accessibility checker for Canvas. This began testing July 7th, 2026 and will be available to all courses August 14th, 2026. Once installed, this tool will provide digital accessibility scores for each course and walk you through raising these scores by remediating your course materials. - Automated or Assisted PDF Tool
We also aim to provide an automated or assisted PDF remediation process that will allow us to work at scale, and take the bulk of manual editing off your shoulders. These tools save an estimated 75-90% of remediation work, and streamline remaining processes to further save time and resources. Try UC Davis Readable today. - Generative AI
UC Davis already has a number of AI tools available at Aggie AI. We are in the process of developing workflows and recommendations to use Microsoft Copilot, Google Notebook LM, and/or ChatGPT to scan inaccessible files and generate compliant Word or HTML documents. - Training Opportunities
We are in the process of identifying, consolidating, and developing new role-based training opportunities. This will include hands-on training with instructional designers and digital accessibility specialists, one-time intensive workshops, and self-paced modules you can return to as needed.
Campus Digital Accessibility Website
This website is the main collection point for information and resources about the digital accessibility mandate and should be considered the authoritative source of this information: