ADA WCAG2.1 Accessibility: Where to Start for Faculty

Why Accessibility Matters:

Accessibility ensures all students, including those with disabilities, can fully engage with your course content. It’s not just a best practice—it’s now a legal requirement under the updated Title II of the ADA. Starting in 2026, all course materials must be fully accessible from day one, even if no accommodation request is made.

Compliance Timeline

FAU is required to comply with the updated ADA Title II rule by April 24, 2026.

What Needs to Be Accessible?

• All student-facing content in Canvas, OwlMed, New Innovations, Websites, Shared Folders, etc.

• Examples include:

  • PDFs, Word docs, and PowerPoint slides

  • Videos (must be captioned) (the COM uses Mediasite)

  • Images (must include alt text)

  • Mobile apps used in instruction

  • Third-party content linked or embedded in courses

Where to Start:

Step 1: Decide if you’d like to fix or re-build your document using a pre-vetted template.

• Re-building a PowerPoint? Use an ADA Compliant COM Template here.

Step 2: Run through the Ed Tech Checklist to manually fix PowerPoint titles, font sizes, and general best practices.

Step 3: Run the appropriate Accessibility Checker for your document type:

• Easiest- Microsoft File type (PowerPoint, Word, Excel, etc.)? --> use the Microsoft Accessibility Checker.

• Medium- Canvas pages and files? --> Use the integrated Ally tool.

• Most Arduous- Adobe PDF, use Adobe’s Full Check/Accessibility Check

Step 4: Confirm that the file is ADA accessible before sharing with students:

• UME/GME: Course Directors/Program Directors will confirm Accessibility for all materials in their domain prior to uploading to students.

• BMS/Graduate Programs: Faculty will upload files to their Canvas course. Faculty should check and remediate their Accessibility percentage using Ally. Course Accessibility percentages are not viewable by students, but are reported to College Leadership in order to track compliance.

Where is the PowerPoint checklist I should follow?

• https://comsupport.fau.edu/kb/articles/888-ada-powerpoint-checklists-ed-tech-resource 

Where can I watch a recording of the COM Ed Tech Team's ADA Training Session?

• https://fau.mediasite.com/Mediasite/Play/e18e1e22d09145b58c93bc9826d0f08b1d