The Office of E-Learning Services (ELS) is preparing to work with faculty, instructors, and TAs to make Canvas course sites and other digital learning materials accessible by April 24, 2026.
For details on digital accessibility requirements, visit the main Digital Accessibility page for the School of Public Health.
What is Digital Accessibility in Courses?
Accessibility means ensuring digital content (Canvas pages, files, media, etc.) can be used by students who have a disability. Students may use assistive technologies, such as a screen reader, or rely on other accessibility features, such as a closed captioned video, in order to engage with online learning materials. Digital accessibility ensures that we meet our educational mission and values by providing materials that work for all from the start.
In your course, this might look like:
- Providing PDFs and documents that are formatted properly so a screen reader can read them.
- Many PDFs (particularly scanned documents) are formatted as images, so a screen reader cannot access the information.
- Adding alternative text to images and writing clear links in pages and documents.
- Adding closed captions to videos or choosing media that is properly captioned.
Where to Start
- Clean up your current or most recent Canvas course site
- Why? The University has a tool called UDOIT that can identify accessibility concerns in courses and help fix them. UDOIT scans the entire Canvas site, including unused or hidden content. Keeping old files and pages in Canvas will clutter your course’s report with results that don’t matter.
- For more information: Clean Up Your Canvas Course Site
- Take time to learn more about digital accessibility and begin applying what you learn to everyday practice.
- Use the SPH Canvas template and/or ELS’s In-Person Course Support services.
- Use the Library Course Materials service (along with the Bookstores) to provide readings to students instead of directly uploading files to your Canvas course site.
- If you have completed the previous steps and would like to consult with ELS directly about accessibility in your course, reach out to the Office of E-Learning Services.
Projected Timeline
- Spring 2025: Data collection, course clean-up, and accessible course service planning
- Summer 2025: Accessible course pilot
- Fall 2025: Revisions and fixes for accessibility begin
Resources
- Digital Accessibility Badging: Recommended Learning Path For Those Who Teach
- Create Accessible Canvas Content: Applying the 7 Core Skills in the Canvas Rich Content Editor
- Not certain how the 7 Core Skills apply to your work in Canvas? This guide shows you the techniques applied to Canvas.
- Resource Guide for Faculty and Instructors: Creating Accessible Digital Content
- Online course: Fundamentals of Disability Accommodations and Inclusive Course Design
Questions?
- Questions about SPH academic digital accessibility strategy: Dr. Elizabeth Wattenberg (watte004@umn.edu)
- Questions about making your course accessible or to schedule a course accessibility consult: Office of E-Learning Services (sphels@umn.edu)
