USF Digital Accessibility Training Program
Updated federal rules under HHS Section 504 (effective July 8, 2024) require USF to ensure that all digital course content is accessible. In practice, this means all course content, including documents, slides, videos, and Canvas pages, need to meet a recognized accessibility standard – WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
Digital Learning & Innovation (DLI, formerly ETS) has partnered with the Provost office to provide Digital Accessibility training for faculty and staff.
The Provost has set a deadline for all faculty to complete Digital Accessibility training by November 2, 2026, and for all spring course materials to be accessible by January 15, 2027. The federal accessibility deadline and the deadline for remaining content and systems is May 11, 2027.
This training program provides faculty practical skills that can be applied right away to remediate existing course materials and develop new materials accessibly. We look forward to seeing you in training.
Learning Objectives
- Identify and remediate accessibility barriers in your course materials - including Word documents, PowerPoint slides, and Canvas pages - using tools already available at USF.
- Apply accessible design practices when creating new course content, so that materials meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards before they are posted to Canvas.
- Review and correct captions on recorded lecture and video content using Panopto, ensuring all students have equal access to audio and video materials.
- Develop awareness where to turn at USF when they encounter accessibility challenges they can't resolve on their own.
Two Program Options - Synchronous and Asynchronous
Synchronous Training
In a single, three hour, hands-on Zoom session, you'll learn practical skills you can apply right away: how to structure documents and presentations so they work for students using assistive technology, how to design accessible Canvas pages and modules, and how to review and correct captions on your recorded video content.
Asynchronous Training
The asynchronous training in delivered via Canvas and mirrors the synchronous training, however, can be completed on your own time and at your own pace. It includes instructional videos, learning checks and practice. This course also takes roughly 3 hours to complete.
Faculty and staff are welcome to participate in both a synchronous and asynchronous session, however, only one is required for faculty.
No prior experience with accessibility is needed — just a willingness to learn and a course or two you'd like to improve.
*If you select the asynchronous option on the registration form, you will be invited to join the Canvas course the following business day.
What to Bring to a Synchronous Session
A computer with internet connection and Zoom installed is required for this training.
Please also have prepared a Canvas course, presentation and document to work with for the hands-on portion of the training.
Course Descriptions
A good starting point for anyone wondering, "why now, and why me?" We'll look at what the updated federal accessibility rules mean for USF, which of your course materials are affected, and what students with disabilities actually experience when content isn't accessible. No jargon - just a clear picture of what's required, what's not, and how faculty fit into the bigger picture.
Canvas is already built with accessibility in mind, but what you put inside it may not be. This session focuses on building pages and assignments that work for all students: using the Rich Content Editor's built-in Accessibility Checker, organizing modules so they're easy to navigate, and writing clear assignment instructions. You'll also get a walkthrough of UDOIT, an accessibility tool integrated with Canvas that scans your course and flags the files and pages that need attention.
Small changes to how you structure your documents and slides can make a huge difference for students using assistive technology. You'll learn how to use heading styles, write useful alt text for images and charts, make your hyperlinks descriptive, and format tables correctly. For presentations, we'll cover giving every slide a unique title and setting the correct reading order so screen readers follow your content logically. We'll work through real examples in Word, and PowerPoint, and use the built-in Accessibility Checker in each tool so you leave knowing exactly how to find and fix the most common issues in your own files.
If you record lectures or post video content, captions are required and auto-generated captions alone don't meet the standard. This session shows you how to review and correct captions directly in Panopto, without needing any special software. We'll also cover when a written transcript is needed for audio-only content, and how to quickly check whether a video you didn't create yourself is ready to share with students.
Facilitators:
Mishiara Baker, Audio Visual Multimedia Developer
John Bansavich, Director, Instructional Technology & Training
Eileen Lai, Senior Instructional Technologist
Angie Portacio, Manager, Instructional Design