USF Faculty 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 to students with disabilities. In practice, this means the documents, slides, videos, and Canvas pages faculty post for students need to meet a recognized accessibility standard – WCAG 2.1 Level AA – by May 11, 2027. The materials faculty use most (syllabi, required readings, lecture slides, recorded video) are the highest priority. This training program gives faculty the knowledge and tools to make those changes themselves, at their own pace.

Learning Objectives

  • Identify and remediate accessibility barriers in their own course materials - including Word documents, PowerPoint slides, PDFs, 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 and execute a personal remediation plan for their highest-priority courses, and know where to turn at USF when they encounter accessibility challenges they can't resolve on their own.

Register for training »

Summer Intensive

Getting Ahead on Accessibility: A Summer Pilot Training for USF Faculty and Staff

Is your course content ready for all of your students? This summer, USF is offering a pilot accessibility training program designed to give faculty and staff a head start on making their course materials more inclusive — before the fall semester begins.

In a single, 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. No prior experience with accessibility is needed — just a willingness to learn and a course or two you'd like to improve.

This pilot is an opportunity to be part of USF's early effort to meet new federal accessibility requirements, get personalized support in a small-group setting, and leave with a clear plan for updating your own materials. Participants who complete the session will receive a certificate of completion.

What we'll cover:

  • Why accessibility matters - and what it means for your courses at USF
  • Making Word documents and Google Docs accessible
  • Making PowerPoint and Google Slides accessible
  • Making your video and audio content accessible
  • Designing accessible Canvas course pages and modules
  • Auditing your own course and building a remediation plan

Format: Live, facilitated Zoom session
Length: Approximately 3 hours 
Who it's for: USF faculty and staff - no accessibility experience required 
When: Summer 2026

Facilitators:
Mishiara Baker, Audio Visual Multimedia Developer
John Bansavich, Director, Instructional Technology & Training
Eileen Lai, Senior Instructional Technologist
Angie Portacio, Manager, Instructional Design
Susan Zolezzi, Director, Digital Learning & Innovation

Course Descriptions

Why Accessibility Matters (30 min)
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. 

Accessible Canvas Course Design (60 min)
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.

Accessible Word & Google Docs (30 min)
Small changes to how you structure a document can make a huge difference for students using assistive technology. You'll learn how to use heading styles (instead of just making text bigger and bold), write useful alt text for images, make your hyperlinks descriptive, and format tables correctly. We'll use Word's built-in Accessibility Checker together so you leave knowing exactly how to find and fix the most common issues in your own files.

Accessible PowerPoint & Slides (30 min)
Slides you post to Canvas need to work for students who can't see them the same way you do. This session covers the fixes that matter most: giving every slide a unique title, setting the correct reading order so a screen reader follows your content logically, and adding alt text to charts and images. We'll work through real examples in PowerPoint and Google Slides, and you'll use the built-in Accessibility Checker to audit a deck of your own.

Video & Audio Accessibility (30 min)
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.