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 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 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.
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
- Accessible Documents & Slides
- 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
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
Susan Zolezzi, Director, Digital Learning & Innovation