Healthy goals for stepping up your digital accessibility in the new year

From: Office for Civil Rights Compliance and Prevention Education, Technology-enhanced Learning and Online Strategies 

With the new year well underway, faculty and staff should implement healthy goals for strengthening accessibility practices that include auditing digital environments for WCAG conformance, training teams on new assistive technologies, and fostering inclusive, clear communication. Setting goals to complete training in areas where new skills are needed, conducting regular audits, and securing leadership support will help ensure long-term, proactive improvements in accessibility. 

These steps are part of Americans with Disabilities Act Title II, which mandates equal access for individuals with disabilities in all public services and programs. The Office for Civil Rights Compliance and Prevention Education (CRCPE), in coordination with Technology-enhanced Learning and Online Strategies (TLOS), emphasizes that all employees, including teaching faculty, are responsible for ensuring that the digital materials they create, share, or use are accessible to people of all abilities. This includes materials in all formats, including documents, websites, videos, and other media. 

Here are some healthy goals for stepping up your accessibility game this year:

• Level up your skills: Rate your current accessibility skills (e.g., tables, forms, color contrast, screen reader compatibility) on a 1-10 scale and set three-month goals to improve in less mature areas. Training will definitely help with this.
• Conduct regular audits: Perform quarterly audits of course content, web pages, shared documents, and media with tools like DubBot and Ally. Then create a list of defects by severity and type. This report will guide immediate, targeted remediation.
• Implement inclusive communication: Switch to plain language to remove cognitive barriers and ensure all digital content and marketing materials use alt-text and captions for videos, figures, etc. Learn more about inclusive communication.
• Create accountability and education priorities: Be an accessibility champion for your team and promote regular training sessions to foster a culture that values accessibility as a standard, not an afterthought. 

By following these steps, staff can ensure an inclusive digital environment. The university has a variety of tools that you can use to assess your digital content and training options that are available until June 2026 to help you learn more about creating accessible documents. 

Contact 4Help IT Support online at 4Help.vt.edu with questions.