Accessibility Guidelines 

All digital instructional materials (e.g., syllabi, presentations, handouts, and multimedia) and digital documents (e.g., PDFs, PowerPoints, and Word Docs) used in Winthrop University courses must be accessible for all users. Beginning April 2027, all public colleges and universities must ensure that their web content, digital course materials, and mobile apps comply with the new federal ADA Title II regulations, which now formally require adherence to WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards. 

Use the menu below to navigate through the standards. Clicking on a tab will reveal additional information.  You can also click on an opened tab to close it again.

    Blackboard Ally is enabled in all Blackboard courses and organizations. The Blackboard Ally tool scans PDF, Word, PowerPoint, OpenOffice/LibreOffice, uploaded HTML, and image files on your content page and within the the content editor areas, and assigns an accessibility score.  Instructions for updating documents to meet accessibility standards are provided with the score.  Alternative formats for each document are automatically generated for students to access. The goal is to have Ally scores of 100% on your course documents. Please contact the Office of Online Learning if you need assistance with improving a particular accessibility score at blackboard@winthrop.edu. The following videos will get you started with Ally.

    Overview of Blackboard Ally (Video)

    Check Accessibility Using Ally (Link)

      Images can help you represent complex information, but they should not be the only way of presenting that information.  Alt Text must be provided in order for Screen Reader software to describe an image.  Images like dividers and borders are considered decorative and do not require alt text.

      To create effective Alt Text, briefly describe the overall image.  If you are using complex images such as images with text, charts, or graphs, describe the image in the text proceeding or following the image or inculde a caption.

      Add Alternative Text to Images (Link)

      Search for “Grackle” in the Google Workspace Marketplace for free add-ons for checking the accessibility of Google Docs, Google Slides, and Google Sheets.

      In addition to Blackboard Ally, use Adobe Acrobat's built-in Accessibility Checker for PDF accessibility.

      Auto-tag a PDF in Adobe Acrobat (Link)

      Adobe Acrobat PDF Accessibility Checker (Link)

      Text is the backbone of online instructional materials. Much, if not most, of the content you create for your courses will be text-based--and for good reason. Text is cheap to produce and easy to update.

      It is simple to create accessible text, but there are many considerations to keep in mind while you create text-based content for your course.

        • Bold/Strong - Bold text is useful when you want to draw visual attention to a term or section of material, but it is generally not recognized by screen reading software. Some screen readers will add intonation for the use of Strong text, which is visually identical to bold and automatically substituted in Blackboard Learn, but you should find other ways to convey important information to students with visual impairments. 
        • CAPS - Like other font variants, CAPS is not recognized by screen reading software, and it will not convey any added meaning to a student with visual impairments. It is also considered rude, akin to shouting the information, so the use of ALL CAPS is not recommended.
        • Color - Using color and highlights to differentiate text from its surrounding context is visually appealing and can help some students see a relationship more clearly, but you should not rely on color formatting alone to separate or signify important content. Aside from the obvious disadvantage blind students have when interacting with colored font, some students may suffer from color blindness or have difficulty differentiating colors on a screen.

        When creating accessible content in Blackboard, you should use a Heading Structure whenever possible. A Heading Structure is used to chunk information, organize it, indicate a hierarchy of ideas, and enhance page navigation. Think of it as a formal outline that persists after publishing a document's final copy.

        Heading Order (Link)

        Always use Blackboard Learn's built-in list features. From any Content Editor, you can create a list by selecting the text and clicking the Numbered List or  Bulleted List icons on the toolbar. Do not manually create lists using hyphens, dashes, asterisks, bold, italic, or any other character or font variant. Screen readers rely on code to identify lists, and this code is automatically added if you use Blackboard Learn's list options.  

        There are two types of lists you can use in Blackboard Learn:

        1. Numbered - A numbered list displays a chronological or progressive relationship between ideas, topics, or concepts. Use ordered lists when creating procedures, indicating a degree of importance, or showing a relationship between items in time.
        2. Bulleted - A bulleted list displays equal value between ideas, topics, or concepts. Use unordered lists when creating content that lists ideas of equal importance, interchangeable value, or equivalent characteristics.

      It is recommended to use lists instead of tables whenever possible.  If you find a table is necessary, the table must be formatted appropriately.  

      Create a Table (Link)

      Graphs should be treated as if they are an image. Provide a description of the graph along with any visual trends that are being displayed, or present the graph in tabular format. See the Images section of this page for additional instructions on handling complex images.

      For each hyperlink you create, make the link self-describing. A self-describing link explains where the link will take the student or what they can expect to find after clicking it.  Here are a few guidelines for creating self-describing links.

      1. Avoid generic phrases like "click here" and "see more." These are not helpful for a Links List and provide no context for the link. Instead, consider each hyperlink as an independent unit of content.
      2. Web addresses or URLs, especially long ones, are not informative. Do not use URLs in the body text of a document, as screen readers will read each letter individually, making them confusing.
      3. When applying color to links, ensure there is high contrast between the text color and background color. For students with color blindness or difficulty reading on screens, this can help reduce eye strain.

    Before you use audio in your course, consider the following practices:

    1. Prepare a script - divide your lecture into short segments and write a script for each segment. 
    2. Record with high quality - avoid ambient noises (lawn mowers, trains, phone calls, etc.) and use a quality microphone.
    3. Provide captions or a transcript for every audio file posted in your course. Panopto will create automatic captions and a downloadable transcript for any audio file recorded or uploaded to Panopto. Contact the Office of Online Learning if you need assistance with timestamped transcripts. 

      Faculty members may request assistance from the Office of Online Learning to obtain a timestamped transcript for any length of audio file. The service requires at least two business days to complete. For example, if a transcript is needed by Monday, the request must be completed on or before the previous Thursday during regular business hours.

      To request a transcript, complete the Request for Transcripts or Closed Captioning Form.

    Before you use video in your course, consider the following practices:

    1. Break up long lectures into shorter, more digestible chunks that can be linked separately in your course. Most videos should be shorter than 7 minutes.
    2. Every video file posted in an online course must include closed captions. Panopto will create automatic captions and a downloadable transcript for any video file recorded or uploaded to Panopto.
    3. Be sure to describe any visuals in your video (for example: information powerpoint slides, graphs, diagrams, etc.). Any visual that is not described in the audio will need an Audio Description in the transcript or closed captions. 

      Faculty members may request assistance from the Office of Online Learning to obtain timestamped, closed captions for any length of video file. The service requires at least two business days to complete. For example, if the closed captions are needed by Monday, the request must be completed on or before the previous Thursday during regular business hours.

      To request closed captions, complete the Request for Transcripts or Closed Captioning Form.

      Every video uploaded to Panopto (whether it was created with Panopto or not) is machine-captioned using Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) technology.

      YouTube videos offer automatic closed captioning. However, the quality of the captions may vary and require minor editing.

      Edit Caption Text on YouTube Videos (Link)

      YouTube's Closed Caption Search Filter allows you to search for videos that have already been edited for accuracy.

      Search for YouTube Videos with Captions (Link)

      Students are expected to provide either a transcript or closed captions with video or audio file submissions.

      We recommend all video and audio student assignments use Panopto for the student file submissions. Provide your students these instructions to Submit a Video Assignment in Blackboard Ultra Using Panopto.

    Images of equations are not fully accessible, even when alt text is provided. The below equation editors can help you create accessible equations in Blackboard and on digital documents.

    Blackboard Ultra Math Editor

    Microsoft Word Equation Editor

    Expectations for Student-Produced Audio and Video (Link)

    Submit a Video Assignment in Blackboard Ultra Using Panopto.

    Add Audio Descriptions to a Panopto Video (Link)

    Blackboard Ally Quick Start for Students (Link)

    Download Alternative File Formats (Link)

    Accessibility in Blackboard Learn (Link)

    Navigate Blackboard Learn with JAWS (Link)

    Content Accessibility Tips (Link)

    WebAim - Tutorials for creating accessible documents and media.

    DIAGRAM - Resources developed by the DIAGRAM Center to address issues in accessible math.

If you have questions or would like additional accessibility support, contact Winthrop University's Office of Accessibility at 803/323-3290 (V/TDD) or review Winthrop University's Accommodations and Services for Students with Disabilities policy.

Should you require assistance creating accessible digital materials in Blackboard, please contact Winthrop University's Office of Online Learning at 803/323-2212 or blackboard@winthrop.edu. You can also browse the Center for Professional Excellence for professional development sessions.