Learn more about creating accessible content as a UAB faculty or staff member. If you'd like to view a more comprehensive responsibilities list according to roles at UAB, see the Roles & Responsibilities section for more tailored guidance.
Overview
These resources offer a broad overview of what digital accessibility is and the basics for compliance.
- The U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Video Series opens a new website
- UAB Course: ADA: Title II Essentials for UAB Faculty & Staff opens a new website
- Level I Accessibility Certificate offered by CTL opens a new website
Topic-Specific
This Digital Accessibility website contains brief explanations and additional resources surrounding many important accessibility topics and policies. You can also search LinkedIn Learning opens a new website for additional training videos.
Roles & Responsibilities
All faculty and staff at UAB who create, edit, purchase, or manage digital content have the responsibility to ensure that this content is accessible to people with disabilities.
More specific responsibilities according to roles, including a checklist of details to watch out for, are below.
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Content Creators & Editors
Core Responsibility
Anyone who creates or updates web pages, documents and/or digital media (including videos, images, and social media posts) as part of their UAB duties has a responsibility to make these accessible. A quick checklist of items to watch for is below, with links to more details across this Digital Accessibility site.
Checklist
Text & Structure (on websites, PDFs, Word docs, etc.)
- Headings and subheads should use built-in formatting, not styles like bold or italics
- Bulleted or numbered lists should use built-in list formatting, not asterisks or hyphens
- Write clear, concise text
Images
- Add alt text that conveys purpose
- Avoid text in images; no key information can be in a graphic or attached flyer alone
Documents
- Use accessible templates
- Add document structure (headings, tags, reading order)
- Ensure exported PDFs preserve accessibility
Media
Links
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Faculty & Instructors
Core Responsibility
Deliver accessible course content and learning experiences. Detailed academic-specific information and FAQs are on the UAB Office of Learning Technologies site including use of Panorama to find and fix issues in Course content.
Checklist
Course Materials
- Use accessible Word, PPT, and PDF documents
- Caption all lecture recordings
- Provide alt text for images in slides
- Provide meaningful link descriptions
- Ensure scanned PDFs are OCR‑readable
LMS (Canvas) Content
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Web Admins & Technical Teams
Core Responsibility
Build and maintain accessible websites, applications, and digital tools.
Checklist
Structure & Semantics
- Use semantic HTML for headings, lists, tables, and landmarks
- Ensure ARIA is used only when necessary and correctly
- Provide programmatically determinable labels for all form fields
Keyboard & Interaction
- All functionality must be operable via keyboard
- Ensure visible focus indicators
- Logical tab order and no keyboard traps
Media & Images
- Provide alt text for meaningful images
- Provide captions for all prerecorded video
- Provide transcripts for audio‑only content
Color & Contrast
Compatibility