Access Matters

The resources below will help you learn more about your responsibilities relative to accessibility in your online courses.  They are intended for informational purposes and should not be considered legal advice.

Understanding Your Responsibility by Law and Practice

Reasonable Accommodations, Fundamental Alteration, Effective Communication, and Undue Hardship

Making Course Materials Accessible

Determining if Materials are Accessible

  • Accessibility Checklist W3C WCAG2.0 (Elsevier) outlines a set of specific standards for web accessible content that is becoming the hallmark for practice.  This site includes links to more specific information and tools as well as tabs of organized content.  The filter is set for all guidelines at WCAG 2.0 level AA; use the filter to search for specific information as desired.
  • Checking a Website for Accessibility Without Tools (Open SUNY, self-paced Access MOOC, Creative Commons license) is a brief video demonstration of several techniques for assessing basic features of websites for accessibility.

Additional Resources for Instructors

  • Equal Access: Universal Design of Instruction (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology – DO-IT) concisely and comprehensively describes an approach to enhancing access to instruction for all learners, those with disabilities and those without.
  • Higher Ed Accessibility Lawsuits, Complaints, and Settlements (University of Minnesota Duluth) provides links to articles and discussions of several cases.  Some of the links no longer go to viable sites, but others are helpful in better understanding the issues involved with access.