Digital Accessibility Resource Guide

This guide contains resources which will be helpful in making academic digital technologies accessible in accordance with state and federal regulations. (Some references have been created and distributed by third-party vendors. This use in no way constitutes an endorsement of their products or services.)

Sections of the guide include:

General resources

FAQs

What are the legal requirements for providing accessible content?

See IT Accessibility Regulations.

How could new laws impact accessibility requirements for course content and university websites?

See Fact Sheet: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Accessibility of Web Information and Services of State and Local Government Entities for potential impact on institutions of higher education.

How can I obtain information about my specific obligation to provide accessible resources and accommodations to students?

See Disability Resources: FAQs for Instructors

My department is purchasing a new software program or piece of equipment. How can I make sure it’s accessible to students with disabilities?

Texas A&M University is responsible for making all of its programs and facilities accessible to people with disabilities. More information about procuring accessible products can be found at Procuring IT Products and Services within the IT Accessibility website. 

Return to Top

Captioning

According to the National Association of the Deaf, captions not only display words as the textual equivalent of spoken dialogue or narration, but they also include speaker identification, sound effects, and music description. It is important that the captions are:

  • Synchronized and appear at approximately the same time as the audio is delivered
  • Equivalent and equal in content to that of the audio, including speaker identification and sound effects 
  • Accessible and readily available to those who need or want them

Captions must have sufficient size and contrast to ensure readability, and be timely, accurate, complete, and efficient. When displayed, captions must be in the same line of sight as any corresponding visual information, such as a video, speaker, field of play, activity, or exhibition.

Resources

Make an impact in minutes

  • If you use multiple videos in your course, identify one video at a time that you recorded. Check for auto-generated captions, and if they are not present, create them within YouTube or Adobe Premiere Pro.
  • For course videos that have already been captioned or transcribed, edit captions/transcripts for accuracy. The recommended accuracy rate for captioning in higher education is 97-99% accuracy.

Captioning FAQs

What are the legal responsibilities for captioning videos?

For inaccessible videos, what is the time frame for making them accessible in order to be in compliance with existing laws?

  • Within an external (public) website: All videos available to external audiences through websites and other channels must be captioned. The video must be captioned immediately, or an exception must be filed with IT Accessibility, along with a plan to bring the resource into compliance. For questions, contact itaccessibility@tamu.edu. 
  • Within an internal website (login necessary) including the LMS: 
    • In the following instances, the video must be captioned immediately
      • For employee training
      • For any courses which have students with disclosed disabilities, no matter the type of disability (part of the anticipated ADA Title II amendment slated for release April 2024); all students must receive the video at the same time
    • Most other internal web content allows for reasonable accommodations to be provided. (i.e., an alteration of environment, resource format, or equipment that allows an individual with a disability to gain access to content and/or complete assigned tasks.) However, captioning before distribution or posting  is always the best practice to avoid the perception of discrimination.

Where do I obtain funding for captioning?

  • Currently, there is no general university fund for captioning. Most funding is provided by your department, whether for a student or staff accommodation, or whether for use within course content. 
  • There are free or already licensed captioning resources such as YouTube and Adobe Premiere Pro which can be leveraged for captioning. (See the Resources section listed previously.)
  • The funding source for captioning videos within websites is at the discretion of unit and university leadership, and funding may vary for this usage.  

Can I just have captions automatically generated without editing?

No, see The Problem With Using Auto Captions in Higher Ed (Source: 3Play Media). Auto-generated captions, such as those produced when initially creating or uploading a video to YouTube, are inadequate. In a settlement delivered in November of 2019, the court settled a lawsuit filed by the National Association for the Deaf against MIT and Harvard. See the resulting consent decree  for practices and standards by which universities approach human-vetted or human-corrected captions. (Source: In part, from UNLV captioning resources)

What questions can I ask a third-party captioning vendor?

Refer to How to select the right closed captioning vendor: 10 crucial questions to ask (Source: 3Play Media)

How do I provide the best live captioning experience in meetings or classrooms?

To make sure your live captions are as accurate as possible, try these best practices:

  • Speak clearly, slowly, and directly into the mic. (As your distance from the mic increases, captions may become less accurate.)
  • Avoid locations with background noise.
  • Avoid having multiple people speak at the same time.
    (Source: Microsoft)

How do I prioritize the large volume of videos I am using?

An example of prioritizing captioning in higher education can be seen on the University of Iowa’s website. If you have specific questions for prioritization of video captioning at Texas A&M University, please contact itaccessibility@tamu.edu.

How does copyright come into play and what constitutes Fair Use?

For guidelines, see the Texas A&M resource, Fair Use Assessment - Principles & Scenarios: Guidelines for Electronic Course Reserves Materials. For specific examples in case law, see the U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index.

How can the library personnel help with copyright and captioning?

When requesting existing copyrighted videos from library personnel, indicate that a version with closed captioning is required. They can help provide captioned versions when available.

What is the difference between captions and subtitles?

(Source: 3Play Media)

  • Captions provide an accessible way for viewers who cannot hear audio to watch video.
  • Subtitles provide an accessible way for speakers of any language to watch video.

How does closed captioning differ from open captioning, and which is best? 

  • Open captions and subtitles are permanently visible or burned onto the video. The viewer cannot turn them off. Closed captions and subtitles are not visible unless they are turned on. The viewer can toggle the captions or subtitles on and off at their leisure. (Source: 3Play Media) 
  • Closed captions are generally a better choice since they give control to the user/viewer. Open captions can contribute to distraction and anxiety for some with cognitive impairments. However, if only open captions are available, you should use them for the benefit of most.

See more Multimedia Accessibility FAQs by W3C.

Return to Top

Document and PDF accessibility

Accessible documents are more usable for everyone, not just people with disabilities, because accessible documents work better across all web browsers, computer systems, and mobile devices. In addition, accessible documents enable assistive technology software such as screen readers and magnifiers to be more effective. Ensuring that your documents are made in an accessible manner provides everyone with an equal opportunity to access information. See more within Creating Documents.

Resources

WebAIM:

LinkedIn Learning:
(Available for free with NetID login)

Make an impact in minutes

(Source for set of videos: Accessibility video training from Microsoft)

Document accessibility FAQs

How can I ensure accessibility of documents created within Microsoft365 applications?

Microsoft Support:

What is the Accessibility Checker and how can it help?

The Accessibility Checker is an automated tool within some Microsoft365 applications. It uses a set of rules that identify possible issues for people with disabilities and classifies each issue as an error, warning, or tip. For the instructions on how to use the Accessibility Checker to review your file and fix accessibility issues, go to Improve accessibility with the Accessibility Checker.

Are all PDFs accessible to screen readers?

Typically, PDFs can be made accessible for assistive technology such as screen readers. However, the order in which the screen reader reads the PDF may be incorrect without PDF/UA guidance. If the PDF is scanned text or a saved image, a screen reader would be unable to read the page.

How do I know if my PDF is ADA compliant?

With Adobe’s Acrobat Pro it’s easy to check if your PDF is ADA compliant. Select Tools before heading to Accessibility. From there you should be able to run the option Full Check. Once the check has completed, the report should tell you everything you need to know.

What is a PDF/UA standard?

The PDF/UA standard was designed so users with disabilities can use the same files and get the same level of value from them.

What does PDF/UA stand for?

PDF stands for Portable Document Format. UA stands for universal accessibility, a reference to its set of requirements that make PDF documents accessible to all users.

Why is PDF/UA used as the standard?

The PDF/UA format allows those creating documents to use tags so assistive technology knows in which order to read information. It also allows decorative elements and repetitive content to be ignored.

What are the advantages of the PDF/UA format?

  • Ensures disabled users are able to access the information contained within the document. Examples include compatibility with screen readers for blind or partially sighted users, speech recognition software, and eye tracking systems.
  • Helps creators to build accessible documents. The effective tagging process makes it easier for document creators to build an accessible version of their documents.

(Source: PDF FAQs paraphrased from Adobe)

Return to Top

Web accessibility

Many faculty create and manage websites on a variety of paid and free platforms. These include websites for faculty, labs, events, and other areas. The university is required by law and by policy to make our websites accessible to people with disabilities. Plus, it's the right thing to do! These rules apply to all Texas A&M websites, even if hosted on external services like Wix, Squarespace, and similar platforms.

The Texas A&M University central web team and Technology Services are working to provide officially supported web hosting platforms for faculty needs and more resources to help make all our websites compliant with legal and policy requirements for accessibility and security.

For some units, Google Sites is recommended as an option for any Texas A&M employees as a free, user-friendly platform for building and hosting a website. Everyone with a TAMU email can access Sites through their Google Drive, and a Texas A&M template is available. These sites allow for easy access, multiple administrators, and transfer if someone leaves Texas A&M.   A second option is a TAMU Personal Webpage, which is available to all Texas A&M students, faculty, and staff. The university does not have a team dedicated to supporting either option, however web services personnel can help answer questions about faculty websites.

If you have questions regarding recommended web development options in your unit, you may contact the following:

Resources

There are more training opportunities to come from IT Accessibility and Marketing and Communications.

Make an impact in minutes

  • Use the platforms recommended by Texas A&M University.
  • Use accessible web templates when available.
  • Use plain language, headings, alternative text, and other accessibility best practices as you create and modify content.
  • Take advantage of training.
  • Enlist the help of campus accessibility experts at itaccessibility@tamu.edu as well as the appropriate web services contacts previously mentioned. 

Web accessibility FAQs

See FAQs about web accessibility and specific accessibility issues.

Return to Top

Training and tutorials

  • Level Access Academy (free for state employees; login with TAMU email only) The self-paced courses in each learning path are role based. State employees can take any classes in Academy in any order, but these learning paths are an opportunity to focus on courses that support a specific role. If you do not have an Academy account, please email statewideaccessibility@dir.texas.gov. The Academy learning management system is for state of Texas employees within the state agencies and institutions of higher education only. Level Access Academy Learning Paths are generally self-paced courses that aid in these areas:

Once a user account has been created, login to Level Access Academy. Also see the DIR Live Premium Training calendar for live online training opportunities.

Return to Top

 

★

Did you know?