Electronic Accessibility Guidance and Resources to Assist Faculty with Legal, Institutional Compliance
This email was sent to all faculty on April 30, 2025.
Dear Colleagues:
Please take the time to read the information below in its entirety about requirements for accessible electronic materials and systems across campus. These requirements align with our institutional values for access and are mandated by federal and state laws. We also encourage you to attend the May 6 Faculty Council hybrid meeting for a presentation by the Assistive Technology Resource Center on this topic.
The Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President is working with the Assistive Technology Resource Center, Student Disability Center, Office of Equal Opportunity, The Institute for Learning and Teaching, the Libraries, and other key partners on campus to ensure our electronic systems and content support our community in compliance with state and federal laws and are accessible in a manner that allows everyone in our community to learn, thrive, and succeed.
Our goal is to enhance electronic accessibility for all CSU-Fort Collins stakeholders in compliance with recent state and federal laws. Accessibility is a continuum, and advancing it will require engagement from all faculty and staff. We are dedicated to supporting you through this process and are actively building on our existing cache of resources and tools to help facilitate these efforts.
To provide guidance for approaching accessibility compliance, we are launching the RAM: Remove, Adapt, Make accessibility framework. Please see the addendum for details and resources on bringing electronic materials into compliance using this three-step process. Accessibility is a priority, yet we realize that this work cannot be done overnight. Please adapt your content at a pace that is manageable, prioritize high-risk/high-use content, and make progress as best you can. Making your content accessible from the start can also lessen your workload when accommodations are needed.
If you have questions after attempting the following resources, please contact [email protected].
Sincerely,
Sue James, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs
Karen Estlund, Ph.D.
Dean, CSU Libraries
Marla Roll
Director, Assistive Technology Resource Center
Addendum
Accessibility Compliance at Colorado State University
Faculty Resources and Support
Click here to download the addendum as a Word document
There are new federal (Title II of the American with Disabilities Act) and state (Colorado HB21-1110) laws requiring that all digital content is made accessible, and accessibility compliance builds on CSU’s existing values of inclusion and access in our land-grant mission, our Accessibility Statement, and our existing policy (Accessibility of Electronic Information and Technologies).
It is the responsibility of the content creator to ensure that their content is accessible. This includes but is not limited to academic and course content, websites, marketing materials, electronic documents (including PPT, PDF, etc.), social media, and videos across the university. Full accessibility will not happen immediately; we must each take steps to adapt our content to contribute to forward motion along the accessibility continuum.
CSU is committed to supporting faculty and staff in this process. Development and acquisition of resources and tools to aid accessibility reform are ongoing, as well as the establishment of an Accessibility Center and search for a Director of Accessibility to coordinate efforts and support across campus.
Below is a three-step framework to help guide your accessibility efforts.
RAM: Remove, Adapt, Make
WHERE DO YOU START? Pace yourself and take it one step at a time!
- REMOVE: Step 1 is to Remove old content and any other content that doesn’t currently need to be shared from courses and websites. Save this content locally if you may need it in the future.
- NEXT STEPS: Adapt current content for accessibility, and Make new content with accessibility in mind.
- As you continue into Adapting existing content for accessibility and Making new content accessible, the Accessibility by Design website is your foremost resource.
- All course and academic content should work toward a base level of accessibility: the Universal Design Goal for each type of content on CSU’s Electronic Accessibility Rubric. Instructions for faculty are also listed on the Faculty Responsibilities page.
- Prioritize the least accessible content (typically scanned PDFs) and the most broadly used content.
- As you continue into Adapting existing content for accessibility and Making new content accessible, the Accessibility by Design website is your foremost resource.
Other Resources and Tools:
TILT Offerings, LinkedIn Learning, Anthology Ally
- TILT’s Summer Conference is May 21-22, and the topic is Universal Design for Learning (creating environments that are usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design). Sessions and workshops will cover tools and strategies for Universal Design and accessibility.
- TILT offers additional courses, including a June offering for Best Practices in Teaching: Accessible and Inclusive Electronic Content.
- LinkedIn Learning courses and other external trainings have been curated and posted on the Accessibility Training page of the Accessibility by Design website.
- Anthology Ally will become available in Canvas this summer to scan courses and help instructors fix content, including PDF, PPT, Word, HTML, and video. Trainings will be held (including at TILT’s Summer Conference). More information will be shared in the coming months. In the meantime, UDoIT can be used within Canvas.
After attempting to use these resources, if you have additional questions or would like to schedule a consultation, email [email protected].