Course Accessibility Plan

Accessible Course Guidelines

The Title II regulation uses the W3C's guidelines as their rule for making digital content accessible. The WCAG documents explain how to make web content more accessible to people with disabilities. Web “content” generally refers to the information in a web page or web application, including:

• natural information such as text, images, and sounds
• code or markup that defines structure, presentation, etc.

The course design and content need to be functional and inclusive for every student, no matter their location, language, or accommodation needs. When the design of a course is approached in a thoughtful and inclusive way, it creates an educational environment where all students have an opportunity to learn and demonstrate their mastery of the course content. 

Implementing accessibility as part of the course design process will reduce the need for many accommodations and make them easier to provide when they are necessary.

A well-designed course is more usable for all students. The design also takes into consideration that not all students navigate or access the online environment in the same way. 

Rutgers has developed resources for faculty and instructors to provide detailed instructions on how to make their courses more inclusive and begin to meet the new Title II Regulations.  

• Rutgers has developed many professional development resources as well as tools to assist the university community to make their courses more accessible.  For more in-depth information about these resources and tools, visit the Course Accessibility Resources page.
• Rutgers has developed resources for faculty and instructors to provide detailed instructions on how to make their courses more inclusive and begin to meet the new Title II Regulations.  
• The University Online Education Services will provide needed professional development, training, and one-on-one support to faculty/instructors and instructional staff to assist in making courses more accessible for everyone. 
• A subgroup of the Academic Technology Advisory Council (ATAC) has been formed around Digital Course Accessibility. This group is co-chaired by members of UOES, RADR and OITA.  Membership will include a cross-collaborative group of instructional support, faculty, instructors and other appropriate members of each CLU. 
• A digital accessibility badge series will be launched in August 2025 which provides much more in-depth information for faculty, instructors, instructional support staff and content providers of digital information and programs. This was a collaborative effort of UOES, RADR, OITA, TIIP and instructional designers from Rutgers Health.  The group also elicited feedback from Rutgers faculty and instructional support staff prior to the launch

Policy 

Rutgers University has established a revised Digital Accessibility Policy effective in June, 2025.  This policy outlines the university's commitment to digital accessibility and outlines the guidelines for all units/departments/schools. Units/departments/schools should review the policy and see how to best develop a Course Accessibility Plan (CAP) to meet these requirements.

The following are recommendations for units/departments/schools for developing a successful course accessibility plan that works for each unit/department/school.  As mentioned previously, there are university wide teams that can assist units/departments/schools in developing a course accessibility plan for your unit/department/school.

Responsibility

• For a plan to be successful, it is important for leadership to designate individuals within each unit/department/school to oversee their course accessibility plan. This may need different roles such as faculty, instructors, Instructional Designers, Instructional Support staff, Graduate Assistants, Teaching Assistants etc. depending on how each school handles course design and course implementation.  
• It is recommended that schools develop a course liaison model or a course review team to assist faculty and instructors in meeting the specific goals of the school or department plan.  These individuals would take a leadership role to develop a plan, implement the plan and assess and report on progress. Below is an explanation of liaisons and review teams for your consideration to include in your CAP.

Accessibility Champions or Liaisons

• Accessibility liaisons are individuals who serve as a point of contact for their respective departments or units, promoting and supporting accessibility initiatives. They act as advocates for inclusive practices, ensuring that technology, communication, and resources are accessible to everyone, particularly individuals with disabilities. Liaisons often work with IT professionals, web developers, course development and faculty/instructors and other staff to identify and address accessibility barriers. 

Course Review Teams

A Digital Course Review Team will:

• Consist of at least one employee (e.g., an instructional designer, administrator, or faculty) within each school/department that can manage a team of at least 2-3 student employees, but it can be larger depending on a unit's needs and size. 
• Be provided with digital accessibility training, inclusive teaching practices, and evaluation tools to assess their progress. 
• Be given access to the Canvas courses for that school/department to fully evaluate and assist instructors in remediating their courses. 
   

The Digital Course Review Team will:

• Check the course using the Canvas Ally.
• Record what types of digital accessibility and inclusivity issues exist.
• Fix what they can within the course to improve accessibility, usability, and inclusivity(with the faculty/instructor’s permission and guidance).
• Any items that require specific academic knowledge to fix, the team will work with faculty, instructors, or TA’s or GAs to assist in remediating barriers identified within a course.
• Faculty and instructors will also be given the option to fix the barriers themselves. If this is the case, the team will email the instructors with a summary of the issues from Canvas Ally within each course, along with information on how to fix them. This can consist of links to tutorials, short videos, or other resources. The review team will be available to consult as necessary. Canvas Ally will be utilized to assess the progress of the course’s accessibility.

The above ideas are just some examples of how other schools and institutions have handled their Course Accessibility Plans. There are many other ways and innovations to choose from and each school may think of other methods for doing this within their plan.

Audits:

• Assess all course content using the appropriate tools and systems to meet compliance.
   

  • Use appropriate tools: Utilize the accessibility checking tools such as Canvas Ally, Tidy Up and course accessibility resources for faculty/instructors;  built in accessibility checkers and/or consider professional accessibility assessments by third party vendors when applicable.
     
  • Monitor accessibility progress: Track improvements in accessibility and identify areas for further enhancement. This could be by checking regular web accessibility reports using Deque's Axe Monitor, Canvas Ally reports, or progress reports from department heads. 
     
  • Stay informed about best practices: Keep abreast of updates to accessibility standards and guidelines.

Prioritization

A process to prioritize effort that takes into consideration local needs, practices, and available resources, which will also include university-wide tools, resources, and support as needed. 

As an example, a prioritization plan may be developed based upon the highest enrollment courses to start the CAP, then courses that are pre-requisites for upper level courses next, and then move forward with other courses until all of the courses within a school/department have been revamped and developed to meet accessibility guidelines. 

A Continuous Improvement Plan and Process

Based upon the audit and assessment, the development of a continuous improvement plan and process with specific goals, timelines, strategies, priorities, assessments and reporting on progress.

1. Develop and Implement accessibility processes: Establish clear guidelines and protocols for creating accessible content.
    
2. Understand legal requirements: Be aware of relevant laws and regulations, such as ADA Title II and WCAG guidelines.
    
3. Establish accountability: Assign responsibility for accessibility within different departments such as web developers, course developers, faculty, staff in communications and marketing, etc.
    
4. Report on progress: Regularly report on accessibility efforts and outcomes. 
    
5. Continuously improve: Regularly review and refine the accessibility plan to ensure its effectiveness based upon reports and assessment data on progress of the plan.  

Accessibility Awareness and Knowledge

• Conduct initial benchmark surveys to determine the knowledge base of employees related to digital accessibility.  
• Provide workshops and educational initiatives to raise awareness among employees in the areas that the survey indicates the employees are less familiar.  
• Equip staff with the knowledge and skills to create and maintain accessible digital content. The university has developed many resources for all roles related to course accessibility (See the resource section above for more information).

Access Advisory Council

While there are many successful methods to ensure that access is provided, an Course Access Advisory Council within your unit/department/school can be an effective method to develop ongoing technical assistance for your organization and constituents. A cross-functional committee can provide diverse perspectives and facilitate collaboration. The council could include academic leadership, faculty, instructors, instructional designers, instructional design support staff, graduate students, teaching assistants, and students with disabilities.