Fixing Course Accessibility

What is Happening?

The U.S. Department of Justice now requires all public entities (including CSU campuses) to make their digital content and instructional materials accessible to people with disabilities under Title II of the ADA. This includes websites, PDFs, videos, LMS (Canvas) content, and more.

In line with this, the CSU’s Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI) is ramping up systemwide implementation of accessibility policies and timelines. This is not a new requirement for the CSU. In March 2021, the ATI memo was sent to all CSU presidents to update the ATI process created in 2008. 

When is it happening?

• The new federal accessibility regulation (requiring WCAG 2.1 AA standards) takes effect for large public entities like CSU on April 24, 2026.
• CSU campuses are currently updating their instructional materials accessibility policies (EO 1111, Code Memo AA-2013-03) and must demonstrate progress toward full compliance.
• This includes policies, training, course review, and use of accessible technologies now—not just by the 2026 deadline.

What does it mean for faculty?

• All instructional materials—documents, slides, videos, readings, and websites—must be accessible to all students at the time of delivery.
• You cannot rely on students to use their own devices or apps to make inaccessible content usable.
• This applies to all course formats (face-to-face, hybrid, online).
• Accessibility is not optional or “only if a student requests it”—it’s required by law (Section 508).

What do faculty need to do, and by when?

Starting now, faculty need to fix their Canvas courses and make all content accessible to students. All content within Canvas must be accessible by April 24, 2026. This means that starting Spring 2025 quarter, all content within those Canvas courses moving forward will be accessible for all students. 

	TidyUp Unused Items Remove unused files and Content from Canvas courses with TidyUp.
	Scan Courses Use Access4All to scan your course's accessibility.
	Fix Canvas Items Use Canvas's built-in Accessibility tools to fix Canvas items.
	Convert PDFs to Pages If you do not have the original file, convert PDFs to Canvas Pages [video tutorial] with Access4All and then use the built-in accessibility tool to fix the page.  We understand that some PDFs are not yours and still need fixing. The MIDAS (Making Instructional Documents Accessible for Students) team is working on fixing those PDFs.
	Remediate Presentations & Documents Fix all PowerPoint and Word files to be accessible. Use the built-in accessibility tools for Microsoft.
	Caption All Video Use video software that provides captions for students.

Where do I find workshops and resources?

• TidyUp
• What is Access4All? (powered by UDOIT)
• Using Access4All
• Adding ALT Descriptions to Images
• Video Captions
• CTLT Workshops
• Access for All CTLT resources: (Course Materials / Video)
• CTLT Accessibility Resources
• Creating Accessible Canvas Content (self-enroll/online course)
• Creating Accessible Documents (self-enroll/online course)
• Creating Accessible PowerPoint (self-enroll/online course)
• Creating Accessible Video (self-enroll/online course)
• Microsoft Accessibility Tools

Who should you contact if you have questions about the accessibility of Canvas courses? 

• Please email canvassupport@calpoly.edu for any Canvas-related (Canvas, Access4All, TidyUp, Video Captions, PowerPoint, or Word accessibility) questions. 
• Please email access4all@calpoly.edu for Canvas course accessibility questions. 
• Contact the CTLT's MIDAS (Making Instructional Documents Accessible to Students) team via email cpmidas@calpoly.edu. We are currently working on high-enrollment GE courses for Spring 2026.