Dear Faculty:

We are writing to follow up on recent communications about digital accessibility.

In April 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice issued new ADA Title II regulations requiring public universities to ensure that actively used digital content is accessible. These regulations apply directly to course materials such as websites, documents, videos, media, and other web-based instructional resources housed in Brightspace and otherwise used in teaching. These requirements take effect for New York State on April 27, 2026.

At CETLL (Center for Excellence in Teaching, Learning, and Leadership), we recognize that accessibility is not simply a compliance requirement—it is part of a commitment to inclusive pedagogy. Ensuring that course content is accessible enhances student success, improves the usability of online materials, and supports learners with a wide variety of needs, regardless of disability or assistive technology use.

Where to begin?

According to Hunter College’s accessibility guidance, the most common barriers that prevent equal access include:

Missing or incorrect alternative text for images and figures
Videos lacking captions or containing inaccurate auto‑captions
Insufficient color contrast between text and background
Scanned documents that have not been OCR‑converted to readable text
Untagged or auto‑tagged PDFs that screen readers cannot interpret properly

We recommend you conduct a review of your syllabi, announcements, presentation slides, and required readings, videos, and other materials in your course to identify what revisions are needed.

QC instructors can use the Ally Accessibility Tool to help assess and remediate accessibility issues in Brightspace. This tool provides:

Accessibility gauges (green/yellow/red indicators) on individual course files
A Course Accessibility Report that gives an overall accessibility score
Specific, step‑by‑step guidance for fixing identified issues
Automatic alternative formats for students (e.g., audio, ePub, tagged PDFs)

Make use of our new guide, Make Your Course Content Accessible. This guide has specific instructions to support you to make different aspects of your content accessible.

Come to CETLL’s (expanded) virtual Drop-In Hours on Fridays from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., beginning March 13 for 1:1 support (no DIH on April 3 and 17). You’re also welcome to bring your materials to DIH to work in real time in the Zoom room. We will continue to hold Drop-In Hours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, from 2:00 p.m. -- 4:00 p.m. No appointments are needed—you can simply drop into the Zoom by clicking on this link: https://bit.ly/QCxCETLL__Zoom

You can also email us anytime at CTLOnline@qc.cuny.edu with questions, requests, and/or to set up an appointment with a member of our Instructional Technology team.

Best,

CETLL