Digital Accessibilty
Digital accessibility means creating content, tools and technology that everyone can use—regardless of ability. At UW-Green Bay, accessibility isn’t just a legal obligation. It’s a shared commitment to equity, innovation and inclusive learning.
Act Now: Digital Accessibility Rule April 2026
What's Covered?
The new rule requires all public organizations to ensure their digital content is accessible to individuals with disabilities, including:
- Websites
- Mobile apps
- Electronic documents
- Forms
- LMS courses & course materials
- Social media posts
- Other online materials
Compliance Details
Standard: WCAG 2.1 Level AA
Deadline: April 24, 2026
About the Rule
Want to dive deeper into the new Title II ruling? These resources are available:
Why Bother?
- It’s more efficient to build accessibility into content and documents while you create them than to fix it later.
- Accessible content benefits everyone—it’s more robust and easier to find, use, and understand.
- It's the right thing to do. It aligns with our mission of equity, access and student success.
- You're responsible. We're not sure what will happen if there's legal action that results from non-compliance, but we don't really want to find out.
Canvas Course:
Essentials of Accessibility for Faculty & Staff
Are you ready to learn how to make your digital images, videos, documents, and course files accessible? Essentials of Accessibility for Faculty and Staff is a free, self-paced, online course that will teach you the basics of digital accessibility and accessibility best practices for several key applications that UW-Green Bay employees may use in their daily work.
The course structure is flexible, permitting you to choose your own learning path. Once you complete the intro module, you can complete any number of the application-specific modules for a badge or just use the course as an ongoing resource. An additional course-level badge is available for those who successfully complete all modules.
This training covers:
- Compliance with accepted standards for digital accessibility in higher education.
- Common accessibility issues in digital or web-based content and how to address them.
- Technical steps and processes for creating accessible images, videos, documents (Microsoft Word and PDF), slides (Microsoft PowerPoint), spreadsheets (Microsoft Excel), and Canvas courses.
- Practical approaches for remediating digital accessibility issues in a variety of use cases.
Digital Accessibility Tools
Digital accessibility ensures that websites, applications and online resources are usable by people with disabilities. These tools can help you check, improve and maintain accessibility across your work.
Free Evaluation Tools
Some popular free accessibility evaluation tools are:
- WAVE Browser Extension
Check web pages for accessibility issues - PDF Checker by axcesCheck
Upload PDFs to test for WCAG and PDF/UA compliance - Colour Contrast Analyser
Check if your text color has sufficient contrast (Available in the UW-Green Bay Software Self-service)
Built-in Checkers
Many of the software and systems you use have built-in accessibility wizards and checkers. Use these as a first step:
- Microsoft Accessibility Checker
For Word, Excel and PowerPoint - Microsoft Outlook Accessibility Checker
For email messages - Canvas UDOIT Cloud Accessibility Tool
Scan your course and fix issues
W3C Evaluation Tools List
Looking for more tools? Browse a master list of software and browser tools to help you audit websites, PDFs and other digital content for accessibility.
Additional Training & Information
It may be a good idea to seek additional training and information, depending on your use of digital technologies.
UW System Accessibility Site
A hub for accessibility policy, best practices, and campus contacts. Start here for system-wide guidance on digital access.
Quick Reference to WCAG 2.1 Level AA
A customizable checklist of all current WCAG 2.1 Level AA success criteria, straight from the W3C.
Web Accessibility Course – LinkedIn Learning
Learn practical accessibility techniques to ensure your web designs can be viewed and used by everyone with this self-paced course.
Short on time? Check out CATL's 10 Dos and Don’ts of Digital Accessibility
University Digital Accessibility Support
Because digital accessibility intersects across many facets of the University, UW-Green Bay doesn't have a single digital accessibility coordinator. The office you contact depends on the specific nature of your project or request.
Teaching Resources
If you need help making your Canvas course and digital course materials accessible, the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning is there to support you.
Student Accessibility
The Student Accessibility Services Office collaborates with students, instructors and staff to ensure equal educational and programmatic access for eligible students with documented disabilities.
Employee Resources
UW-Green Bay's Office of Human Resources and Workforce Diversity guides efforts to recruit, develop and retain faculty and staff members who meet the needs of a dynamic academic institution.
Information Technology
UW-Green Bay Information Technology (GBIT) is responsible for acquiring and maintaining digitally accessible systems and software for the University. If you are seeking to contract with a third party vendor or have questions about software accessibility, contact GBIT.
Web Team
The UW-Green Bay web team is responsible for building accessibility into our web template and maintaining accessible content on www.uwgb.edu. If you have questions on how you can create accessible web pages, email webdev@uwgb.edu.
Compliance
The Safety, Risk and Compliance office works to empower faculty and staff with risk management and to protect and safeguard human rights pursuant to federal and state laws here at the University.
We are here to Help
If you cannot find the resources you need, or if you need to report an accessibility issue, contact Gail Sims-Aubert, ADA Coordinator and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, at simsg@uwgb.edu.