Summer is officially in full swing! This month marks a massive milestone for the disability and accessibility community: the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H.W. Bush. For over three decades, the ADA has served as a vital civil rights framework, transforming physical and digital spaces to ensure equal opportunity for all.

ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act. 36: Celebrate July 26, 2026.
In keeping with the spirit of the ADA and our continued efforts in making our digital environment accessible for all, in this month’s edition, we’re highlighting practical design tips, essential training reminders, and new self-service resources.

 

Design Tip: Let's Talk About Color

Color is a fantastic tool for branding and hierarchy, but it should never be the only visual cue used to communicate critical information. Relying on color alone to convey errors, success states, or required actions makes them inaccessible to users with color blindness, low vision, or poor screen contrast.

To create accessible documents, we look at the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Specifically, WCAG Success Criterion 1.4.1 (Use of Color) (opens in a new tab) states that color must not be used as the only visual means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element. To meet this standard, always pair color with a secondary visual indicator, such as explicit text, icons, or text styling such as underlining.

Key Takeaway: Treat color like a bonus, not the foundation. If you turn your screen entirely to grayscale and your document still makes perfect sense, your design is compliant, functional, and highly accessible! To try it, navigate to Settings > Accessibility > Color Filters, toggle the switch to ON, and select Grayscale. To turn it off, simply toggle the same switch back to OFF. Be sure to review the Enhanced Teaching & Learning Center (ETLC) color checklist (opens in a new tab) within the Creating Accessible Documents series to learn more.

 

Reminder: Training for Social Media Accountholders

As the new semester approaches, please help ensure your department remains compliant with UAH social media accessibility requirements.

Have you completed your social media training?

If you have access to a UAH-affiliated social media account, please complete the UAH Mission Accessible Social Media training in Canvas (opens in a new tab) as soon as possible.

Do you have new accountholders?

Verify any new employees, student workers or other team members with access to UAH-affiliated social media accounts complete the training before managing UAH-affiliated channels. Email social@uah.edu to get them added to the Canvas course.

Questions? Contact social@uah.edu

 

Digital Accessibility Toolkit Updates

Have you checked out the new Accessibility resources in the Office of Information Technology (OIT) Portal? To view published articles, navigate to the OIT Portal (opens in a new tab) > Knowledge Base > scroll down to Accessibility. Once selected, a page opens displaying all published articles.

Here is a look at what went live recently:

  • Just published! Boost your digital accessibility skills with our new guides covering accessibility testing, best practices, and application-specific information.

We will be expanding the toolkit over time. Be sure to bookmark the Digital Accessibility Toolkit (OIT Portal) (opens in a new tab) so you can easily check back for new content and keep learning!

 

Training Reminder: UAH Mission Accessible Launch Module

Do not forget to complete your UAH Mission Accessible training in Canvas! At UAH, true digital accessibility is a major priority and these modules give you the exact tools and knowledge to create compliant, barrier-free content. If you have not yet finished the Launch course or would like to confirm your completion status, please visit Canvas (opens in a new tab).

 

Action Needed: Review and Update Your Website Documents

The UAH website is one of our most important digital platforms and we need to make sure it is accessible to everyone. This includes all PDFs or documents housed on university webpages. The Office of Marketing and Communications (OMC) is working hard to ensure website accessibility and has previously sent a document list to every department. While many departments have already completed their reviews, we still need to hear back from a few.

Please help us get this across the finish line! If you have not done so already, review the document list sent to your department and reply to webmaster@uah.edu with your instructions:

  • Keep: If you want to keep a document, please remediate it for accessibility and send OMC the updated file. The team will handle the replacement on the live site.
  • Delete: Let OMC know which documents are no longer needed and the team will remove them.

 

July Disability Awareness

Note: The links below are provided as awareness only and will open in a new tab.

 

Have Questions?

Please email the UAH Accessibility Mailbox or visit the UAH Accessibility website (opens a new tab) for more resources.

To submit an announcement, contact omc@uah.edu.
More info