Mission Accessible

• What is Mission Accessible?
• Mission Objectives: Phase I
• Mission Objectives: Phase II
• Resources
• FAQ

Building an Accessible Future—One Course, One Page, One Click at a Time.

What is Mission Accessible?

Mission Accessible is UAH’s university-wide initiative to make our digital environment accessible and welcoming for everyone.

New requirements under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act establish WCAG* 2.1 Level AA as the technical accessibility standard for web content and mobile applications provided by state and local government entities. The current federal compliance date applicable to UAH is April 26, 2027. Accessibility responsibilities already exist, however, and UAH’s work continues now.

Whether you are building a Canvas course, creating a document, posting information on a website, sharing a presentation, producing a video, or sending a digital communication, Mission Accessible provides the training, tools, and support you need.

*The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is an international standard that helps make web content more accessible for everyone, especially people with disabilities.

Mission Accessible Training & Professional Development 

Mission Accessible provides UAH faculty and staff with role-based online training and hands-on learning opportunities to build the skills needed to create, review, and improve accessible digital content.

Mission Accessible Canvas Course

The Mission Accessible Canvas course provides required, role-based accessibility training for UAH faculty and staff. Participants begin with foundational information about Title II, WCAG 2.1 Level AA, and UAH’s shared accessibility responsibilities. Additional modules are assigned based on each person’s role and the types of digital content, platforms, and tools they use.

Training topics include accessible email, websites, Canvas content, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, PDFs, multimedia, Panorama, DocHub, and other UAH digital resources.

Visit the Mission Accessible Canvas Course

Visit the Accessibility Module Matrix

Mission Accessible Show & Do Series

Beginning in September 2026, the Mission Accessible Show & Do Series will provide live, hands-on sessions focused on common accessibility challenges.

Each session combines a brief explanation, a live demonstration, and supported practice. Participants will have an opportunity to apply the process to their own courses, documents, and digital materials while receiving guidance from ETLC staff.

Topics include scanned PDFs, equations, accessible documents, Panorama, inherited Canvas courses, accessible course templates, multimedia, and using a screen reader to check for accessibility.

Workshop Descriptions and Learning Objectives

Each workshop includes a one-line faculty-facing description and two measurable learning objectives to guide the live demonstration and supported hands-on activity.  Alignment to WCAG 2.1 AA is provided as an ETLC Departmental notation – not intended to share with faculty.  

1. What to Do to Make Your Course Accessible

Description: Learn what YuJa Panorama does, interpret its accessibility feedback, and use its tools to improve files.

Live offerings: Monday, September 14 at 9:00 a.m.; Thursday, September 17 at 12:00 p.m.; Friday, September 18 at 2:00 p.m.

After the session, participants will be able to:

• Locate and interpret Panorama accessibility information for a file in Canvas or Panorama DocHub, including the reported issues and available options.
• Use at least one Panorama workflow to improve or replace a course document, such as Fix Issue, Alternative Formats, or uploading a corrected version.

2. What to Do If Your PDFs Aren’t Accessible

Description: Identify high-priority PDF accessibility problems and choose a practical strategy to remediate, replace, recreate, or remove each file.

Live offerings: Monday, September 21 at 9:00 a.m.; Thursday, September 24 at 12:00 p.m.; Friday, September 25 at 2:00 p.m.

After the session, participants will be able to:

• Evaluate PDFs in a Canvas course and identify which files require the most immediate attention based on instructional use and accessibility barriers.
• Select and begin an appropriate action for at least one PDF: remediate it, replace it with an accessible source, recreate it in a more accessible format, or remove it.

3. What to Do to Make Your Formulas & Equations Accessible

One-line description: Use appropriate tools and workflows to create or convert math and STEM content into formats that students can access with assistive technology.

Live offerings: Monday, September 28 at 9:00 a.m.; Thursday, October 1 at 12:00 p.m.; Friday, October 2 at 2:00 p.m.

After the session, participants will be able to:

• Identify at least two common ways equations or formulas become inaccessible in digital course content.
• Create or convert at least one formula using a workflow that produces accessible math.

4. What to Do If You Share Images, Charts, and Diagrams

Description: Choose and create meaningful text alternatives that communicate the purpose and essential information in instructional visuals.

Live offerings: Monday, October 5 at 9:00 a.m.; Tuesday, October 6 at 12:00 p.m.; Wednesday, October 7 at 2:00 p.m. (adjusted for Fall Break)

After the session, participants will be able to:

• Classify an instructional visual as decorative, informative, or complex and select the appropriate type of text alternative.
• Write effective alt text or a longer description for at least one image, chart, or instructional diagram used in a course.

5. What to Do to Fix Video Captions

Description: Improve media accessibility by reviewing and correcting captions, providing transcripts when needed, and checking accessible playback.

Live offerings: Monday, October 12 at 9:00 a.m.; Thursday, October 15 at 12:00 p.m.; Friday, October 16 at 2:00 p.m.

After the session, participants will be able to:

• Evaluate a course video for accurate captions, a usable transcript, and accessible playback controls.
• Correct at least one captioning or transcript issue using the available media-platform tools or develop a specific plan for resolving it.

6. What to Do to Create New Accessible Content

Description: Create accessible Word documents and PowerPoint presentations from the start, then convert them to PDF using a process that preserves accessibility, if a PDF is necessary.

Live offerings: Monday, October 19 at 9:00 a.m.; Thursday, October 22 at 12:00 p.m.; Friday, October 23 at 2:00 p.m.

After the session, participants will be able to:

• Apply foundational accessibility practices—including headings or slide layouts, descriptive links, text alternatives, and properly structured lists—to a new Word document or PowerPoint presentation.
• Use the Microsoft Accessibility Checker and export a Word document or PowerPoint presentation to PDF using settings that preserve document structure.

7. What to Do If You Inherited a Canvas Course

Description: Quickly evaluate an inherited course and identify the accessibility, usability, and instructional issues that should be addressed.

Live offerings: Monday, October 26 at 9:00 a.m.; Thursday, October 29 at 12:00 p.m.; Friday, October 30 at 2:00 p.m.

After the session, participants will be able to:

• Conduct a rapid review of an inherited Canvas course using a practical checklist.
• Create a prioritized action plan identifying at least three improvements to complete before the course is published.

8. What to Do to Use a Screen Reader to Check Accessibility 

Description: Use a screen reader to experience digital document and course content from a nonvisual perspective and identify accessibility barriers that automated checkers may miss.

Live offerings: Monday, November 2 at 9:00 a.m.; Thursday, November 5 at 12:00 p.m.; Friday, November 6 at 2:00 p.m.

After the session, participants will be able to:

• Use basic screen reader commands to navigate headings, links, lists, images, and interactive elements within digital materials.
• Conduct a basic screen reader check..

9. What to Do If Students Keep Asking, “Where Do I Find…?”

Description: Organize Canvas so students can quickly locate assignments, resources, instructions, and other essential course materials.

Live offerings: Monday, November 9 at 9:00 a.m.; Thursday, November 12 at 12:00 p.m.; Friday, November 13 at 2:00 p.m.

After the session, participants will be able to:

• Review course navigation and modules for unnecessary items, inconsistent labels, and unclear pathways to essential content.
• Revise the organization or naming of course content so students can locate key assignments, resources, and instructions more efficiently.

10. What to Do Before Spring 2027 Starts

Description: Complete a practical accessibility, usability, and readiness review before students enter the course each semester.

Live offerings: Monday, November 16 at 9:00 a.m.; Thursday, November 19 at 12:00 p.m.; Friday, November 20 at 2:00 p.m.

After the session, participants will be able to:

• Complete a pre-semester readiness check covering accessibility, navigation, links, dates, instructions, and content.
• Correct at least one identified issue and document the remaining actions that must be completed before the course is published.

 Register now for a Show and Do session!

Resources

Glossary of Terms

The glossary provides clear definitions of key WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility terms to support the creation of accessible digital learning experiences.

Alt-text Generator

The Alt Text Assistant lets you upload an image and quickly generate accurate, editable alt-text for accessibility purposes using AI - designed to streamline accessible content creation. And rest assured: anything uploaded will not be used to train future models, so your content remains private and secure.

Commons Course Template

Build accessible Canvas courses faster with UAH’s ready-made templates. Each example meets WCAG 2.1 AA standards and reflects UAH’s Mission Accessible design style.

PowerPoint Checklist and linked tutorials

These tutorial documents and checklist will assist you in ensuring that your PowerPoint presentations meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards. You must login to Canvas, then click Canvas Commons to access this link.

Word Checklist and linked tutorials

These tutorial documents and checklist will assist you in ensuring that your Word documents meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards.

PDF Decision Tree

This decision tree will guide you through the process of choosing the best format for sharing and maintaining accessible content.

Panorama and DocHub Training (for Students)

UAH students have access to YuJa Panorama tools in Canvas. Panorama can help students access course materials in different formats, and DocHub can help them check documents for accessibility before sharing or submitting them.

Mission Accessible Course: Accessibility Module Matrix

Use this matrix to see each Mission Accessible module and the audience assigned to it.

STEM Access Community of Practice

This space is designed for educators, accessibility professionals, instructional designers, and others who are working to make STEM teaching and learning more accessible for all students.

Accessibility at UAH

For more information, visit the UAH Accessibility website.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do I have to start fixing my documents or courses?

All digital course materials and websites should be accessible by the federal compliance deadline of April 24, 2027. Complete the training and then begin updating documents, courses, and digital work as soon as possible.

I have years of course materials. Where do I start?

Start with the materials you are currently using that students use most.

• Priority 1: Syllabus, weekly modules, major assignments
• Priority 2: Lecture slides, readings, practice materials
• Priority 3: Supplemental or rarely-used resources

Focus on making new content accessible from the start, then work backward through archived materials. Need a personalized plan? Contact ETLC at helpdesk@uah.edu.

Which components of my course must meet accessibility standards?

All digital content used in your courses must be accessible, including:

• Documents: PDFs, Word files, PowerPoint presentations, spreadsheets
• Course pages: Canvas modules, announcements, assignments
• Multimedia: Videos (with captions), audio files (with transcripts), images (with alt text)
• Third-party tools: Any external platforms linked from your course.

If you embed or link to it, it needs to be accessible. You will not have to do this manually on your own; we will be providing instruction, tools, and resources on handling all of these.

Do I have to make every file I use accessible?

Yes, all digital files you provide to students should be accessible. If you have a legacy file that cannot be remediated (such as a scanned image-based PDF), you must provide an accessible alternative—like a properly formatted Word document, HTML page, or text transcript.

Best practice: Design all new materials with accessibility in mind from the start.

Do I have to caption my videos?

Yes, all videos used by UAH must have captions, and audio-only content must have transcripts.

• UAH Panopto videos: Automatically captioned when added. Contact ETLC to learn how to review and correct captions.
• YouTube videos: Use videos with existing captions when possible, or create your own.
• Website: Contact OMC for guidance on specific tools.

Are there resources or campus offices available to help review or improve the accessibility of my course materials?

Yes, UAH provides support through the ETLC, which offers training, consultations, one-on-one help, and content review to help you meet accessibility requirements. There is also a dedicated Accessibility Specialist, and ongoing training and resources are available.

Are there resources or campus offices available to help review or improve the accessibility of my course or my file?

Yes, UAH provides support through the ETLC, which offers training, consultations, one-on-one help, and content review to help you meet accessibility requirements. There is also a dedicated Accessibility Specialist, and ongoing training and resources are available.