Accessibility Minute - October 2026

Welcome to our October issue of the Accessibility Minute Newsletter! This newsletter is produced by the CU Boulder Digital Accessibility Office (DAO) and covers one accessibility skill or topic per month. Please visit the DAO website to access past newsletters. As always, thank you for taking a minute (or two) to read.

Mid-Semester Accessibility Check-In

As the semester progresses, now is a great time to review your course materials and teaching practices through an accessibility lens. We often say that accessibility is most effective when it's built into course content from the start, but it's never too late to make improvements! This month's newsletter covers actionable steps you can take to review and enhance the accessibility of your course.

Review Course Materials

Students interact with a variety of digital content throughout the semester, including syllabi, assignments, readings, presentations, and handouts. Take a moment to review and update your materials with the following accessibility practices:

  • Use properly structured headings in all course content.
  • Add alternative text to all meaningful images.
  • Ensure links use descriptive text rather than generic phrases like "click here."
  • Verify that visual styles, such as color, are not the only way information is communicated.
  • Confirm your color combinations have sufficient color contrast.
  • Review the accessibility of your existing syllabus.

We recommend running your content creation platform's automated accessibility checker (with caution, as it cannot check for every single accessibility issue) to review the current accessibility of your course materials. For platform-specific resources, please refer to our document accessibility guides.

Evaluate Course Technologies

Evaluate the technologies you currently require students to use and assess whether the technology provides an accessible experience. Are there fixes the vendor should hear about? Should you consider other technologies that are more accessible and meet your class's needs?

Share Materials in Advance

If you're not already, we recommend sharing slides, readings, assignment instructions, and other course materials before class sessions. Early access can help students review complex information at their own pace, read content using assistive technologies, prepare questions for the lecture, and follow along more effectively during class.

Caption Multimedia Content

If your course includes recorded lectures, videos, or other audio/media, ensure captions are available and accurate. While auto-generated captions can help, we recommend reviewing and correcting them to improve usability for all students. Please note that if you are affiliated with CU Boulder and a student has a captioning accommodation, human-edited captions are required for all post-production media content.

Evaluate Live Teaching Practices and Modalities

Whether teaching in-person, online, or in a hybrid format, are you:

  • Verbally describing important visual information?
  • Repeating questions before answering them to ensure everyone knows the question to which you're responding?
  • Using a microphone, especially in larger lecture halls, if possible?
  • Enabling and making students aware of accessibility features, such as automated captions and transcripts, in virtual meeting platforms?
  • Allowing flexible communication in virtual lectures (unmute, raise hand, or type in chat as preferred), rather than requiring one form of communication?
  • Asking students for feedback on how the course is going for them?

Accessibility is an Ongoing Process

As your courses evolve, there will always be opportunities for improvement. Regularly reviewing your content, seeking student feedback, and making incremental changes can meaningfully impact student success.