Accessibility is Everyone's Responsibility

On April 24, 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) completed the final ruling to the updates to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title II. This update looks to enhance the digital experience for disabled users in requiring all web content to be made accessible. To learn more about this update, visit the DOJ ADA Fact Sheet.

The DOJ is enforcing that all public higher education institutions follow the level 2.1 guidelines in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

PHSC is committed to providing a universally accessible learning environment for all. PHSC must meet this compliance requirement by April 2026. 

What Does This Impact

As the new regulations begin to take effect, faculty must continue to provide an accessible learning environment. This includes the accessibility of:

  • Digital textbook materials and integrations, such as assignments, assessments and interactions
  • All online documents: Word, PowerPoint, PDFs, images and graphs
  • All selected websites or created websites
  • All selected video content or created video content
  • Canvas content pages, modules and navigation
  • All digital assignments, exams, projects and additional instructional materials 

Note: This applies even if PHSC is not the creator or owner of the digital materials. 

Learn more from the Online Learning Consortium (OLC)'s New Federal Digital Accessibility Requirements: What Higher Ed Needs to Know and Do Now.

How Can EIT Help?

The EIT Department works with faculty members to create accessible Model Courses that are available to teach from. EIT has over 250 Model Courses that meet these accessibility standards. Please reach out to our Tech Support Email to receive access to one of these accessible Model Courses. 

Develop the habit of checking your online course with UDOIT. Learn more about UDOIT from the Accessibility Inspection Tool tab. 

You can also visit EIT Support on one of the five campuses and the Instructional Performing Arts Center (IPAC). 

Additional Accessibility Resources

Listed below are a few of the accessibility resources available for some PHSC online learning web tools.