Skip to Main Content
A-Z Index
Center for Instruction and Research Technology
oneColumn

Accessibility

The University of North Florida is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all. Instructional materials distributed to students must be accessible at the time of publication. This is essential for people with disabilities and useful for all. We work with you to develop accessible courses and course materials proactively.

The Center for Instruction and Research Technology (CIRT) supports developing accessible courses and course materials proactively. We provide the following services:

  • Training on the creation of accessible documents and other course materials.
  • Individual consultation on document accessibility and course reviews.
  • A course accessibility checklist for self-review.
  • An accessibility checker, Ally, for Canvas Learning Management System files.
  • Information and services for captioning and transcripts of course media.

If you have a student with accommodations, or would like to request captions/transcriptions, document remediation, or a course review, please fill out the UNF Faculty & Staff Accessibility Request Form.

Prefer face-to-face help?


Schedule a consultation with the

or sign up for a workshop with

Canvas

Creating accessible course content will save time in the long run. Accessible content improves the learning experience for all students, not just individuals with disabilities, as it meets the needs of various learning preferences. Content created in Canvas can be made accessible using the Rich Content Editor (RCE) and Canvas Studio. The default settings in Canvas already meet the minimum accessibility standards. As accessibility exists on a spectrum, there is always room to improve. 

  • Letter from the Provost

    Date: August 4, 2022

    To: All Faculty; All Adjuncts

    Colleagues,

    The University of North Florida is committed to providing an inclusive and welcoming environment for all. This commitment means that we continuously improve the accessibility of our campus, programs, and activities for individuals with disabilities and create an environment in which access to programs and facilities is seamless.

    Instructional materials distributed to students must be accessible at time of publication. This is essential for people with disabilities and useful for all. Making instructional materials accessible helps students with specific accommodations while also improving the experience for all students in a class. It’s the right thing to do.

    UNF’s Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy (6.0240P) requires that we ensure that no individual with a disability is excluded, denied services, segregated, or otherwise treated differently than other individuals. This applies to the use of web pages, web-based applications, and information technology to be used by UNF students, faculty members, and staff, including the Canvas Learning Management System and its integrations.

    The University has identified the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 as its standard for web content accessibility and provides a number of tools and services to assist instructors in providing accessible instructional materials and minimizing the need for academic accommodations, which are necessary when course materials are not accessible.

    The Center for Instruction and Research Technology (CIRT) is a resource for faculty to proactively develop accessible courses and course materials and provides the following services:

    • Training on the creation of accessible documents and other course materials.
    • Individual consultation on Document Accessibility and Course Reviews.
    • A Course Accessibility Checklist for self-review.
    • An accessibility checker, Ally, for files in the Canvas Learning
    • Information and services for captioning and transcripts of course media.

    For more information, visit CIRT’s Canvas Accessibility page or contact CIRT at 620- 3927 or cirtlab@unf.edu.

    The Student Accessibility Center (SAC) coordinates and ensures services and accommodations for registered students with disabilities and acts as a gateway for disability-related information and guidance. Those services include extended time on tests, note takers, sign language interpreters, the use of computers, calculators, spell check devices, alternate text, and assistive technology.

    For more information, visit SAC page or contact them at 620.2769 or SAC@unf.edu.

    Thank you for your commitment to serving all our students.

    Warm regards,

    Karen B. Patterson, PhD
    Provost and Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs

  • Course Checklist

    Ensure your course content is accessible by using the Canvas Course Content Accessibility Checklist. This checklist serves as a detailed guide, outlining the essential steps to make your course materials fully compliant with accessibility standards, and helping you create inclusive learning environments.

  • Ally
    Ally is an accessibility checker integrated into Canvas. This tool provides instructors with feedback on the accessibility of uploaded files and guidance to make those documents more accessible. This is gauged utilizing an accessibility score. Ally also automatically provides alternative formats for uploaded files, such as HTML, electronic Braille, and audio, available to students and instructors. Ally will be used to identify a baseline for the accessibility of courses and will allow UNF to continue providing a more inclusive learning environment for all students. Self-enroll in CIRT's Ally training course for more information.

Documents

Accessible documents are easier to understand and read for all users, not just users with disabilities. There are accessibility checkers built-in to Microsoft Office Suite and Adobe, but creating documents with accessibility in mind is a proactive way to save time. Tagging your document with headings, being mindful of color, and using conscious formatting techniques are just a few ways to make your documents more accessible to more people.

Multimedia

Adding videos and audio to your course enriches the learning experience for your students. But it’s important to ensure your multimedia content is accessible to everyone. The following practices and resources for captions and transcripts will help you create an equal and accessible user experience for all.
  • Self-Captioning

    Captions convert audio dialogue and sounds into text that appears on a video, synchronized with audio. Captions improve the learning experience for all students, not just individuals with disabilities, as it enhances the experience for non-native language speakers, people with learning disabilities, and anyone in a noisy environment.

    More information: 
    Canvas Support - Canvas Studio Caption Request Tool
    YouTube Help - Video Subtitles and Captions

  • Zoom Live Transcription

    Live transcriptions are available in Zoom Meetings and Zoom Webinars. Visit our Zoom live transcription support article for detailed instructions on enabling and using this feature.

    Note: Artificial Intelligence (AI) captions are only about 85% accurate depending on various factors such as sound quality, speaker accent, etc. Please don’t hesitate to contact CIRT at cirtlab@unf.edu to discuss options for additional accommodations on a case-by-case basis.

Student Accommodations

Student Accommodations are a vital resource for the success of students with disabilities at UNF. The Student Accessibility Center (SAC) is the student-facing accommodations office on campus; they are responsible for determining reasonable accommodations based on the student’s disabilities. As a faculty member, it is your responsibility to implement these accommodations. The resources below will guide you through some basic information about student accommodations so you can be successful in working with accommodations.