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SLU Checklist for Accessible Online Course Materials

The Saint Louis University Distance Education Office offers resources to help ensure that SLU instructors are designing their online course materials with accessibility in mind.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 guarantee protection from discrimination and equal access to opportunity for people with disabilities. To help reduce barriers for students with disabilities, the Saint Louis University Distance Education Office, in collaboration with the Distance Education Committee, developed an updated checklist to guide instructors in designing accessible online course materials. Accessibility considerations related to overall course navigation and design are embedded in the SLU Distance Course Design Rubric. Instructors teaching online should aim to meet the expectations described in the checklist below.

Checklist for Accessible Online Course Materials

The updated SLU Checklist for Accessible Online Course Materials is organized by different types of online course materials and general readability considerations. Note: the focus of the checklist is online course materials, not online courses; thus, the checklist provides guidance for making any online course materials more accessible.

1. Accessible Text-Based Materials
  1. PDFs are searchable and able to be read logically by screen readers, consistent with Optical Character Recognition standards (vs. scanned image files).
  2. Hierarchy/reading order of information presented is indicated by using heading styles (vs. relying solely on visual formatting differences).
  3. Lists are formatted using the bulleted or numbered list function in the tool used to create the content.
  4. Links are created by hyperlinked and underlined text instead of copied URLs.
  5. Links make sense out of context and describe the content/destination being linked (instead of more generic language on its own, such as “Click here.”)
  6. Tables are used for tabular data, not for visual layout purposes.
  7. Tables include a title and summary description of the data presented.
  8. Column and row headers are assigned in all tables.
  9. Complex tables with merged or split cells have been broken down into smaller, simpler tables.
2. Accessible Graphics and Images
  1. Images include alternate text (alt-text) that provides a concise description of the image; for images that function as links (e.g., to content, to sections of a Canvas site), the description explains where the link goes.
  2. Other non-text visual elements (e.g., charts, graphs) provide a description of the information conveyed by the visual.
  3. Images are static (i.e., they do not blink or flash).
  4. Images and other visual elements do not rely solely on color to convey information.
3. Accessible Multimedia
  1. Videos include synchronized captions.
  2. Audio files contain associated transcripts.
  3. [If applicable] For any synchronous meetings or class sessions, live captioning is activated through web-conferencing technology (e.g., Zoom).
4. Readability
  1. Text does not rely on color alone as the only visual means of conveying information.
  2. Text is highly contrasted with its background (e.g., dark text on a white background or vice versa); red/green and yellow/blue color combinations are avoided as contrasting colors.
  3. All text appears in a font size of at least 12-point.
  4. Simple, sans serif fonts are used throughout the content.
  5. Only hyperlinks appear with underlined text formatting.
  6. Large blocks of information within the course site are divided into manageable sections, with ample white space around and between the blocks.

Instructor Resources

Distance Education Office: For questions specifically related to the checklist or other distance education course expectations, please contact the Distance Education Office at distance.education@slu.edu.

Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning: The Reinert Center staff are available to assist with pedagogical support and inclusive learning strategies, including accessibility and universal design for learning (UDL).

Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources (CADR): CADR is available to answer questions about accommodations, including how to implement student accommodations in your course, how to navigate discussions about a student's accommodations, and how to address accessibility issues that might arise in your course.