Stanford
Teaching Commons

Designing an Accessible Course

Inclusive education is accessible: all students should be able to access the materials they need for learning. While accessibility is associated with providing access for people with disabilities, issues of access are universal and affect all learners.

Consider accessibility broadly and how it impacts everyone to develop a course that is inclusive for all.

Access for learners with visual or hearing differences

Start with Stanford-approved technologies

Canvas, Zoom, Google Drive, and other Stanford-approved tools have been vetted for accessibility concerns. Tools not approved by Stanford may not have been checked for accessibility.

Learn more about digital accessibility 

These accessibility training modules focus on foundational and advanced digital accessibility strategies. Some modules focus on specific platforms like Microsoft Office and Google Workspace. You can group courses to create a custom learning path. This can be a great way to share accessibility training across a department or target a specific role. Complete this Deque University Sign-Up Form to request an account. 

Best practices for sharing content

Providing content in multiple formats fosters flexibility and aligns with universal design principles. When sharing content, remember that a webpage, Canvas page, or Microsoft Word Document is generally more accessible than a PDF document. For example, an accessible Word Document can be easily saved as an accessible PDF. We recommend sharing Microsoft Office documents in Google Drive because they are more accessible than Google Workspace documents. Remember to add alternative text to any images included in the content. Check out how to create accessible images for more information. 

How to use color inclusively

Color or stylized text alone should not be used to convey meaning. For example, use symbols along with color or stylized text to convey that an item is important. Accessible charts should incorporate labels so information is accessible to people with color blindness. The text color and background color must achieve a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for regular text and 3:1 for large text. In the design stage, use a color contrast checker like the WebAim: Contrast Checker or Colour Contrast Analyzer to ensure the color scheme is accessible. Check out the Stanford color contrast chart if you are using branded colors. 

Accessible Canvas pages

The Instructor Accessibility Guide is available in all Canvas courses and is used to check that your Canvas page is accessible. The guide will check for features like headings, descriptive links, and alternative text for images. The Instructional Accessibility Modules training course in Canvas provides tutorials on implementing specific accessibility strategies in platforms including Canvas, Microsoft Office, and YouTube.

Making PDFs accessible 

PDFs of scanned content are generally inaccessible because they can be image-based and lack accessibility features. We recommend using SCRIBE to create PDFs with a tag structure and optical character recognition. A fully accessible PDF can be generated using Equidox. Equidox requires manually adjusting document headings and adding accessibility features like alternative text. Visit How to Create Accessible PDFs for more information.   

Create accessible web content

Use the Accessibility Evaluation Quick Checks document to ensure that web content is accessible. This guide highlights easy accessibility checks that can be conducted on a web page. For example, checking that all interactive content is keyboard accessible and has a logical focus order can help ensure students can access it with assistive technologies.

Accessible captions and transcripts

This captions and audio description article includes detailed accessibility information. In general, captions must accurately convey what the speaker is saying and should describe any important background audio such as sounds. Auto-generated captions that are missing punctuation or have obvious errors are not accessible. Auto-generated captions can be edited to create an accessible version. Platforms like YouTube, Zoom, and Panopto provide a caption editor. An accurate transcript should also accompany any audio-only content.   

Accessibility vendors are available

There are Stanford-approved vendor contracts in place that your department or school can use for captioning services or PDF remediation services. Each vendor’s rates and estimated delivery times are listed. Your department will need to pay for the service but using a vendor can be a significant time saver. 

Technology access

Provide low-bandwidth options

Some students may have limited or no access to reliable high-speed internet connections. Consider recording your lectures and offering asynchronous options for activities, so students may access them when they are on a more stable internet connection.

Select Stanford-approved tools that are familiar to students

Students are typically familiar with these tools, allowing them to focus more on learning rather than an unfamiliar tool. With Stanford-approved tools, the cost of license fees is typically covered by the University. University support staff are also much more informed and knowledgeable of these tools.

Consider international restrictions on certain tools or content

Some students living outside of the United States might face particular challenges because their countries have laws that enable governments to access data moving in and out of their countries. Specific tools might be restricted and even specific topics or content might besensitive in certain countries. 

See Technology Guidance for Instructors with Students in Other Countries for more.

Affordability access

Avoid prohibitively expensive course materials

Cost can be a big factor preventing students from accessing course materials and succeeding in a course. Consider earlier less-expensive editions of a textbook and materials that are available in e-book formats. Provide advanced notice for obtaining required materials. Or better yet, use materials that are available freely through Stanford University Library services, or adopt free open educational resources (OER). 

Minimize incidental costs when possible

Incidental costs for printing, online subscriptions, paywalls, lab fees, studio materials, and so on can quickly add up. Offer students options for submitting assignments in digital formats. Provide access to articles, journals, and databases through Stanford University Library services. Work with your department leaders to cover lab and studio material costs for students.

Temporal access

Ask students about restrictions or time zones

Ask students from what time zone they are joining and what time restrictions they might have to understand the challenges they may face. Adjust section and office-hour times, or increase asynchronous offerings to suit their situations.

Be flexible

When possible, be flexible with attendance policies, extended time for accommodations, dues dates, and office hours. Consider whether a strict attendance or due date policy is beneficial to furthering the pedagogical goals of the course. The syllabus should be specific about expectations and mechanisms for students to make up missed class time or assignments.

Check-in with students regularly

While students generally appreciate individual attention and chances to connect with the teaching team, students in different time zones or fully online formats are likely to feel particularly isolated. Consider ways to check in, such as asking all students to sign up for a ten-minute meeting with a teaching team member.

Multi-modal access

Provide instructional materials in multiple formats

All learners differ in the way they comprehend information. Presenting content in text, audio, verbal, graphic, audio-visual formats, and so on, can appeal to more students and deepen learning by highlighting connections and patterns between different representations. 

Provide options for activities and interactions

Allowing students to make choices and have some autonomy can spark interest and sustain motivation. Providing various difficulty levels within an activity can help to optimize the challenge level for individual students.

Allow multiple modes of demonstrating mastery

Refer to the course's learning objectives when determining what is essential to assess student mastery. Consider a variety of frequent smaller assessments rather than a single comprehensive and high-stakes exam. Be flexible with the tools and format for students to demonstrate their learning. For example, instructors might adapt an existing rubric to be equally applicable to a written essay, slide presentation, or verbal presentation.

Learn more