Empowering Instructors | Supporting Excellence
Making Course Materials Accessible
Instructional Insights | by Sarah Guglielmi
Published October 27, 2025
As a UB Faculty member, part of your role is to design learning experiences for your students. Learning how to create accessible course materials allows you to meet the learning needs for the widest range of students, upfront. Think for a moment about someone close to you, or one of your students, or even yourself, who learns or works a little differently. Maybe they need more time to absorb information, or they rely on tools like closed captioning, screen readers, or speech-to-text.
The truth is, every student brings a different way of learning to the table. This is influenced by genetics, permanent disabilities, and temporary conditions. Whether a student is slower paced, visually impaired, or recovering from a concussion, designing courses for accessibility makes space for all learners to thrive.
Accessible course design is a skill that can be learned. It's also a skill that will allow you to create course materials compliant with the updated ADA Title II Regulations. The ADA is the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the updated regulations require all web and mobile content created by public universities to meet upgraded accessibility standards. This includes digital course materials created by UB Faculty. You can view a summary of this update at buffalo.edu/access, which is included in the list of resources with this video.
A starting point in accessible course design is to familiarize yourself with the accessibility features in the programs you commonly use, such UB Learns, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft PowerPoint. I often start by advising faculty to review the accessibility checkers in these programs, and I’ve provided a tip sheet in the resource list to help you get started. If you’ve been using these programs for some time, you may not be aware of the accessibility features, as they were developed after your initial training.
The checkers flag accessibility issues and offer tips and instructions on how to improve. It’s important to note, however, that the checkers are not comprehensive and they do have limitations. Additional training is needed to better understand how to meet the updated ADA regulations. A list of training resources is included with this video.
As you learn more about accessibility tools and features, I encourage you to try them out for yourself. If you’ve benefited from resizable text, variable speed settings on a video, or the transcript included in your Zoom meeting, you’ve already experienced the value of accessible course design. Accessibility isn’t just a legal requirement, it’s an opportunity to create a more inclusive and expansive learning experience for all students.
- Recognize the diverse learning needs of students and explain how accessible course design supports equity, inclusion, and academic success.
- Identify and apply accessibility tools and features within commonly used platforms (e.g., UB Learns, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint) to create more inclusive course materials.
- Demonstrate foundational knowledge of updated ADA Title II regulations and evaluate digital course content for compliance using accessibility checkers and best practices.
Guiding Questions for This Insight
- What small changes could you make today in your course materials to better support students with diverse learning needs?
- Which accessibility features in tools like UB Learns or Microsoft Word have you used—or could explore—to make your content more inclusive?
- How do the updated ADA Title II regulations influence the way we approach digital course design, and what support do you need to stay compliant?
As a UB Faculty member, part of your role is to design learning experiences for your students. Learning how to create accessible course materials allows you to meet the learning needs for the widest range of students, upfront. Think for a moment about someone close to you, or one of your students, or even yourself, who learns or works a little differently. Maybe they need more time to absorb information, or they rely on tools like closed captioning, screen readers, or speech-to-text.
The truth is, every student brings a different way of learning to the table. This is influenced by genetics, permanent disabilities, and temporary conditions. Whether a student is slower paced, visually impaired, or recovering from a concussion, designing courses for accessibility makes space for all learners to thrive.
Accessible course design is a skill that can be learned. It's also a skill that will allow you to create course materials compliant with the updated ADA Title II Regulations. The ADA is the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the updated regulations require all web and mobile content created by public universities to meet upgraded accessibility standards. This includes digital course materials created by UB Faculty. You can view a summary of this update at buffalo.edu/access, which is included in the list of resources with this video.
A starting point in accessible course design is to familiarize yourself with the accessibility features in the programs you commonly use, such UB Learns, Microsoft Word, and Microsoft PowerPoint. I often start by advising faculty to review the accessibility checkers in these programs, and I’ve provided a tip sheet in the resource list to help you get started. If you’ve been using these programs for some time, you may not be aware of the accessibility features, as they were developed after your initial training.
The checkers flag accessibility issues and offer tips and instructions on how to improve. It’s important to note, however, that the checkers are not comprehensive and they do have limitations. Additional training is needed to better understand how to meet the updated ADA regulations. A list of training resources is included with this video.
As you learn more about accessibility tools and features, I encourage you to try them out for yourself. If you’ve benefited from resizable text, variable speed settings on a video, or the transcript included in your Zoom meeting, you’ve already experienced the value of accessible course design. Accessibility isn’t just a legal requirement; it’s an opportunity to create a more inclusive and expansive learning experience for all students.