SOLE Spotlight: Preparing Your Course for Accessibility Requirements
The University recently adopted a Digital Accessibility Policy to provide guidelines for employees across the WVU System. Faculty play a key role in the effort to meet upcoming ADA Title II requirements and should plan to review their course materials for accessibility.
The policy applies to:
- Online courses
- Face-to-face course materials shared digitally
- Documents, media, and applications
Federal rules give large public institutions like WVU until April 2027 to comply, but the Digital Accessibility Policy already expects course materials to follow WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards to reflect its commitment to ensuring digital content is accessible for all.
New Resources to Support You
Two key resources have been developed to help WVU faculty make steady, meaningful improvements in their courses. Together, these resources cover the most common accessibility updates and give faculty clear, actionable steps to build accessibility into their workflows and to make continuous improvement over time.
Start with the Introduction to Accessibility Workshop.
Developed by WVU Online and the Mountaineer Micro Academy, this workshop is:
- Asynchronous and self-paced
- Designed to build awareness of accessibility best practices
- Focuses on simple workflow changes that improve course accessibility
Explore the new Digital Accessibility website.
The new site provides:
- Best practices and guidance
- Step-by-step accessibility guides by content type
- Ongoing updates as standards evolve
If you have questions or would like feedback on your course, submit a request through the SOLE and Integrated Tools Support form (WVU login required) and select Instructional Design support.