Digital Accessibility Standards & Resources

The following are recommended institutions and online learning modules for general digital accessibility subject matter expertise:

CU Accessibility Fundamentals (CU SkillSoft Training Course)
This course is for anyone who is responsible for creating or managing digital communications for the university.  It provides information and techniques to address Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and accessibility compliance with the American Disabilities Act (ADA) as it applies to digital communications.

WCAG 2.1 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1)
This is the definitive set of web accessibility guidelines from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

WebAIM (Web Accessibility in Mind)
Offers a wealth of helpful resources, including an introductory tutorial, articles for audiences of all levels of expertise, and an active discussion list. 

State of Colorado Office of Information Technology
A complete guide to accessible web services and information technology, including how-to-guides on making documents, pages, forms, and websites accessible.

CU Boulder Digital Accessibility Office
Numerous guides on core accessibility fundamentals, covering topics such as content design, document accessibility, accessible events and presentations, instructor guidance, and Canvas accessibility. 

LinkedIn Learning Accessibility Trainings
Curated by CU Anschutz Office of Information Technology, these accessibility trainings are free for you. Access LinkedIn Learning via your MyCU.edu portal.

The CU Anschutz Standards and Guidelines for digital accessibility adhere to the FCC closed captioning rules. Visit their website for closed captioning guidelines. 

The recommended CU Anschutz tools for captioning are Panopto (preferred), Anthology Ally, and Zoom Captioning.

For any web-hosted videos. visit the CU Anschutz AtWeb website for guides on video captioning and creating accessible videos.

Our sister campus CU Boulder has guides on Automated Captioning Tools, Live Captioning Tools, Creating Accessible Videos, and how to filter YouTube search results by captioned videos. 

For any pre-recorded content, see the CU Anschutz Office of Disability, Access, and Inclusion's guide on creating a transcript file.

Other recommended resource is W3C's Making Audio and Video and Media Accessible guide.

The CU Denver Division for Teaching Innovation and Program Strategy (TIPS) offers resources and workshops open to CU Anschutz faculty. Visit their Digital Accessibility webpage for faculty and staff digital content resources and the Workshops and Events webpage for faculty training opportunities.

For instructors using Canvas, Anthology Ally is a valuable tool that enhances the accessibility of course content for both students and instructors. Built into Canvas, Anthology Ally helps improve the accessibility of course materials, ensuring that all students have equal access to learning resources. CU Denver has purchased  SensusAccess for faculty and staff on both campuses to help with document remediation including PDF files.

Our sister campus' CU Boulder Digital Accessibility Office offers resources available for instructions and additional help with Canvas accessibility.

The CU Anschutz Office of Disability, Access and Inclusion has various teaching resources related to digital accessibility including tips for universal design for learning.

Visual format on digital signs should follow the most recently adopted/published WCAG guidelines for distinguishable color and accessibility best practices for text readability. 

The CU Anschutz branding colors and branding fonts should only be used in combinations that have sufficient color contrast. Learn how to use the TPGI Color Contrast Analyzer. 

Follow and stay up to date on the most recent WCAG standards with respect to animation and flicker rates.

Ensure you are following ADA requirements around sign placement as indicated on the Facilities Management Campus Planning Resources page.

For questions and support inquiries with respect to Digital Signage accessibility, please contact the CU Anschutz Office of Information Technology.

CU Boulder Digital Accessibility Office offers resources available for making accessible documents in the following formats: PDFs, Word, PowerPoint and Emails.

The State of Colorado OIT has guides on Accessibility for Document Creators and Creating Accessible PDFs and Documents.

Microsoft offers free trainings that provide insight on how to create accessible materials with Microsoft 365 products. In addition, Microsoft has guides on Microsoft Accessibility for PowerPoint and Microsoft "Check Document" Accessibility Tool.

SensusAccess is a tool that can transform inaccessible documents - including PDFs, scanned documents, pictures of text and PowerPoint presentations - in to more accessible formats. Sensus Access will be available to all CU Anschutz faculty and staff starting September 1, 2024. Register for a FREE hands-on SensusAccess training.

Looking for additional guidance on PDF accessibility? Check out Introduction to PDF Accessibility by Adobe Acrobat.

For Forms, the State of Colorado OIT offers a free guide on creating accessible forms. Formstack lists accessibility best practices on their website. For Qualtrics, CU Boulder Digital Accessibility Office offers a guide on Accessibility Question Recommendations and Inaccessible Question Types.

The CU Anschutz Office of University Communications outlines key guidelines for digital asset accessibility here.

The CU System eComm program offers tutorials and best practices for Marketing Cloud and Cvent. Visit the CU eComm Wiki for more information. Additional resources include:

Accessibility Best Practices

Creating Accessible Content

Plan Accessible Events

The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus strives to ensure that ICT products developed at, purchased by, or used at the university are accessible to all faculty, students, and staff. To reach this goal, those responsible for making decisions about which ICT product to procure must consider accessibility as a key criterion for acquisition. This is especially important for enterprise-level systems and other technologies that affect a large number of students, faculty, and staff.

In order to facilitate the procurement of accessible ICT, CU Anschutz adheres to the State of Colorado Office of Information Technology's process steps to procuring accessible IT, as outlined at the link below.

All CU Anschutz websites must follow the WCAG 2.1 guidelines for web accessibility. 

Members of the university web community can access resources on creating accessible websites on the CU Anschutz AtWeb website.

For support and guidance on web accessibility, contact the CU Anschutz Office of Information Technology Web Services and Development team by visiting this page or emailing websitehelp@ucdenver.edu. 

To learn more regarding web accessibility, visit Web Accessibility Laws and Practices and Web Accessibility in Mind (WebAIM).