UGST Digital Accessibility

Goal: Update UMD digital content for accessibility

Under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the University of Maryland (UMD) is required to meet new technical requirements for web and mobile accessibility (opens in a new tab) by April 24, 2026. These requirements are intended to help ensure that public-facing services, programs, and information are accessible to all users, including people with disabilities.

In practice, this means that digital content should be created and maintained using accessibility-informed formats and structures. Examples include providing captions for video and audio content, adding alternative text to images, and using properly structured headings in documents and web pages. These practices support the effective use of assistive technologies, such as screen readers, and help ensure content can be navigated, understood, and used by a wide range of audiences.

Digital accessibility is a shared responsibility and an evolving process. UMD encourages good-faith efforts that prioritize thoughtful planning and meaningful progress toward accessible digital experiences.

Source: College of Information and University of Maryland Digital Accessibility Interim Guidelines

What is digital content?

Digital content = digital documents, communications, and environments that communicate information to the public or that are necessary for the work of the organization. Examples:

• Word/Google docs, slides, spreadsheets
• Presentations
• Forms, surveys
• PDFs
• Emails, e-newsletters
• Videos, audio recordings, images
• Websites, apps, ELMS
• Calendars, widgets
• Social media sites

Note: Archived web content is exempt.

UGST Implementation

Headings

Headings allow screen readers to navigate content the same way a sighted user might skim a document to find the content they are looking for. Headings should be assigned in order (H1→H2→H3) and never skipped. Avoid using bold or font size to indicate structure.

• Docs/Word: Select the text to become a heading. Home view, top menu, go to the styles drop down menu (often set to Normal Text). Select Heading 1, Heading 2… click apply.
• Slides/PPT: Use the preset text boxes on the slide templates, they have built-in heading structure. View / Outline View or Theme Builder.
• Sheets/Excel/Tables: Use column and/or row headers. In documents, use the simplest table configuration possible. Tables are best for data, not layout.

Alt text for images

• In your doc, right-click the image and choose “Edit Alt Text” or equivalent.
• Sheets exception: Insert “image in cell”: Right click on image → “image” → alt text. Other option: Insert “image over cells.” Click on the image → three dots → “alt text.”
• Write a concise description (under ~125 characters for simple images). Avoid phrases like “Image of…” or “Picture of…” Describe function and meaning, not just appearance.
• Think about what is the most important information it needs to convey. For complex graphs: summarize or link to a long description nearby.

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Color Contrast

• Use high-contrast combinations (e.g., black text on white). If you’re unsure, use WebAIM’s Contrast Checker (opens in a new tab) . Note: UMD's brand colors (opens in a new tab) .
• Avoid background images or gradients behind text.
• For charts and graphs use clearly distinct colors and/or patterns.

Hyperlinks

• Hyperlinks should describe the destination of the link (“course syllabus” instead of “click here”).
• Indicate if a link opens in a new window or downloads a file, such as [PDF], [New Tab]. (Example: View accessible graduation plan [doc] (opens in a new tab) .)
• Things to avoid: Using full URLs as visible text (unless print). Underlining text that may appear as a link when it is not.
• Provide a brief description of the content at the link.

Additional Tips for Forms and Surveys

• Give the form/survey a clear, meaningful title and description.
• Provide short, clear instructions for each question where needed.
• Use the “Add section” option to break long forms/surveys into logical parts.
• Turn on the “Show progress bar” feature in settings to help users track their progress.
• Consider the accessibility limitations of certain response types (e.g., drop-down menus), and whether the question can be formatted differently.

Prepare

Create an inventory.

Note if:

• In use and should be reviewed/updated for accessibility
• In use but should be moved to an “archive section” as a reference item that is publicly available (items created prior to April 24, 2026 that will not be additionally edited, but should remain publicly viewable only for reference; not required reading/review for any business process); e.g. student handbooks from prior years. Note: an archived section can be a separate webpage labeled as archive OR a separate section within a webpage that also contains active content as long as that section is clearly labeled as archived content.
• Not in use and should be retired

Consider: What are you attaching to emails? What do you have on the college’s intranet? What documents or forms are hyperlinked on the college website?

What should you include?

Digital content that communicates information to the public, students, employees, or government agencies. This includes both digital documents and digital environments—such as documents shared with students, job descriptions, web pages, and training videos.

Examples:

What should you not include?

• Materials produced by other UMD/government offices (e.g. W4 forms, Undergraduate Catalog)
• Materials posted for archival purposes prior to April 24, 2026 that are in a section labeled as archived content (on a separate page or within a page)
• Preexisting social media posts
• Personal planning documents, notes, etc.

Helpful tools to evaluate materials

Siteimprove (opens in a new tab) (aim for a score above 80)

WAVE evaluation tool (opens in a new tab)

Ally (opens in a new tab) - ELMS-Canvas Accessibility Tool (aim for a score above 80)

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 Begin to implement

Create new digital content as accessible (a.k.a. born-accessible).

Utilize the best practices noted above to ensure all new digital content (documents, videos, websites, etc.) are born-accessible.

Update existing in-use digital content to be accessible.

This is expected to be an ongoing and imperfect process. Having a plan and forward progress demonstrates good-faith efforts toward accessibility and a sustained commitment to continuous improvement.

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