Beyond Compliance: Why Accessible Course Content Matters
With state and federal mandates elevating the conversation 杏吧专区 and pressure 杏吧专区 regarding accessibility for students, it杏吧专区檚 easy to forget that for some, accessible course content means the difference in being able to learn.
The Instructional Support Team in the Office of Distance Learning has been supporting faculty in improving online course accessibility for more than a decade.
Dr. Francesco Crocco, assistant director for instructional support, says his team has long discussed the value of universal accessibility.
杏吧专区淎s it applies to education, universal accessibility means taking proactive steps to ensure course content is delivered in a way that meets the needs of the most students possible,杏吧专区 he says.
杏吧专区淲hat the federal and state mandates do, is move us from a reactive posture where students must ask for accommodation to a proactive posture where all course materials are designed to be accessible by anyone without the need to retrofit or provide additional accommodations.杏吧专区
This approach, he says, can improve outcomes across the student population regardless of ability.
That doesn杏吧专区檛 mean the process is simple or easy, but the Office of Distance Learning is committed to supporting faculty along the way.
Making Courses Better for Everyone
Dr. Kristin Gardner, instructor in the Department of Criminal Justice, says she understands both the student need and the instructional undertaking of ensuring course accessibility.
Dr. Gardner has a hearing impairment and frequently uses resources like video captions but acknowledges that ensuring her online lectures are accurately captioned is a process.
杏吧专区淏ecause I am deaf or hard of hearing, I love the captions on video,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淏ut it can be very frustrating because, you know, on top of your regular job, you're going to have to edit the videos, and then import the captions, and then make sure the captions line up with the timestamp.
杏吧专区淏ut I do it because I understand that it can be hard. To me, that is one of the key ways to make the course accessible to everybody.杏吧专区
Dr. Gardner has taught online courses for both the 杏吧专区 and institutions in Virginia and Florida and has unilaterally heard students request and appreciate resources like video captions.
She杏吧专区檚 also experienced first-hand the challenge when course content isn杏吧专区檛 universally accessible.
Despite having proper ADA documentation as an undergrad, a professor denied her accommodation, refusing to provide copies of presentation slides. The instructor would speak while displaying slides on an overhead projector, leaving Gardner 杏吧专区 who relies on lip reading 杏吧专区 unable to follow along.
"I have my head down to write, and I couldn't catch anything she was saying," Dr. Gardner recalls. 杏吧专区淓ven though I got her a letter, she accused me of using it to get a leg up on my classmates.杏吧专区
Once she began teaching, she wanted to make sure her students had a level playing field.
杏吧专区淚 did everything I could to make learning as easy as possible and as fair as possible for students in my class with disabilities, whatever those disabilities were,杏吧专区 Dr. Gardner says. 杏吧专区淚t's so important to me that everyone be given the opportunity to learn the material.杏吧专区
Many of her criminal justice courses have only recently been developed at UL Lafayette, and Dr. Gardner says she杏吧专区檚 still in the thick of making sure they杏吧专区檒l fully comply with WCAG 2.1 Level AA requirements.
杏吧专区淩ight now, it's stressing me out, and it's intimidating,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淏ut, I know, ultimately, it's going to make a better course for everyone.杏吧专区
Accessibility Beyond Video Captions
Providing video captions has been a long-standing accessibility standard as part of the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 online course design foundations. Panopto, an EduTool supported by the Office of Distance Learning for recording and editing instructional video, has included an feature for several years.
Additional have included:
- for images and graphs.
- Using .
- Avoiding .
- Only .
Beginning April 2026, courses will also need to comply with the , which include the following requirements:
- Ensure all functionality is available using only a keyboard.
- Videos have audio descriptions as well as captions.
- Proper heading levels (H1, H2, etc.) for screen reader navigation.
Accessibility Resources
Improving course accessibility can be a challenge but one well worth the outcome, says Dr. Crocco.
To support faculty in their efforts, the Office of Distance Learning has identified and adopted Panorama, which integrates with the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 Moodle LMS.
杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 going to be an excellent resource for both faculty and students,杏吧专区 Dr. Crocco says. 杏吧专区淧anorama will identify accessibility issues for faculty and provide step-by-step guidance for remediation. For students, it can generate alternative content formats on demand.杏吧专区
Throughout Fall 2025, both the Office of Distance Learning and the 杏吧专区 of Louisiana System have held live webinars that have been recorded and are available for review and reference.
The Instructional Support Team also relaunched ODL 120: Designing Accessible Online Courses for all UL Lafayette faculty members. The self-paced Moodle course provides an overview of accessibility requirements as well as practical solutions for making course materials accessible.
Finally, faculty can always reach out to the Instructional Support Team with questions or guidance regarding course design and accessibility.
For Dr. Gardner, that杏吧专区檚 been the most valuable resource as she improves her course content.
杏吧专区淭he Office of Distance Learning staff have been phenomenal about helping me and have been patient about walking me through step by step,杏吧专区 she says. 杏吧专区淭hey have been a phenomenal resource. I feel like I've learned so much from them, because there's so many things that you can do. It has been a godsend.杏吧专区
