Academic Digital Accessibility Priority Matrix
Introduction
UCI values integrated and accessible classes where every student has equal opportunity to learn. Accessible digital course materials require features like alt text for images, captions for videos, and the ability to navigate the document or Canvas page using only a keyboard. These features also make it easier for everyone to access digital course materials. Captions allow people to watch videos in noisy environments. Keyboard navigation makes accessing the materials on a laptop possible without interacting with a clumsy touchpad.
Regulations from the US Department of Justice require all digital course materials to be accessible by April 24, 2026. The chart below provides a suggested method for prioritizing evaluating and improving the accessibility of existing digital course materials. Please feel free to email any questions to ada@uci.edu.
Suggested Prioritization for Making Digital Content Accessible
| Task | Priority | Example | Reason | Resources and Tips |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anything posted to a public UCI website | 1 | Any UCI websites viewable by members of the public | Public facing websites are a statement to UCI's legal compliance and reputation for including people with disabilities. Inaccessible elements of these sites are the most likely sources of lawsuits and negative press. | UCI DASH team, which provides support on digital accessiblity in websites, Canvas pages, and electronic course materials |
| Documents describing course content and providing resources on how to request reasonable accomodations | 2 | Syllabi or other online resource providing course overview | Documents like syllabi convey expectations, topics covered, required assignments, and grading scales. Syllabi are also likely to contain instructions on how to request reasonable accomodations, which some students with disabilities need to fully participate in the course. | DSC Inclusive Syllabus Statement, which includes instructions on how students can request reasonable accomodations. Instructors can include this language in their syllabi |
| Materials and activities with short deadlines or little notice to students | 3 | Quizzes, unannounced in class polls (Poll Everywhere, iClicker) | Students must perform these activities quickly and there is little time to address newly discovered accessibility issues. | Users of Poll Everywhere can fill out a help ticket with OIT if they have questions about accessibility. UCI makes iClicker available to faculty for free. Email eee-support@uci.edu if you have questions about this service's accessibility. |
| Take home assignments with deadlines greater than or equal to one week | 4 | Homework assignments, including those outside of Canvas such as Knewton Alta, Pearson MyLab and Mastering | While not as time sensitive as unannounced class polls, students must complete these assignments in a timely manner in order to achieve a passing grade. Homework typically makes up the most substantial part of a student's grade after exams and quizzes. | UCI makes Knewton Alta and Pearson MyLab and Mastering available to faculty for free. Email eee-support@uci.edu if you have questions about the accessibility of these services. |
| Any recorded class learning sessions that are available to students | 5 | Lectures, discussion sections, review sessions | All students must have equal opportunity to participate and benefit from class learning sessions. Available videos need captions and audio descriptions. Available audio recordings need transcripts. | UCI Replay by Yuja, which allows automatic and manual captioning of recorded videos Captions and Transcripts: FAQs is a quick, easy way to learn about captions and transcripts |
| Course materials that are digital documents or media | 6 | PDF's, websites only available to class participants, videos, audio recordings | Digital course materials, especially required ones, are essential to meeting course objectives. | UCI DTEI Accessibility Guide |
| Materials presented live in class and not available to students on any platform | 7 | PowerPoints, diagrams, equations, graphs, charts, pictures, and other materials displayed only during lectures or discussion sections, planned exams | Students needing access to these materials typically ask for them as reasonable accommodations at the beginning of the quarter, providing notice and time to make any required accessibility remediations. There are exceptions, especially when a student discovers their disability during the quarter. | DSC will respond to any questions about accommodations that they grant regarding accessibility of electronic materials. You can contact them at 949-824-7494 or dsc@uci.edu |