Canvas Accessibility Training Series
The Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology (OTLT) supports faculty in using Canvas. Our instructional designers, software specialist, and Canvas administrator are aware of digital accessibility requirements to help you learn to create courses that meet the required Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). This guide outlines each session of our Fall 2025 Canvas Accessibility training series and connects you with valuable resources when working towards the deadline of April 26, 2027.
Self-enroll in our Canvas Accessibility Faculty Training Series course for explanations and examples.
Session Guides
Session 1: Is Your Course Score 100%?Learning Outcomes
- Identify the reason for digital accessibility in Canvas.
- Locate your Ally Accessibility Report and course score.
- Explain how a Canvas 100% score gets UIW closer to compliance.
- Complete three quick-win actions in a course.
- Access help resources.
Why is digital accessibility a requirement?
- US Department of Justice (DOJ) Ruling - April 2024
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title II
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Levels A and AA: Digital Accessibility Standards Rubric
- Applies to private universities receiving federal funding
- UIW Deadline: April 26, 2027
- OTLT Focus on Canvas: Train faculty to make accessible courses before Spring 2027
Is your course Ally score 100%? Score vs Compliance
- Guide to check your Canvas course score
- Improving your score is the starting point
- A perfect Ally score does not equal compliance
- Ally can’t measure every legal requirement
- Start small with quick wins - we cover 3!
- Spot complex issues early, like inaccessible curriculum tools, so you can work with third parties
How reliable are accessibility checkers?
- Reliability varies per product: Ally and the Canvas Rich Content Editor are more reliable than Microsoft Office
- They are training tools to help you learn WCAG practices
- They don't replace the need for learning digital accessibility skills
- These tools can't judge if:
- alt text is meaningful
- captions are accurate
- your writing is clear
- navigation is easy
- your course is overall easy to use
Action Items: Three Quick Wins
Quick Win 1: Delete Unused Content
- Old content students can't access is not a compliance concern
- Clutter blocks the path to a 100% Ally score
- Delete anything students don't use
- Keep old material only in courses that end before Spring 2027
- Copy anything you want to save into your Sandbox course
- Clean up:
- Files
- Pages
- Announcements
- Assignments/Quizzes/Discussions
- Save Modules for last - they update automatically as other items are removed
Quick Win 2: Identify and Mark Decorative Images
An image is decorative if you answer NO to the following questions:
- Does this picture teach a concept not fully explained in text?
- Do students need this picture to answer a test question, join a discussion, or complete an assignment?
- Does this picture provide important context for understanding the course material?
- Would removing this picture cause students to lose information they need?
- Is this picture used to label, identify, or demonstrate something specific like a chart, diagram, or example?
If you answer YES to any of these questions, the image needs meaningful alternative text.
Quick Win 3: Write Descriptive Hyperlink Text
- Link text should tell people where the link goes
- Avoid generic words like “click here,” “read more,” “reading,” or “quiz”
- Don’t paste the full URL - use short, meaningful keywords instead (e.g., Library Database or Unit 2 Quiz)
- Link to a resource only once per area of your course
Session 2: Color Decisions and Alternative TextLearning Outcomes
- Select accessible color combinations.
- Check colors for sufficient contrast ratio.
- Add secondary labels for information conveyed through color alone.
- Determine if an image is decorative.
- Write alternative text for images used for learning.
- Include long description text for complex images.
Empathy Exercises for Vision Considerations
Color Decisions
Why is color selection important?
- Accessible color selection helps those with color blindness, which impacts roughly 1 in 20 people.
- Certain colors can also prevent visual vibrations and reduce eye strain.
- Build accessible palettes by entering the hex code of your main color in the Accessible Color Palette Generator to generate options.
- Not sure what the hex code is for your main color? Colorpick Eyedropper browser extension gives you the six-character code used to define colors in digital design.
- Color combinations difficult for many users to see clearly to avoid include red with green, blue with yellow, light grey with white, and overly bright or neon shades.
What color contrast ratios are acceptable?
- Text and image colors must have sufficient contrast against the background color.
- 4.5:1 is minimum contrast for text smaller than 18 pt regular or smaller than 14 pt bold as well as text within images.
- 3:1 is minimum contrast for text 18 pt regular or larger and 14 pt bold or larger as well as graphical elements.
- Use the WebAIM Contrast Checker webpage or Contrast Checker Bookmarklet to confirm the contrast ratio of two colors.
- These WebAIM Contrast Checkers have the Colorpick Eyedropper functionality built in for easy color identification.
- Use the Adobe Color Contrast Analyzer for more in-depth guidance.
Why does color content need secondary labels?
- Color cannot be the only means of conveying information.
- Secondary labels provide clarity for any person who is unable to perceive the colors used.
- Maps, color coded documents, charts, and graphs are examples that need patterns, labels, or icons alongside the use of color.
- Ensure hyperlinks are a different color from text to draw attention but also have underlined style as the secondary label.
- Don't remove underline from apps that style hyperlinks automatically (Canvas and Word).
Image Decisions
What is a decorative image?
- Images are classified as decorative based on the context of how they are used.
- Decorative images either don’t convey information or are redundant to surrounding text.
- A good test: Could this image be deleted without diminishing the educational value of the course? If yes, it is decorative.
- Decorative images are marked decorative instead of given alternative text, which tells screen readers to ignore them.
How is effective alternative text written?
- Images that provide educational value require alt text.
- Alt text concisely describes the meaning or function of an image.
- Alt text is not necessarily about the literal appearance: "Search button” rather than “Magnifying glass icon”
- Picture explaining the image aloud without showing it.
- Avoid repeating information already provided in the surrounding text.
- Alt text over 120 characters is flagged by the Canvas Accessibility Checker in the RCE.
When do images need a long description?
- If an image can’t be explained in a single concise sentence, it requires a long description.
- Complex images often include charts, diagrams, infographics, maps, or blueprints.
- Historical art and design plan images may need long descriptions depending on the learning objectives.
- Ensure images are high enough quality to zoom to 200% without losing detail or becoming blurry.
- Do not use images of tables; build tables using text and proper table formatting.
- In the Canvas RCE Upload Image option, use the custom Figure feature to add a title and long description.
- Use the Canvas RCE to format the long description text with paragraphs, headings, lists, or links as needed for clarity.
Extended Learning
WebAIM (Web Accessibility In Mind) is a non-profit service center at Utah State University and one of the leading providers of web accessibility expertise internationally.
Session 3: Audio and Video TranscriptsContent coming soon.Session 4: Choose Accessible Web Content for Your CoursesContent coming soon.Session 5: Correct Documents Before PDF ConversionContent coming soon.
Digital Accessibility Resources