Digital Accessibility Standards and Resources

Welcome!

This page serves as a repository of recommended resources to support you navigating and adhering to our Digital Accessibility Policy and Standards and Guidelines.

General Digital Accessibility Resources of Excellence

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

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

CU Anschutz Digital Accessibility Standards and Guidelines

The University of Colorado’s accessibility policies are undergoing updates to comply with the new law, emphasizing the importance of accessibility within our campus community. Campus standards and updated policies will be posted here soon.

Resources Related to Course Materials

The CU Denver Division for Teaching Innovation and Program Strategy (TIPS) offers workshops and events open to CU Anschutz faculty. Visit their training website for event details.
For instructors using Canvas, Anthology Ally is a valuable tool that enhances the accessibility of course content for both students and instructors. Build into Canvas, Anthology Ally helps improve the accessibility of course materials, ensuring that all students have equal access to learning resources. In August, the team will have a new tool available called SensusAccess 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 inclusive pedagogy.

Resources Related to Document Accessibility

CU Boulder Digital Accessibility Office offers resources available for making accessible documents in the following formats: PDFs, Word, PowerPoint, Emails, and Google Docs.
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.
Looking for guidance on PDF accessibility? We've got you covered. Check out Introduction to PDF Accessibility by Adobe Acrobat.

Resources Related to Captioning and Audio Description of Materials

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 resources are W3C's Making Audio and Video and Media Accessible guide and UC Berkeley's Transcripts and Accessibility guide.

Resources Related to Digital Signage

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.

Resources Related to Web Accessibility

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).

Resources Related to eCommunications

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:

Resources Related to Procurement

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 below.

Vendor Options

University bidders and vendors must show that the information technology they provide conforms to or addresses accessibility guidelines with WCAG 2.1 Level A/AA success criteria and requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Vendors may do so by providing either of the following:

An independent third party evaluation from an accessibility consultancy (the vendor's responsibility)
A Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT). If a VPAT is used, it must use the VPAT 2.5 template, which is based on WCAG 2.1 Level A/AA and WCAG 2.2. The VPAT 2.5 template is available from the Information Technology Industry Council.

Our recommended resources for this phase include:

Guide: Understanding an Accessibility Compliance Report (State of Colorado OIT).
Guide: Interpreting a VPAT (Harvard University).
Guide: Asking the Right Questions for Procuring Accessible Technology (EDUCAUSE).

Accessibility Validation

Once accessibility information has been received, it is best practice to validate the information provided by the vendor. You can do this by following any of the following processes:

Performing a risk assessment of the vendor and its digital accessibility conformance criteria. A guide on how to conduct a risk assessment is provided by the The State of Colorado OIT. They recommend sending the vendor a list of these checklist questions related to the vendor's digital accessibility strategy. You can input the vendor's answers into the State of Colorado OIT's Accessibility Risk Assessment Template to score their answers.
Consulting with an independent third party that can evaluate the product or service for accessibility. The CU Denver Center for Inclusive Design and Engineering (CIDE) offers fee-based access and usability testing for applications. Visit their site to learn more.
Conducting an internal evaluation of the accessibility of the product.

Additional resources to support you in this phase include:

The State of Colorado OIT's product owner and project manager guide.

Accessibility Assurances

Following discussions about accessibility, the procurement contract should outline the agreement between the vendor and procurer regarding how progress on accessibility will be measured. For instance, the vendor might provide a roadmap as an addendum to the contract, detailing a prioritized list of accessibility issues and a timeline for addressing each one. Contract extensions could then be contingent on satisfactory progress toward resolving these issues. It is highly recommended that an accessibility roadmap should be established, identifying specifically which accessibility gaps and issues will be addressed and upon what timeline.

If the best product for a specific need falls short of meeting accessibility requirements, vendors should commit to improving accessibility within a specified timeline, possibly collaborating with campus staff. Even if the product is currently accessible, the contract should ensure continued accessibility through updates, particularly for products on a rapid release cycle.

The State of Colorado OIT requires that standard boilerplate language should be included in your contract with any vendor. Below is their recommended language in contracts:

A. Accessibility Indemnification
Contractor shall indemnify, save, and hold harmless the Indemnified Parties, against any and all costs, expenses, claims, damages, liabilities, court awards and other amounts (including attorneys’ fees and related costs) incurred by any of the Indemnified Parties in relation to Contractor’s failure to comply with §§24-85-101, et seq., C.R.S., or the Accessibility Standards for Individuals with a Disability as established by OIT pursuant to Section §24-85-103 (2.5), C.R.S.

B. Accessibility
i. Contractor shall comply with and the Work Product provided under this Contract shall be in compliance with all applicable provisions of §§24-85-101, et seq., C.R.S., and the Accessibility Standards for Individuals with a Disability, as established by OIT pursuant to Section §24-85-103 (2.5), C.R.S. Contractor shall also comply with all State of Colorado technology standards related to technology accessibility and with Level AA of the most current version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), incorporated in the State of Colorado technology standards.

Tools & Resources

CU Campuses

CU Anschutz Medical Campus