Accessibility is a fundamental part of how we serve our audiences. Whether people are accessing information through our websites, PDFs, videos, social media, or other digital resources, everyone should have equitable access to the information we provide.
An important accessibility deadline is approaching, and now is the time to prepare.
What is changing?
The U.S. Department of Justice finalized new Title II ADA requirements that mandate digital accessibility standards for state and local governments, including public universities, in April of 2024.
For most public institutions, compliance is required by April 26, 2027 (a one-year extension from the original April 2026 deadline).
This means that digital content provided by our institution must be accessible to people with disabilities. The rule generally aligns with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA, the internationally recognized standard for digital accessibility.
What content is affected?
The digital accessibility requirements extend far beyond websites. Any digital content provided to the public may need to meet accessibility standards, including:
- Web pages
- PDFs and other electronic documents
- Online forms
- Videos and multimedia content
- Course materials
- Mobile applications
- Social media posts and content
- Digital publications, newsletters, and marketing materials
Because accessibility affects a wide range of digital content, it should be considered from the beginning of content development, not just when content is published or distributed.
Accessibility matters
At its core, accessibility helps ensure that students, employees, and members of the public can access university information and resources regardless of ability.
Accessible content benefits:
- Individuals who use screen readers
- People with low or no vision or those with color blindness
- Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing
- Users with mobility limitations
- People with cognitive or learning disabilities
Many accessibility best practices enhance the user experience for everyone, not just individuals with disabilities.
Common accessibility challenges
Many accessibility issues can be avoided during content creation. Some common examples include:
- PDFs that have not been properly tagged
- Images without alternative text
- Videos without captions
- Insufficient color contrast
- Tables that are not structured correctly
- Heading hierarchy is not followed correctly
- Hyperlinks that do not include alternative text
- Hyperlink alternative text that says “click here” rather than describing the destination
- Images with too much text
Addressing these issues early is typically much easier than correcting them later.
How you can prepare
The best approach is to begin incorporating accessibility practices into your regular workflow now.
Consider taking the following steps:
- Learn basic accessibility best practices for the communication channels you manage (see Resources below).
- Review your existing digital content and identify high-priority materials.
- Create new documents and web content with accessibility in mind from the start.
- Use built-in accessibility checkers available in Microsoft Office, Adobe Acrobat, and web content management systems.
- Add meaningful alternative text to images.
- Check tagging structure and reading order.
- Mark images as decorative/artifact if they don’t provide additional information to the reader.
- Ensure videos include accurate captions.
Don’t wait, start now
Although April 2027 may seem distant, preparing for accessibility takes time, particularly for organizations like UF that manage large volumes of existing content.
By beginning now, we can reduce the need for last-minute remediation, improve the user experience for all audiences, and help ensure that our university’s digital content remains accessible, all-encompassing, and compliant.
Accessibility is a shared responsibility, and every step we take today helps create a more comprehensive digital environment for tomorrow.
Resources and support
UF Resources
UF/IFAS course materials
Blog.IFAS posts
- Canva and Document Accessibility
- Getting Started with Making PDFs ADA Compliant
- Image Alternative Text – ADA Compliance
Recorded training by ICS
- Representing UF/IFAS on Social Media (Self-paced)
- UF/IFAS T4 Training Hub – Accessibility
- Web Content Standards and ADA Compliance Kick-off
- Video Captioning for YouTube
- UF/IFAS Communications training (look under Document Accessibility – ADA)
- ADA Accessibility in Word
- Accessibility in Word – guide
- Accessible PowerPoint Video and PowerPoint Accessibility Guide
- InDesign to PDF
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