Digital Accessibility Resources
Improve the accessibility of your digital content—such as websites, multimedia, and classroom materials—with these best practices and resources.
- Digital Accessibility Tips: learn more about digital best practices, such as adding alt text to images, converting image text to usable text, and more
- Improving User Experience & Accessibility on Zoom: best practices for increasing accessibility in virtual meetings and class sessions
- WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool): suite of free evaluation tools that helps authors make their web content more accessible to individuals with disabilities
- Web AIM Color Contrast Checker: Using the correct color contrast ratio makes text legible for users with low vision, vision impairments, and different types of color blindness.
- Web Accessibility Easy Checks: simple steps to see whether website accessibility is addressed in the most basic ways, such as text size, color contrast, and more. For a more comprehensive approach, please refer to Techniques for WCAG 2.1.
- Web Development and Content Resources: resources and support for creating accessible websites and web-based software developed or utilized by the University; multimedia, such as infographics and videos; electronic documents, such as presentations and forms; electronic instructional materials; and more
Giving Assistance to Students
Faculty can assist in ensuring that all students are equal and full participants in the college experience by working to identify and remove barriers to accessing curriculum and activities.
- Conducting effective communication to encourage students to communicate directly with you and other faculty members.
- Invite students to share information about their approved academic accommodation(s) early in the semester OR anytime new accommodations are granted.
- Accessible textbook formats (i.e., large print, electronic formats).
- If applicable, share your own experience, as your comfort level allows.
- Honor diversity and cultural differences.
Create Accessible Document with Microsoft Word
The best way to make content accessible is to create it with accessibility in mind. Use these tips as a basic guide for creating accessible documents in Microsoft Word.
Creating Accessible PDF Documents
PDF files are created in various programs (Word, Excel, InDesign, etc.) and the best way to create an accessible PDF is to make the document accessibly from the beginning in the original application. However, Adobe Acrobat Pro allows us to evaluate, repair, and enhance the accessibility of existing PDF files and can be a great tool to learn what steps were missing when the initial document was created.
Creating Accessible Canvas Site
As UMass transitions to Canvas as a Learning Management System, it is important to make sure that your class pages are accessible to students.

Additional Accessible Teaching Resources
UMass Amherst is committed to offering a range of resources that support our faculty as they create an accessible learning environment for all students.
Need Help or Have a Question?
If you need help locating an accessibility resource at UMass Amherst or have a question or comment about our services, please fill out this form.