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ATTENTION UTRGV Digital Content Creators - Action Required: Digital Accessibility Compliance by April 24, 2026 - Under a new ADA Title II rule issued April 24, 2024, UTRGV must ensure all web content and mobile apps are accessible by April 24, 2026. Accessibility is not just about meeting standards — it’s about ensuring everyone can fully engage with our digital spaces.
Create. Review. Test. Approve. Publish.
Only publish content that you are 100% certain complies with ADA Requirements. Ensure accessibility review, testing, and approval are completed before publishing as part of your digital publishing process.
Purpose:
This article introduces what is digital accessibility and provides a step-by-step process for reviewing, documenting, and remediating accessibility issues across websites and digital content, including documents, media, and internal resources. It includes required reports, templates, checklists, tools, training resources, and support links.
The information and process below is created to support the following:
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Website owners and managers
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Content creators and editors
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Social media managers
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Video and multimedia producers
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SharePoint site owners
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Research and communications staff
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Anyone that creates content to share and publish on internal and external sites
What is digital accessibility
Digital accessibility is about making websites, apps, documents, and other digital tools usable by everyone, including people with disabilities. That means designing and building digital content so people can navigate, understand, and interact with it whether they use screen readers, keyboards, voice commands, captions, or other assistive technologies.
Accessible design removes barriers, improves usability for all users, and helps ensure equal access to information and services online.
Watch the What is Digital Accessibility? video
Recommended Process Workflow
- Inventory all documents
- Prioritize high-traffic or critical documents
- Remove unnecessary files
- Remediate required files
- Replace inaccessible PDFs with HTML when possible
Step 1: Request Accessibility Reports from IT & Download Public PDF Report
Goal: Identify known accessibility issues.
Actions:
What You’ll Receive on the Site Improve Report:
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Summary of issues
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Affected pages or assets
Step 2: Review Existing Documents
Goal: Begin by identifying all documents currently published or stored in locations accessible to the public or campus community.
Actions:
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Review Common document types include:
- PDFs
- Word documents
- PowerPoint presentations
- Forms
- Reports
- Policies and procedures
- Guides or instructions
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Review and Prioritize most trafficked PDFs using UTRGV Website PDF Google Search Console Performance Report for your department website.
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Determine if the Document Should Be Eliminated or Remediated
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If the document is no longer necessary, it should be removed rather than remediated.
Consider eliminating documents that are:
- Outdated or expired
- Duplicates of other documents
- Archived materials that are no longer referenced
- Old newsletters or announcements
- Documents replaced by newer versions
Prioritizing Documents
If a large number of documents exist, prioritize remediation in the following order:
- Forms and applications
- Policies and official documents
- Frequently accessed resources
- Instructional materials
- Archived reference materials
Step 3: Download the Remediation Plan Template (Document Creators Start Here)
Goal: Track and document fixes consistently.
Download Digital Accessibility Remediation Plan - Log Template to get started
Note: Template Created by COLTT member: Jessica Sanchez
Use this template to log:
Step 4: Download Accessibility Checklists
Goal: Ensure consistent reviews across content types.
Primary Checklist
Step 5: Review Your Content Using the Checklists
Goal: Identify and log issues by content type.
Review each applicable content type and document findings in your remediation plan.
Content Types to Review
Watch the Web Accessibility Perspectives Video to have a better understanding of the importance of making digital content accessible.
Step 6: Use Accessibility Checker, Testing & Support Tools
Goal: Use accessibility checking tools to identify and correct issues. Fix and validate all identified accessibility errors before publishing the document.
Accessibility is assessed through a comprehensive hybrid approach: 50% automated analysis using industry-standard tools and 50% manual testing, including screen reader evaluations and hands-on assistive technology validation.
Recommended Browser Plug In Tools
Browser Accessibility Plug In Extension Tools
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SiteImprove Accessiblity Checker free browser extension to scan web pages for accessibility issues.
How to use: Install the plug in, go to the page you want scan, click on the icon.
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Level Access Browser Extension free browser extension to scan web pages for accessibility issues.
How to use: Install the plug in, go to the page you want scan, click on the icon.
Built-In Software Accessibility and Support Tools
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Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Checker
How to use: Use Adobe Acrobat Pro to run a full accessibility check on PDFs, identify issues such as missing tags, reading order problems, and document structure errors, and apply fixes directly within the tool.
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Microsoft Accessibility Checker
How to use: Built into Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and PDFs
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Microsoft Copilot - Use this tool to help create alt-text for images, transcripts, and other uses to support accessibility requirements.
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Ask Microsoft Accessibility - The Ask Microsoft Accessibility bot is a tool that helps users find information about the accessibility of Microsoft products and services. It uses only the publicly available information on microsoft.com as a reference and does not answer general accessibility questions or questions about code.
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Accessibility support for enterprise customers - The enterprise Disability Answer Desk (eDAD) is a support resource for organizations that have questions about the accessibility of Microsoft products and product conformance with accessibility standards. The support team can help resolve issues relating to assistive technology, as well as find conformance documentation. The team is available Monday-Friday, 8AM-5PM PST.
Watch the MS National Office Hours - Design for Inclusion: An Accessibility + Copilot Conversation Video
Accessibility Testers
ADA Compliance Required Before Publishing
Create. Review. Test. Approve. Publish.
Step 7: Training Resources by Content Type
Goal: Help users fix issues correctly.
Web Content
Training link(s):
Documents (PDF, Word, PowerPoint)
Training link(s):
Videos & Multimedia
Training link(s):
Social Media
Training link(s):
Brightspace (LMS) – Faculty Training Resources
These are the official UTRGV-supported training materials for online course instruction:
Step 8: Get Help and Support
Support Community
Additional Help
Related Articles / Resources
Watch the Introduction to Web Accessibility and W3C Standards Video