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Supporting Digital Accessibility

Posted May 7, 2025 in Featured News, JMU Libraries News

As the Provost shared on May 6, updates to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act mean that most online resources from JMU will need to meet basic digital accessibility standards by April 24, 2026. This federal mandate now includes course materials — and not just those for which students have requested accommodations.  

We recognize this will be a big lift, with varying impacts across JMU. Your friends in the Libraries are working hard with campus partners to help! 

What does digital accessibility mean? 

JMU’s approach — outlined in a new Digital Accessibility website — treats our Title II support as an ongoing collaboration aimed at expanding access to information and education.  

As a continuous process of removing barriers that hinder engagement and learning, digital accessibility can never be considered “perfect” or “fully done.” However, by striving to improve the accessibility of course content, we can better support JMU students with disabilities and improve the educational experience for all JMU students.  

What will Title II compliance look like for JMU courses? 

Course content that should meet the new standards will generally include files you create or provide via Canvas, or materials you may link to externally for online reading or viewing. In the Libraries, we are also working hard with publishers and vendors to meet accessibility requirements for the content we license and purchase for your use.

Three key examples of digital accessibility in course materials include providing basic structure for documents like syllabi, captions for videos, and alt text for images.  

What can faculty do now?  

As you plan your work leading up to late Spring 2026, we encourage you to explore the resources JMU is providing. Here are a few steps to take over the next year: 

Are more Title II resources on the way? 

Yes! JMU plans to offer additional resources over the next year, working through our campus Accessibility Committee. These include: 

And more support to come, based on your feedback. 

As always, your colleagues at JMU Libraries are here to help you teach with Canvas, provide course materials to your students, and much more. Please reach out to us or share your feedback and questions with the campus Accessibility Committee directly.