This summer, in preparation for the 2025-26 academic year, the UC Irvine Division of Teaching Excellence and Innovation (DTEI) launched a new initiative dedicated to promoting digital accessibility across campus. Established in partnership with the UC Irvine Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity (ODED), the Digital Accessibility Support and Help (DASH) Team works directly with faculty and academic units to foster digital accessibility. Common support topics include best practices and guidance for creating accessible Canvas course spaces, lecture slides, instructional documents, graphics, and videos.
“The campus recognizes the importance of making our courses accessible to all students, but also acknowledges the tremendous amount of work our faculty are already putting into their classes to make them a success,” explains Brian Sato, Acting Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning and Dean of DTEI. “We believe the DASH Team will be able to provide guidance and hands-on support for our faculty as we prepare for the April deadline.”
Why Accessible Teaching Matters
Accessible teaching has become an increasingly important topic in higher education. Globally, over 1.3 billion people experience some form of disability, and one in every four people lives with a disability in the United States. As institutions like UC Irvine strive to create more inclusive learning environments, accessibility is not only a matter of equity but also a growing legal responsibility.
Under the updated ADA Title II regulations, instructional materials and Canvas courses must be accessible to all students by April 24, 2026. This includes PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint slide decks, Excel spreadsheets, charts, diagrams, data visualizations, graphics, eLearning modules, mp3s, videos, and all information made available through websites and web-based platforms. Compliance with these federal standards is essential to ensuring that every learner can fully engage with course content.
However, the campus’s push for digital accessibility isn’t just about adhering to regulations. According to Andrew Berk, ADA Coordinator at ODED and joint leader of the DASH Team, ensuring digital accessibility aligns with UC Irvine’s mission of providing equal opportunity for all students and enacting wide-scale, positive change:
“Creation of accessible online spaces is about more than just legal compliance; it is about UC Irvine creating a better society. Students with disabilities taking accessible courses move one step closer to graduation, employment, and independence. Employees with disabilities can show their true value in good-paying jobs if their employers’ online spaces are accessible. UC Irvine’s accessible online spaces are changing the world for the better, thanks in part to the DASH students.”
DASH Support and Resources
To help prepare faculty for Fall Quarter 2025, the DASH Team hosted a hybrid training session over the summer to cover the basics of creating accessible Canvas course spaces and updating instructional materials. For assistance with specific accessibility questions and troubleshooting, the team hosts a weekly walk-in accessibility clinic and is available for support via email. For more in-depth support, faculty, staff, and students can schedule one-on-one teaching consultations for personalized and comprehensive guidance. The team is also available to provide accessibility training tailored to address your unit or department’s specific needs.
Megan Linos, Director of Digital and Online Teaching at DTEI and joint leader of the DASH Team, recommends faculty schedule a consultation with the DASH team: “When you schedule a faculty consultation with our team, we will introduce you to the course accessibility process. Following this consultation, a DASH Team member will complete all accessibility updates in your Canvas course. This service will be limited based on the availability of the DASH Team, so please schedule a consultation appointment soon if interested.”
Looking ahead, the DASH Team will offer a series of 90-minute DASH Studios in September to guide faculty and grad students through the process of making their Canvas courses, lecture slides, instructional videos, and documents accessible for all students before the Fall quarter begins:
- Tuesday, September 9, 2025, 10:00 – 11:30 AM in ALP 2500
- Making Your Syllabus Accessible: The Dash Team will guide attendees through the process of creating or revising a course syllabus to meet accessibility guidelines.
- Wednesday, September 17, 2025, 10:00 – 11:30 AM in ALP 2500
- Making Your Lectures and Slides Accessible: Attendees will learn to structure content, enhance readability, add video captions and transcripts, and apply other changes to improve the accessibility of lecture slides and videos.
- Tuesday, September 23, 2025, 10:00 – 11:30 AM in ALP 2500
- Making Your Canvas Course Accessible: The DASH Team will walk attendees through a review of their Canvas courses and provide practical steps to revise content and materials, helping to create a well-organized, fully accessible course ready for the Fall quarter.
The DASH Team has also compiled an array of accessibility resources and trainings that the UC Irvine community is encouraged to explore:
- DTEI’s Teaching Accessibility Guide
- UC Irvine AccessibiliTrees Badge Program
- EDX’s W3Cx: Introduction to Web Accessibility
- How do I use the Accessibility Checker in Canvas’ Rich Content Editor?
- Start with the 7 Core Accessibility Skills
- Making Your Documents and Presentations Accessible
- Making Your Webpage Accessible
Visit the DASH webpage to learn more about services and resources, and stay tuned for information on upcoming workshops and events. To arrange a customized group training for your unit or department, contact Megan Linos at wlinos@uci.edu.
