What the FCTL Is Doing
The Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning supports faculty in creating accessible, inclusive learning environments by:
- Focusing on accessibility in teaching and learning
- Participating in the USM Digital Accessibility Working Group
- Providing consultations, workshops, and hands-on support
- Sharing tools, templates, and practical guidance
- Escalating instructional concerns to the UMB Accessibility Task Force when needed
Our goal is to make accessibility approachable, practical, and sustainable for faculty.
Faculty Responsibilities
Accessibility is a shared institutional responsibility, and faculty play a key role. Every instructor is responsible for making sure that the digital content they create and/or provide to students is accessible.
Below are some actions faculty can take to advance accessibility in their courses. Small steps can make a big impact for students.
| Action |
Explanation |
| Review course materials |
- Documents (Word documents, PowerPoints, PDFs, spreadsheets)
- Media (video, audio, images)
- Blackboard content (content pages, announcements, assignment instructions)
|
| Apply accessibility best practices |
- Headings and document structure
- Table structure
- Meaningful alternative text for images
- Usable captions and transcripts for media
- Searchable and correctly tagged PDFs
- Descriptive links
- Color and contrast
|
| Use built-in accessibility checkers |
- Use built-in tools such as Microsoft accessibility checkers and Blackboard Ally to identify and remediate accessibility issues
- Understand the strengths and limitations of these tools
|
| Develop skills and expertise |
- Participate in FCTL trainings and consultations
- Engage with available resources provided by UMB
|
| Address accessibility proactively |
- It is far easier to create an accessible resource than it is to remediate an existing resource.
|
