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Accessibility

Digital Accessibility

In accordance with Northwestern's commitment to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and supportive learning environment for all, the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance has established a Digital Accessibility Policy that took effect on September 1, 2021. When presenting students with online material, it is important to adhere to accessibility guidelines included on this page to ensure all students can access the materials.

Course Materials

Make sure to implement the seven core accessibility skills in all course materials properly:

Pope Tech

The Pope Tech Accessibility Guide is available in all Canvas courses. Pope Tech is a Canvas accessibility evaluation tool that scans pages to reveal accessibility errors, summarizes accessibility errors for a course via a dashboard, and provides an interface to correct those issues directly on each course page.

Canvas Course Templates

Accessible course templates are available via Canvas Commons. Full course templates and templates that focus on specific course elements, like the syllabus page, can be easily imported into a new or existing course site.

PDFs

Make sure all PDFs posted to your course site are accessible. Review this guide on making a PDF accessible.  

Recorded Material

Closed captioning for live classes

Captioning can be added by turning on Zoom’s captioning capabilities.

Captioning can also be added by a captioner typing directly in Zoom. If you do not have a captioner, the best option is HRI-CART, an organization AccessibleNU and Northwestern IT work with regularly. HRI can arrange for captioners to join your meetings. View contact information and pricing details. 

Should a student require live captioning as an accommodation, please ask them to contact AccessibleNU at accessiblenu@northwestern.edu.

Captions for recordings

If you are recording classes, Zoom will automatically generate a transcript that can be used as closed captioning. This auto-generated transcript may not be completely accurate and might require some editing. View instructions for generating and editing Zoom’s auto transcription.

Here is information on how to add and edit captions for a Panopto recording.

Exams

When an exam is administered online, students with accessibility accommodations may need extra time to complete it. If this is the case, AccessibleNU will send you a letter indicating these accommodations.

Adding time to assessments in Canvas

Questions about accommodation

For any accommodation questions, contact AccessibleNU.

Planning for Student Needs

  • Stay in close communication with students about any changes to the course and assess what may or may not be working effectively.
  • Be ready to handle requests for course flexibility equitably.
  • Encourage students seeking academic accommodations for a disability to contact AccessibleNU.