Staff Digital Accessibility Resources

At UMBC, digital accessibility is everyone’s responsibility — and our staff play a vital role in ensuring that university communications, services, and platforms are accessible to all students, employees, and visitors. Whether you’re creating documents, updating websites, sending newsletters, managing events, or using software to deliver services, you can help eliminate digital barriers and support equitable access.

This page is your central resource for understanding accessibility expectations, learning practical strategies, and finding tools to make your digital content and communications more inclusive. Whether you’re working in administration, advising, marketing, IT, or student support services, you’ll find actionable guidance to support your role.

What Does Digital Accessibility Mean for Staff?

You might contribute to digital accessibility when you:

  • Create and share public-facing documents, PDFs, or forms
  • Manage department websites or update web content in Sites@UMBC
  • Send email campaigns, newsletters, or campus-wide announcements
  • Use tools like Google Docs, Adobe Acrobat, Excel, or PowerPoint
  • Organize hybrid/virtual events using platforms like Webex or Google Meet
  • Generate videos or multimedia content for outreach or instruction
  • Post content to myUMBC, department sites, or social media
  • Collaborate in shared platforms like Box, Teams, or Google Drive

Each of these has accessibility considerations. This page will help you get started with best practices and tips for success.

Getting Started: Quick Tips and Tools

  • Use accessible templates in Word, PowerPoint, Google Docs/Slides, and email
  • Check contrast and color usage with WebAIM’s contrast checker
  • Structure documents using built-in headings and styles
  • Use meaningful link text (avoid “click here”)
  • Add alt text for all informative images and graphics
  • Check PDFs for tags and use Acrobat’s accessibility checker
  • Ensure captions for video and audio content (Panopto, YuJa, VoiceThread, YouTube)
  • Use Ally for Blackboard (if you manage an org) to improve content accessibility and check reports

Quick Start Guides & Tools

Need to request a workplace accommodation? Learn more on the Employee Accommodations Request page.