The Accessibility Minute
Short, weekly insights into building a more inclusive web.
Episode 1: The Four Pillars of Digital Accessibility
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Host: Welcome to The Accessibility Minute! I am your host, Alx Sanchez, and today we are building better documents.
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by accessibility standards? Let's simplify it. At the top are four principles that provide the foundation for web accessibility: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust. This means your audience needs to be able to perceive the content, operate the interface, understand the information, and your document must be robust enough to work with assistive technologies. When you create a PDF or a Google Doc, ask yourself: Can someone see this? Can they navigate it? Does it make sense? Will it work on their software? Keep these four pillars in mind, and you have already won half the battle.
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That is your Accessibility Minute! Remember, true inclusion starts with proper structure. See you next week!
Personalized Support & Office Hours
In addition to the resources below, we offer direct consultation to help you meet the 2026 compliance deadline. Please select the support channel that matches your role and project type.
Faculty/Instruction
The Office of Teaching & Learning (OTL) provides support for the development of digitally accessible course materials, such as:
- Canvas-based content: Websites, web applications, and portals
- Course materials: eCourses, LMS modules, and quizzes
Please make an appointment using their Appointment Calendar.
Staff/Admin
The ITS T&D team provides peer assistance with digital document compliance for the following:
- Documents: PDFs, Word files, and PowerPoint presentations
- Multimedia: Pre-recorded videos and audio files
Please make an appointment using our Digital Accessibility Peer Consultation Calendar.
Web Administrators and Web Content Creators
The Application Development group provides support in the following areas:
- Web-based content: Websites, web applications, and portals
- Forms and data: Digital surveys, forms, and spreadsheets
Please make an appointment using their Web Accessibility Office Hours.