This includes:

All digital information or services, accessed online or through digital platforms, that are produced, managed, or hosted by the university—or by third parties on its behalf—and that supports students or the public in applying for, accessing, or participating in university services, programs, or activities. Common examples:

• PDFs
• Forms, Surveys
• Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint documents
• Google Docs, Sheets, Slides
• Videos
• Websites
• Social Media Posts
• e-Newsletters, Emails, Evites
• Training Manuals and Presentations
• Organizational charts
• Job descriptions
• Student Handbooks, Plans, Policy Documents, Forms
• Scholarship or Award Applications

Exemptions:

• Internal, employee facing content (that is neither student or public facing). However, UMD must meet requirements and obligations when employees request specific accommodations.
• Materials produced by other UMD/government offices (e.g. W4 forms, Undergraduate Catalog)
• Content posted by a third party, unless the third party is posting due to contractual, licensing, or other arrangements with the College or University
• Social media posts predating April 24, 2026
• Personal planning documents, notes, etc.
• Individualized electronic documents that are: (1) about a specific individual, their property, or their account; and (2) password-protected or otherwise secured

Headings

Headings allow screen readers to navigate content the same way a sighted user might skim a document to find the content they are looking for. Headings should be assigned in order (H1>H2>H3) and never skipped. Avoid using bold or font size to indicate structure.

• Docs/Word: Select the text to become a heading. Home view, top menu, go to the styles drop down menu (often set to Normal Text). Select Heading 1, Heading 2… click apply.
• Slides/PPT: Use the preset text boxes on the slide templates, they have built-in Heading structure. View > Outline View or Theme Builder.
• Sheets/Excel/Tables: Use column and/or row headers. In documents, use the simplest table configuration possible. Tables are best for data, not layout.

Alt Text for Images

• In your doc, right-click the image and choose ‘Edit Alt Text’ or equivalent.
  • Sheets exception: Insert “image in cell”: Right click on image > “image” > alt text. Other option: Insert “image over cells.” Click on the image > click on the three dots on the top right of the image > select “alt text.”
• Write a concise description (under 125 characters for simple images). Avoid phrases like ‘Image of…’ or ‘Picture of…’ Describe function and meaning, not just appearance.
• Think about the purpose of the image, the context in which it is being used, and what is the most important information it needs to convey.
• Complex graphs: Summarize or link to a long description nearby.

Hyperlinks

• Hyperlinks should describe the destination of the link (“course syllabus” instead of “click here”).
• Indicate if a link opens in a new window or downloads a file, such as [PDF], [New Tab]. (example: Have the interviewee complete a Video Release Form [Word]).
• Things to avoid: Using full URLs as visible (unless print). Underlining text that may appear as a link when it is not.
• Provide a brief description of the content at the link.

Color Contrast

• Use high-contrast combinations (e.g., black text on white). Particularly avoid red combined with gray or green. If you’re unsure, use the WebAim Contrast Checker to determine if a color combo passes or fails accessibility standards.
• Avoid background images or gradients behind text.
• For charts and graphs use clearly distinct colors and/or patterns.

Additional Tips for Forms and Surveys

• Give the Form/Survey a clear, meaningful title and description.
• Provide short, clear instructions for each question where needed.
• Use the “Add section” option to break long Forms/Surveys into logical parts.
• Turn on the “Show progress bar” feature in Settings to help users track their progress.
• Consider the accessibility limitations of certain response types such as drop-down menus, and whether the question can be formatted differently.

PDFs

• Focus on learning how to make Google docs, slides, sheets that can be shared as viewable or be exported to accessible PDFs via the UMD approved Grackle tool, a Google Workspace plugin.
• Grackle checks accessibility in Google docs, slides, and sheets, recommends fixes, and enables export to accessible PDFs. Currently available only to UMD faculty and staff.
• Instructions to enable and use Grackle are on the DIT website.
• PDFs that Require Signature: At this time, UMD does not have a solution for an alternative to using Adobe PDF documents that require a signature. Continue to use these in signature cases. Adobe provides instructions on how to check for and update Adobe PDFs for accessibility.