Digital Accessibility

How Can You Get Started?

• Take a Risk-Based Approach
  Public-facing content like websites, social media accounts and marketing emails generally pose a higher risk than internal communications and documents. 
  • As you approach accessibility efforts, start with the content that gets the highest amount of web traffic, is required for staff, student or faculty use, and/or that directly serves users with disabilities.
• Delete or Archive Old Content
  If you have digital content or documents that are no longer relevant or needed for providing services, consider deleting it. 
  • If it must stay online for documentation or research purposes, you may be able to mark it as archived, UCOP provides web archiving guidance on their Digital Accessibility FAQs. 
  • If you make changes or updates to older content, you should include Accessibility into you workflow as well.
• Work on Heading Hierarchy
  Adding proper heading styles to word processing, HTML and PDF documents provides structure for assistive technology, increases navigability, and improves readability for everyone. 
  • These same styles can be applied in templates for faster document creation, and to generate a Table of Contents in lengthier documents. 
  • Please review the Campus Communications Guide for Proper Order of Headings for specific guidance.
• Use Bulleted or Numbered Lists
  Much like Heading styles, List styles provide structure for screen readers and make documents more responsive and usable for everyone. 
  • For lists where the order matters (such as step-by-step instructions), use a numbered list style. For lists where the order does not matter, you can use a bulleted list. 
  • Learn more about why generic links and “fake lists” are not accessible on The Wheel’s Quick Access Series.
• Add Alt Text to Images, Graphs, and Diagrams
  Screen readers, automated software and search engines use Alt Text to communicate an image’s meaning for Blind users and improve Search Engine Optimization (SEO). 
  • Alt Text should be brief — about 150 characters or less — and provide just enough context that users with disabilities understand what the graphic is about. 
  • For guidance, please visit the Campus Communications Guide for Effective Alt Text.
• Use Meaningful Link Text
  Using link text like “Click here” or “Read more...” are generic and don’t communicate meaning to those using screen readers. 
  • Providing only a web address doesn’t tell users where the link takes them in a meaningful way. 
  • Using meaningful, descriptive link text such as Digital Accessibility at UC Davis provides a description of where that link is taking the user, whether they use a screen reader or not.
• Add Video Captions in AggieVideo
  AggieVideo is UC Davis’s branded version of Kaltura. It provides automated captioning for video content. 
  • If you have public-facing video content, upload them to AggieVideo before embedding them on websites, marketing emails, or other outreach platforms. Kaltura estimates their auto captions are 85% accurate on average. You can edit automated captions to ensure high quality within the Kaltura web app. 
  • Learn how by viewing the recording of our most recent video captioning training session.

How Graduate Studies Is Advancing Accessibility

How We’re Moving This Work Forward

Graduate Studies approaches accessibility as a continuous, iterative practice. Our work is shaped by ongoing evaluation, collaboration across units and alignment with institutional guidance and emerging best practices.

Rather than prescribing fixed steps, we prioritize adaptability — recognizing that accessibility standards, technologies and community needs evolve. This approach allows us to adapt thoughtfully while maintaining accountability and momentum.

Snapshot of Specific Efforts Within Graduate Studies

Our Role Within the University

As an administrative and academic unit, Graduate Studies plays a key leadership role in advancing accessible practices that support graduate education at UC Davis. Our work complements campuswide and systemwide initiatives and contributes to a shared commitment to inclusive excellence.

Related UC Davis and University of California Resources

Many tools are already available to help you make your materials accessible. These resources are provided for broader campus context and support.

• Digital Accessibility Training Series
  One-hour training sessions are being provided by via Zoom on common digital platforms and media types. Register for upcoming sessions and view past recordings on the Digital Accessibility Training & Resources web page.
• Digital Access Q&A
  The Digital Accessibility Program Manager hosts Digital Access Q&A Wednesdays at 1:00 PM. Meeting links and up-to-date schedules can be found on the Digital Accessiblity website.
• SiteImprove
  For websites, SiteImprove provides automated accessibility scores and guides you through fixing recurring issues. Sitefarm managers can find more information here: SiteImprove for Sitefarm. All web owners can send an email to [email protected] to get your website enrolled on SiteImprove.
• For Software Developers
  If your application cannot be added to Siteimprove to track and resolve accessibility issues, you can install the Siteimprove Browser Extension for single-page scans and issue identification. This is especially valuable for applications that include sensitive data that should not be scanned by cloud-based services.
• CPE Accessibility Toolkit
  CPE has developed an accessibility toolkit to help you create accessible materials in various applications, including PowerPoint. 
• Automated Meeting Captions
  Both Zoom and Microsoft Teams meetings provide automated captions for virtual meetings. Check out IET’s knowledge base article on Zoom Automated captions, and Microsoft’s instructions on using captions in Teams meetings.
• UCOP Resources
  The UC Office of the President provides standards, best practices, and recommended guidelines for digital accessibility, including an eCourse AccessibilityChecklist on the UCOP Electronic Accessibilitywebsite. 
• More on the way
  We are constantly looking for better tools and resources to improve accessibility. Resources will continue be shared on the Digital Accessibility website as they arrive.