Frequently asked questions

What is Accessibility?

"Accessible" means that individuals with disabilities are able to independently acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services within the same time frame as individuals without disabilities, with substantially equivalent ease of use.

Are We Required to Make Accessible Content and Why?

Yes, it's the right thing to do and it's a legal requirement (Rehabilitation Act of 1973 sections 504 and 508 as amended, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 as amended). The University Administrative Manual (section 7,007), stipulates the requirement to meet the UNR Benchmarks for Measuring Accessibility (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines [WCAG] 2.0 Level AA).

Where Can I Get Help with Accessibility?

How Do I Make My Instructional Content Accessible?

Office of Digital Learning (ODL) offers accessibility training for academic faculty and anyone responsible for developing, loading, maintaining, or auditing web content and functionality. ODL will work with faculty to help address their accessibility question and concerns, and ODL provides video captioning and audio transcription for instructional content.

Contact ODL: (775) 682-6798 for individual or group trainings/assistance, or self-enroll at the ODL Workshops and Training page. Email captions@unr.edu for captioning or transcription.

Who Can Assist a Student?

Accessible content will serve the needs of most individuals. If you have a student with an accommodation request or specific need, please encourage the student to contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) to arrange any accommodations they may require.

What Materials Must Be Accessible?

• All instructional materials and tools (i.e. video, images, documents, mobile applications, student response systems ["clickers"], etc.)
• Websites, web pages, web-based applications, and social media published or hosted by the University or otherwise used to conduct official university academic and business activities

Who is Responsible for Content Accessibility?

Each college, administrative unit, faculty member, and employee is responsible to ensure compliance for content they create or tools they select and, if notified of non-compliance, is required to remediate.

Common Faculty Questions

Are There Resources to Help With Captioning?

Yes, ODL has resources for captioning your instructional content. Since we have limited resources, video content in courses with immediate needs and high enrollments will take priority. Video content that will be used one time, in one class – with no immediate need, will be considered low priority. Email: captions@unr.edu or call (775) 682-6798.

How Long Does Captioning Take?

Plan on a minimum of 48 hours to over a week for longer materials. Timelines depend on variables such as video length, audio quality, and language complexity.

Can I link to 3rd Party Websites?

Yes, but you must make it clear that the user is accessing external/3rd party content. If the site is inaccessible, upon student request, you must work with the student and the DRC to create an Equally Effective Alternate Access Plan (EEAAP). If the content is not accessible or has questionable accessibility, always link to the content –- never embed it in Canvas or a webpage (i.e. YouTube videos). In these instances, you should also use a disclaimer either in your syllabus or along with the link such as the following: “This course may leverage 3rd party web/multimedia content, if you experience any issues accessing this content, please notify your instructor.” OR “This is a link to 3rd party web/multimedia content, if you experience any issues accessing this content, please notify your instructor.”

Resources