What Has Changed?
The U.S. Department of Justice recently finalized Title II regulations requiring all digital content at public institutions to be accessible by April 2026.
In response, campus leadership has prioritized accessibility improvements for courses that either (1) enroll 200 or more students or (2) are required for a degree program. These accessibility requirements apply to all digital course materials, including documents, media, and external resources.
You can learn more about the official Title II ruling from the ADA Title II Fact Sheet.
What Support Is Available?
Gies Teaching & Learning (T&L) is here to support you! In alignment with the campus guidelines and available resources, here is what you can expect:
For Courses That Either Enroll >200 Learners or Are Required for a Degree
Per campus guidelines, T&L prioritize proactive work on large-enrolling courses and courses required to complete a degree. We will soon reach-out to faculty of the largest enrolling courses to develop a course-specific remediation plan. This support will include T&L staff reviewing and remediating (correcting for accessibility requirements) the content of your course. No changes will be made to your course without your permission. Rather, changes will be made collaboratively with you to ensure there are no changes to the meaning of your content.
For All Other Courses
We encourage you to take advantage of the training workshops hosted by CITL and offered by experts from across campus (including Gies’ own Accessibility Specialist). These workshops will equip you with basic skills that will address most foundational accessibility requirements.
In the near future, we will also launch:
- A library of templates that will help ensure your content is accessible
- A help desk to consult with you on your specific situation
- A guide to using automated technology to help address common accessibility issues within your course
When Will All of This Happen?
Workshop offerings (including recordings) through CITL are already available. T&L plans to remediate content in large-enrollment/required courses this summer. We also plan to open the Accessibility Help Desk for consultations on all other courses this summer.
What Should I Do as Faculty?
- Check out the Bottom Line for more communications about accessibility.
- Attend or watch the prerecorded workshops from CITL.
Where Can I Go For More Info and Training?
Who Can I Contact With Questions?
Jason Mock
Sr. Dir. Teaching and Learning Strategy
jmock@illinois.edu
Nancy Hightower
Accessibility Specialist
nancymh@illinois.edu