by Nicole States, Instructional Developer, Reinert Center
The Reinert Center’s Resources Revisited series highlights existing resources available to the SLU teaching community that may be especially timely or useful at certain points in the academic year.
Our March 2026 entry focuses on digital accessibility. With an estimated 1 in 5 undergraduate students now reporting a visual, auditory, motor, and/or cognitive difference, digital accessibility is essential for making sure our courses work for as many of our student learners as possible.
Since digital accessibility often involves proactive, intentional design decisions that increase access to course materials and learning experiences, several resource guides may be helpful: Creating Accessible Online Learning Environments, Designing Visually Accessible Slides, and Auditoring Accessibility When Presenting or Recording a Slide Deck.
My colleague Beth Petitjean’s Four-Minute Focus video series explores several accessibility topics in greater depth, including writing alt text or using descriptive text for links. These videos provide context for why these practices matter and offer practical strategies you can implement in your own courses.
You may also find value in our resources on inclusive teaching and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Resource guides on Creating a Welcoming Classroom Environment, Seeing the Diversity in Your Classroom, Practices for Inclusive Teaching in Asynchronous Distance Courses, and Creating Inclusive Course Assignments offer strategies for fostering diverse perspectives in the classroom and cultivating a sense of belonging. In addition, this brief primer on What is Universal Design for Learning? and this sample before and after syllabus marked up through UDL practices may be helpful for situating the UDL framework in your teaching context.
As you get started, the blog post Beginning with Accessibility offers insight into digital accessibility from the perspective of an individual with low-vision. Finally, Considerations When Teaching Online: Part 2 addresses and debunks several accessibility myths.
As you reflect on how your teaching is already accessible, and how you might further strengthen that focus, we’re happy to meet with you to discuss how you are situating digital accessibility in your own teaching by requesting a teaching consultation with Reinert Center staff.
The Notebook 