Campus Spotlights
University of Maryland, College Park
In 2017, UMD's Digital Accessibility Team, led by Dr. Ana Palla, Senior IT Accessibility and UX Specialist, developed the Six Essential Steps for Digital Accessibility. This practical framework identifies six of the most important, relevant, and easy-to-implement practices that can significantly improve accessibility in the digital content we create every day.
Whether you're...
- creating documents and presentations,
- building or editing websites,
- writing emails or newsletters,
- designing course materials,
- uploading files to your LMS such as Canvas or Blackboard, or
- posting event announcements and social media content,
...the Six Essential Steps provide a powerful starting point to make your content more usable and inclusive.
Importantly, these steps are aligned with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements for digital accessibility and based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), the global standard for accessible digital content.
Since its creation, UMD has trained hundreds of faculty and staff on this framework and continues to promote it as a cornerstone of digital accessibility efforts across campus.
We all create digital content, so digital accessibility is everyone's responsibility. The Six Essential Steps are the easiest and most impactful way to begin your accessibility journey and make a difference for all users.
UMD's Six Essential Steps will serve as a framework for the USM Kirwan Center's monthly newsletter and remediation sprint sessions. By embracing these practices, we can collectively enhance digital accessibility across our institutions. Let's continue to lead by example and make a positive impact for all users.
Accessibility Wins Across the USM
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Student Testimonials
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Impact Metrics
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Do you have a digital accessibility win you'd like us to share? Email us at cai@usmd.edu to be featured on this page.
