Making Courses More Accessible: Getting Started with the Canvas Checker

April 2026 marks the federal deadline for digital accessibility under ADA Title II. At UC Davis, our commitment to accessibility will honor both the mandate and our Principles of Community as we remove barriers for all learners. Part of a series to be published during the fall of 2025, this post explores what accessibility means in practice and ways we can all contribute. Find all the posts in this series by clicking the yellow "Quick Access" label at the end of the post.

For more on campus compliance with this law, see UC Davis Digital Accessibility Program Manager Brad Starkey-Owens’ conversation on digital accessibility with Dr. Andy Jones and check the campus Accessibility site. Also consider joining the UC Accessibility Project or registering for the Universal Design for Learning Institute this fall (held each Friday this fall at 10:30AM on Zoom) for additional accessibility support.

The Canvas Accessibility Checker is a built-in tool designed to help instructors improve the accessibility of their course materials directly within the Rich Content Editor. With just a click, the Checker scans a page for common barriers, such as missing alternative text on images, insufficient color contrast, misused headings, and problematic table structures. The tool highlights issues in real time, guiding instructors to make quick adjustments that enhance the learning experience for all students.

Instructors will quickly discover that the Accessibility Checker is not a one-button solution. Accessibility is an ongoing practice, not a single step. The Checker is best viewed as an on-ramp—helping instructors take the first steps toward inclusive design while reinforcing the importance of addressing deeper needs through additional strategies. For example, while the tool can flag missing alt text, it cannot evaluate the quality of alt text descriptions. Similarly, it cannot review the accuracy of captions for audio or video, or assess third-party tools integrated into Canvas.

See the Accessibility Checker as a “quick win.” Instructors see how easy it is to find and fix common issues while also learning that true accessibility requires layering multiple practices. Later sessions build on this foundation, addressing headings, lists, links, captions, and eventually the accessibility of documents presented in Microsoft Word and PDF. By pairing the Checker with broader strategies, instructors gain both the confidence and the skills needed to create fully inclusive courses.