Digital Accessibility Tools

We provide tools and resources to help faculty and staff create, evaluate, and maintain accessible digital content in accordance with the ADA Title II requirements. This includes automated accessibility checkers, content remediation tools, and more.

Brightspace Ally

Built into Brightspace, Ally assesses the accessibility of posted course content and provides guidance on how to fix common accessibility issues. Accessibility score percentages and multicolored gauges indicate the accessibility of posted content, allowing users to prioritize fixes based on severity.

• 0-33% (red) indicates very low accessibility and the content should be removed, replaced, or fixed immediately.
• 34-66% (orange) indicates low to medium accessibility and the content should be removed, replaced, or fixed immediately.
• 67-99% (light green) indicates the content somewhat passes the accessibility check, and should still be reviewed and fixed.
• 100% (dark green) indicates the content is just about perfectly accessible!

Microsoft 365

GCC is a Microsoft 365 campus, so Students, Faculty and Staff  have access to Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and other Microsoft apps. These applications have built-in accessibility features and content checkers to ensure your documents are accessible to all who need them.

• Work in the original, editable file whenever possible; it is easier to fix common accessibility issues there than to remediate a PDF.
• If content will be posted in Brightspace, you can often copy and paste text with formatting directly into the Brightspace text editor rather than uploading a file. HTML content is preferred for accessibility.
• Only make changes if you have the legal right to do so (Fair Use or your own work).
• Use the built-in Accessibility Checker in Microsoft to find and fix issues like missing alternative text, low color contrast, or incorrect reading order. The location of the accessibility checker varies by app.

Adobe Acrobat

Making PDFs accessible can be complex, especially if they were created by scanning paper documents (image‑only PDFs). Adobe Acrobat Pro is available to faculty and staff for PDF remediation as job duties require. .

• Start with the source file (Word, PowerPoint, etc.) whenever possible; address accessibility issues there, then “Export to PDF” to retain accessibility fixes. Accessibility fixes may be lost if using “Print to PDF.”
• If a PDF document can be replaced with a webpage or Word document, do that instead; this is preferred for accessibility remediation and users of assistive technology.
• Image‑only (scanned) PDFs must be converted to text using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) before they can be made accessible.
• Use Adobe Acrobat Pro’s Accessibility Checker to run a full check and address issues like missing tags, incorrect reading order, or missing alternative text.
• Creating fully accessible PDFs often requires advanced skills in both Acrobat and the original software.

Allyant CommonLook EDU

Designed and developed specifically for educators, CommonLook Edu is easy-to-use accessibility software for resource-strapped teams. It’s software that enables educators to quickly create accessible learning materials in the formats students and staff need—when they need it. Inputs include PDF, Word, NIMAS, and ePub, with CommonLook Edu delivering accessible outputs that include PDF, reflowed large print, e-text and braille. Inspired by decades of accessibility expertise in the education space.