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Academic Strategy & Affairs

Toolkit February 2026

Message for deans/associate deans

Units that prefer direct to chairs will skip this.

Dear deans and associate deans,

Our sixth digital accessibility toolkit is now available to support your internal communications around ADA accessibility rules. Your unit can use or adapt whichever of these drafts you see fit:

  • Cover letter for chairs/directors
  • Faculty email
  • Newsletter blurb
  • Slide deck (attached)

Catch up advice – This toolkit’s checklist, prioritization guidance, and “start-here” resources will help those faculty who are just now starting to work on making their materials accessible.

Focusing on creating accessible videos – The toolkit also helps faculty learn how to take advantage of built-in captioning in Zoom, Panopto and YouTube and how to narrate effectively when recording lectures or other video content.

Tools update – UW-IT has recently purchased licenses for two equation editors, Mathpix and MathType, and is finalizing a contract for a PDF conversion tool that should be available soon.

The full toolkit is below and also available, along with past toolkits, on the ASA website.

Thank you for your continued leadership and support.

Best regards,

Phil Reid

Draft cover letter to chairs, directors or other program leaders

Subject: February digital accessibility toolkit – Catch up advice & accessible videos

Dear colleagues,

To save you time, this digital accessibility toolkit includes a draft email, newsletter blurbs, and slide deck you can use or adapt as you communicate with instructors around making their materials more accessible in preparation for the April ADA deadline.

This month’s focus is on:

  1. What to prioritize: prioritization guidance, and “start-here” resources for those faculty who are just now starting to work on making their materials accessible and others looking for advice on how to focus their efforts now through April.
  2. Making videos and recorded lectures accessible: taking advantage of built-in captioning in Zoom, Panopto and YouTube and learning techniques for describing images, saving files, and editing captions.

This and past toolkits are available on the ASA website, and step-by-step guidance for faculty can be found on Teaching@UW’s “Making Course Materials Accessible page.

Coming soon:

  • Equation editors: UW-IT recently purchased licenses to two equation editors: Mathpix and MathType.
  • PDF conversion resources: UW-IT is finalizing the contract for a PDF conversion tool and service to help instructors make these documents more accessible.

Like most vendor solutions, these new tools aren’t perfect but will greatly improve our ability to make content accessible. More information will be available soon on how to access and use them.

As always, feel free to adapt these draft materials to fit your unit’s needs. Thank you for your attention to this important work at a busy time.

Draft Email to Faculty

Subject: Saving time with accessibility checkers

Dear Colleagues,

Whether you’re just getting started or well underway making progress on digital accessibility, the lead-up to the April ADA deadline is a good time to focus your efforts where they matter most.

Just getting started?

If you’re newly turning your attention to spring quarter and accessibility requirements, these instructor-focused resources will help you prioritize, focus your efforts, and save time:

  1. Course Materials Checklist for Digital Accessibility (AY 25-26) – prioritization guidance from UW’s office of the ADA coordinator.
  2. Teaching@UW: Making course materials accessible – a “start-here” guide with step-by-step instructions and links to in-depth resources.
  3. help@uw.edu – for questions and troubleshooting support.

Ready to dive deeper? Make your videos and recorded lectures accessible

If you’ve already been working on accessibility, now is a great time to focus on videos and recorded lectures. Built-in captioning tools make this easier than ever.

Key things to know:

  • Videos require captions and audio descriptions of images; audio-only recordings require a transcript.
  • Zoom, Panopto, and YouTube generate automatic captions — be sure to review and correct errors that would inhibit understanding of the content.
  • Describe images verbally while recording so you don’t need to add audio descriptions later.
  • When recording in Zoom, select “Record to the cloud” to automatically save a transcript.

Teaching@UW’s Making videos and recorded lectures accessible will help you get started.

Building habits around auto-captioning, describing visuals, saving files to the cloud, and checking captions will improve accessibility for your students.

Upcoming workshops and just-in-time resources

Workshops and office hours:

Just-in-time resources:

Thank you for your continued efforts to make UW’s digital spaces more accessible for all students.

Newsletter Copy – DRAFT

ADA Accessible by April: Where to Focus—and Tips for Videos

Whether you’re just getting started or ready to go deeper, now is the time to prioritize digital accessibility in your course materials.

Slide Deck – DRAFT

Access the Google slides & speaker notes UW NetID