Accessible math content ensures that all students can fully engage with your course material. Yet mathematical notation remains one of the most common accessibility barriers in STEM courses. The good news is that practical, accessible content creation practices exist, and many of them work directly within tools instructors are likely already using.

Created in collaboration with Mathematics and Statistics faculty, especially Associate Professor Justin Webster; Michael Canale, Assistant Director, Student Disability Services; and DoIT’s Instructional Technology team, UMBC's Accessible Math resource outlines specific tools and workflows to help you create and share accessible mathematical content with Blackboard, Mathpix, Overleaf, and LaTeX. 

Blackboard: Create Accessible Math from the Start

If you are building new course materials and want to ensure accessibility from the beginning, Blackboard Ultra offers several built-in options for creating accessible math content. Add math content wherever you access the rich text editor in your course.

Mathpix: Accessible Handwritten and Printed Math

Not all math content starts as a digital file. Many instructors have handwritten notes, scanned problem sets, or older PDFs. When creating accessible content from scratch is not possible, Mathpix is an AI-powered tool that addresses exactly this challenge. 

Mathpix recognizes handwritten and printed mathematical expressions in images and converts them to LaTeX or MathML — making it particularly useful for digitizing handwritten notes, lecture materials, or older course documents.

LaTeX and Overleaf — Accessible Documents from Source

LaTeX is the standard typesetting system across many STEM disciplines. PDFs compiled from LaTeX may lack the structural tags (headings, reading order, alt text for figures) that assistive technologies rely on. Producing an accessible PDF from LaTeX requires intentional choices about LaTeX packages and compilation settings.

Overleaf is one cloud-based LaTeX editor widely used in STEM fields for creating research papers, problem sets, and course notes. With the right setup, documents authored in Overleaf can be output as tagged, accessible PDFs. If you’re not an Overleaf user, LaTeX can be updated in your LaTeX tool of choice by using available LaTeX resources.

Choosing the Right Approach

Not sure which tool or workflow fits your situation? Here is a quick reference from the Accessible Math support site:

• Create math content, including simple LaTeX, in Blackboard
• Convert handwritten notes to an accessible format
• Convert a PDF with math content to an accessible format
• Create accessible LaTeX content, including complex LaTeX

Get Started Today

Accessible math does not require rebuilding all of your course materials at once. Pick the scenario that matches where you are right now and take one step forward:

• If you use Blackboard: Open the Rich Text Editor in your next course document or assessment and use the Math Editor tool or rich text editor instead of inserting an equation as an image
• If you have handwritten notes: Request Mathpix access and try converting one set of notes to HTML
• If you work in LaTeX: Request Overleaf Premium access and review UMBC's accessible LaTeX template or begin reviewing LaTeX formatting guides for accessible PDFs

Full Resource: UMBC Accessible Math 

The tools, workflows, and video tutorials referenced in this article are available in one place:

Accessible Math — UMBC Faculty Resources

This site includes instructions, video walkthroughs (UMBC sign-in required), links to request access to Mathpix and Overleaf Premium, and additional guidance for each tool covered here. Bookmark it as your go-to reference for accessible math content creation.

Questions about accessibility at UMBC? Visit the UMBC Office of Accessibility and Disability Services website for additional resources and support.

Connect with Instructional Technology

As always, if you have any questions about teaching, learning, and technology at UMBC, please consider the following options:

• Check our extensive FAQ collection 
  • What's new in Ultra? |Known Issues 
• Open a ticket via RT
• Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups
• Request a consult with instructional technology staff
• UMBC Digital Accessibility| Ally FAQs | Ally Demo | Ally Report (VPN required)
• PIVOT | Academic Continuity |Keep On Teaching |Student Technology Resources

What does digital accessibility look like in practice -- and how can busy faculty make meaningful progress without redesigning their entire course?

Professor Nancy Kusmaul -- outgoing Faculty Senate President and incoming Chair and Associate Dean of the School of Social Work -- offers a perspective grounded in everyday teaching. 

Rather than describing accessibility as an added task, she emphasizes that it often builds on what faculty are already doing. Small adjustments - checking a document or considering how course materials are shared - can make a meaningful difference to students. Her advice to colleagues? Start small and stay consistent.

“The best first step is to just take it a little bit at a time.”

Kusmaul encourages faculty to focus on manageable actions -- reviewing one week’s material, running one accessibility checker, or making incremental changes as the semester progresses. This approach not only reduces feeling overwhelmed, it can build sustainable habits over time. She also underscores an important shift in mindset: accessibility is not about perfection.

“What can you do today to make your content a little bit more accessible than it was yesterday?”

Perhaps most importantly, Kusmaul reminds us why this work matters. Accessible course materials support not only students who request accommodation, it also helps those who may never ask -- removing barriers before they impact learning.

How can you get involved?

If you’re an instructor curious about your course’s accessibility score, Ally’s course report is available directly in Blackboard - look for the Ally Accessibility Report under Books & Course Tools. 

For more information, see the following resources:

• umbc.edu/go/allydemo
• umbc.edu/go/allytraining 
• umbc.edu/go/allyfaqs
• umbc.edu/go/allyreport (requiresUMBC VPN to view from off-campus)
• UMBC Digital Accessibility
• USM Digital Accessibility Hub

As announced last month, UMBC is working toward a campus-wide goal of highly accessible courses by the end of 2026. To help, DoIT recommends that faculty identify accessibility gaps in prior versions of the same course, and make meaningful improvements before the Fall 2026 term begins.

Improve Existing Courses with Ally 

Fall 2026 Blackboard course shells will be available in late July. If you’ve taught a course before, you have a head start. UMBC’s Blackboard Ally tool has already scanned your previous course content and generated accessibility scores. As such, you can:

• Review your Ally Course Accessibility Report to identify which materials need improvement
• Remediate low-scoring content using Ally’s recommendations
• Update your course accessibility score toward UMBC’s “Strive for 85” goal
• Copy improved content into your fresh Fall 2026 course shell

This approach allows you to build on your existing work while creating a more accessible experience for your fall students.

Get Support Along the Way

You don’t have to tackle accessibility alone. UMBC is committed to helping you succeed:

• Attend CoRE Digital Accessibility Summer Camp (June 3 or June 10)
• Enroll in CoRE Foundations training: This flexible, self-paced Blackboard course teaches practical tools for digital accessibility and can even lead to a microcredential recognizing your expertise.
• Review Ally FAQs: Visit umbc.edu/go/allyfaqs for answers to common questions.
• Request a consult with Instructional Technology staff.

Your efforts contribute to UMBC’s institutional goal of achieving an 85% or better Ally score across all courses by the end of 2026.

Connect with Instructional Technology

As always, if you have any questions about teaching, learning, and technology at UMBC, please consider the following options:

• Check our extensive FAQ collection 
  • What's new in Ultra? | Known Issues 
• Open a ticket via RT
• Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups
• Request a consult with instructional technology staff
• UMBC Digital Accessibility| Ally FAQs | Ally Demo | Ally Report (VPN required)
• PIVOT | Academic Continuity |Keep On Teaching |Student Technology Resources

UMBC instructors are invited to "enroll" in the self-paced, online Course Roadmap to Equity (CoRE) Foundations training, which provides practical tools to achieve the ‘Strive for 85’ digital accessibility goal -- an overall Ally course score of 85% or better by the end of 2026. 

In March 2026, UMBC’s Digital Accessibility Steering Committee launched Strive for 85 -- an institutional goal to achieve an overall Ally course accessibility score of 85% or better across all Blackboard courses by the end of 2026. This initiative represents a commitment to digital accessibility and inclusive excellence in course design. CoRE Foundations gives instructors practical tools to apply accessibility improvements in their own courses to make progress toward that goal.

How it Works

CoRE Foundations is flexible and self-paced. Begin with Module 1 (Strive for 85), then choose additional modules based on the type of content you teach. You can also earn an optional microcredential, recognizing your expertise in implementing digital accessibility best practices.

Getting Started

CoRE Foundations is available now on Blackboard. Instructors may self-enroll in CoRE Foundations to get started today. Department chairs may submit an RT request to have Instructional Technology enroll their faculty.

Join UMBC's campus-wide commitment to inclusive excellence!

Connect with Instructional Technology

As always, if you have any questions about teaching, learning, and technology at UMBC, please consider the following options:

• Check our extensive FAQ collection 
  • What's new in Ultra? | Known Issues 
• Open a ticket via RT
• Follow theInstructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups
• Request a consult with instructional technology staff
• UMBC Digital Accessibility| Ally FAQs | Ally Demo | Ally Report (VPN required)
• PIVOT | Academic Continuity |Keep On Teaching |Student Technology Resources

The April issue of the USM Digital Accessibility Newsletter is now available. Here's what's inside:

• Why Planning Beyond the Deadline Matters

• Quick Fix Guide: Your Complete Accessibility Reference Library

• Tools & Tactics: Accessibility Automation and Efficiency

• Campuses in Focus: Accessibility Champions in Action

• Looking Ahead: Your Accessibility Roadmap for Next Semester and Beyond

• Learn More

Review past issues of the newsletter. To receive the newsletter each month, please subscribe with USM.

Following Provost van Dulmen's November 2025 announcement regarding UMBC's commitment to digital accessibility, the Digital Accessibility Steering Committee (DASC) is launching "Strive for 85." This institutional goal calls for all Blackboard courses to achieve an Ally "Overall" accessibility score of 85% or better across all colleges and departments by the end of 2026.

As of the most recently completed Fall 25 semester, the campus's overall Ally score for Blackboard courses (which make up ~90% of all UMBC courses) is approximately 74%. To help faculty close this gap and reach the "Strive for 85" goal, the Division of Information Technology (DoIT) has prepared a voluntary, self-paced Blackboard training organization called "Course Roadmap to Equity" (CoRE) that complements and incorporates existing Ally FAQs, live workshops, and drop-in consulting. 

Among other things, the CoRE Blackboard training focuses on practical faculty objectives:

1. KNOW how to find a Bb course's Ally "Overall" score and what it means.
2. UNDERSTAND why content may be "low scoring" and its impact on student equity.
3. ACT by reducing remaking, or remediating inaccessible Blackboard content.
4. REQUEST an Equally Effective Alternative Access Program (EEAAP) exception (forthcoming).
5. COMPARE your new Ally "Overall" score to the "Strive for 85" UMBC goal.

In addition to the self-paced Blackboard resource, the Provost and DASC are working with Deans and Department Chairs to identify Digital Accessibility (DA) "Peer Mentors" who will provide on-the-ground help and support to their colleagues across campus. 

Finally, to give everyone a bird's eye view of UMBC's "Strive for 85" progress, anyone with a UMBC account can visit umbc.edu/go/allyreport (UMBC VPN required for off-campus viewing). 

"Ally is a reasonable, widely-used, and effective proxy for achieving new digital accessibility legal requirements that go into effect on April 24, 2026," says DASC Co-chair Tanyka M. Barber, Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President of the of the Division of Institutional Equity. 

"By then," adds Barber's co-Chair, Jack Suess, Vice President of IT, "our Spring 26 term will be nearly completed, but we already start from a position of strength. Blackboard itself has identified UMBC's Ally overall score to be higher than other peer 4-year public university clients across North America."

For more information, see the following resources:

• umbc.edu/go/allydemo
• umbc.edu/go/allytraining 
• umbc.edu/go/allyfaqs
• umbc.edu/go/allyreport (requires UMBC VPN to view from off-campus)
• UMBC Digital Accessibility
• USM Digital Accessibility Hub

The March issue of the USM Digital Accessibility Newsletter is now available. Here's what's inside:

• Why Sprinting to the Finish Matters

• Quick Fix Guide: Sprint to the Finish Checklist

• Tools & Tactics: Your Accessibility Workflow Toolkit

• Campuses in Focus: Building the Evidence Base for Accessibility Impact

• Your Monthly Move: Remediate Your Remaining Content

• Share Your Accessibility Wins

• Learn More

• Register for our Zoom Monthly Remediation Sprints

Review past issues of the newsletter.To receive the newsletter each month, please subscribe with USM.

Have a specific digital accessibility question? Join one of our virtual office hour drop-in sessions for real-time, hands-on support. Faculty are invited to register for a session and bring one focused question (for example: images, documents, PDFs, color contrast, captions, video, etc.).

Each participant can expect up to 15 minutes of individual support. Register for the date that works for you, get help, and head out. No presentations, no prep required—just practical help when you're stuck.

When

Instructional Technology will host virtual office hour drop-in sessions on the following Fridays:

• February 20
• February 27
• March 13
• April 10
• April 24
• May 8

How to Register

Instructors will register via a Google Form for the virtual office hour date that works for them and identify one focused question for support. Registrants will receive a personalized Google Meet link for their session. 

For more information about digital accessibility, visit UMBC's Digital Accessibility site or run an Ally course report today. Support is also available from Student Disability Services and Instructional Technology.

Connect with Instructional Technology

As always, if you have any questions about teaching, learning, and technology at UMBC, please consider the following options:

• Check our extensive FAQ collection | What's new in Ultra?

• Open a ticket via RT | Request a consult with instructional technology staff

• Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups

• PIVOT | Academic Continuity | FDC's Keep On Teaching | Student Technology Resources

UMBC will host three Fix Your Course Content Days, dedicated to improving the accessibility of digital course materials in Blackboard. During these three individual sprints, faculty, staff, and instructional designers can review Ally accessibility reports, make fixes to Blackboard course content, and strengthen our commitment to inclusive teaching. 

When

Work individually or in your departments, or join one of our collaborative sessions to update the accessibility of your course content.

• Wednesday, February 25 (11 AM - 2 PM)
• Friday, March 27 (11 AM - 1 PM)
• Wednesday, April 11 (11 AM - 1 PM)

Do you manage a Blackboard org? You can still check your Ally report and update content for accessibility!

Why Fix Content?

• Every fix, big or small, helps. Whether it's adding alt text to an image, adding meaningful link text, correcting heading structure, or improving document formatting, each step makes content more usable for a student using a screen reader, assistive device, or alternate format.
• You already have insights. The Ally tool in Blackboard surfaces course accessibility reports and flags problematic files (scanned documents, missing image description, contrast issues, etc.). Use this as your guide.
• It's about more than one day. Fix Your Content Day is not just a one-off event. It's a focused moment for action -- and a reminder that digital accessibility is an ongoing responsibility in course design.

What to Do on a Fix Your Content Day

Here’s a simple roadmap with four easy steps you can follow:

1. Review your Ally report.
Log into your course. Go to Books & Tools from the right navigation menu to access your Ally accessibility report. Note your starting score. Prioritize files you use most (syllabus, major readings, assignment sheets, handouts, etc.) or where you have inaccessible images that impact meaningful content.

2. Make at least 3 targeted fixes.
Use the Ally "repair" workflow (built into Blackboard) to take action:

• Add or improve alt text for images -- Ally’s AI Alt Text Assistant can be a helpful tool
• Fix heading structure (use proper heading levels rather than visual formatting)
• Add descriptive link text (avoid "click here")
• Ensure sufficient color contrast in slides or documents
• Replace scanned PDFs (if possible) with accessible ones or OCR them
• Verify captions & transcripts for audio & video in YuJa

3. Strive for 85.
As you make your fixes, aim for an Ally score of 85 percent or higher in your courses. This benchmark represents solid progress toward accessible, student-ready materials. Focus on content with Severe (red) or Major (orange) issues.

Each improvement -- adding alt text, correcting headings, or replacing scanned PDFs -- moves your score closer to 85, or exceeds it, and helps ensure your course is usable for every learner.

4. Reflect and plan next steps.
Think about recurring patterns in your courses (e.g. many scanned articles, many images lacking alt text). Use that insight to inform future course redesign or content creation. Consider sharing your top three fixes with your department to help normalize accessible practices across campus.

If you'd like to be recognized with a microcredential for your portfolio or LinkedIn profile, submit your results using this Google Form. 

A Few Tips to Make It Easier

• Start small. Pick a single course or module to focus on first, or focus on a single type of issue like image descriptions. You also don't need to "fix everything" in one day.
• Schedule your time. Block a 30-60 minute slot on your calendar just for accessibility fixes -- or drop by our open lab in ENGR 102 from 11 AM to 2 PM to work alongside colleagues, share progress, and get help from the Instructional technology team in a relaxed, social space to celebrate the day’s improvements.
• Work together. Coordinate a department Fix Your Content Day sprint so instructors can work at a time that fits their schedules and support each other during the hour. Or team up with a colleague who teaches a complementary discipline or course.

On an upcoming Fix Your Content Day, join us in making a measurable impact on our course content. Whether you fix three items or thirty, your work matters. Let's make UMBC's digital learning environment more inclusive together.

Ready to take the first step? Visit UMBC’s Digital Accessibility site or run an Ally course report today. Support is also available from Student Disability Services and Instructional Technology.