If you've ever run an Ally course accessibility report and found a long list of untagged PDFs, you know the feeling: the problem is clear, but the path forward is time-consuming. Tagging PDFs for accessibility is one of the most technically demanding parts of document remediation -- and it's often where momentum stalls.

UMBC has been selected to participate in Ally's Auto-tagging Early Adopter Program, which means instructors now have access to a new feature designed to do that heavy lifting automatically. Ally can generate a tag structure for untagged PDFs directly in Blackboard -- and importantly, you review and approve those changes before anything is applied to your file.

Image: Ally interface showing auto-generated PDF tag verification. 

Early Adopter Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can instructors review changes before they are applied? Yes. Instructors will be able to review the automatically generated tag structure and must approve the changes before they are applied to the document. They will also have the option of downloading the original file before the changes are applied. 
2. Is tagging applied at the individual tag level or document level? Approval is applied at the document level. Once reviewed and confirmed, the tagging is applied to the entire document -- not selectively by tag/item. 
3. Can individual tags be edited or approved separately? No, the approval process is applied at the document level, not individual tags. 
4. What happens to the original PDF after tagging? A new, remediated version replaces the original file in Blackboard, and that updated version is what students will access and download.
5. Can I batch auto‑tag multiple PDFs at once? No, auto‑tagging is focused on individual documents to align with the instructor workflow and ensure each file can be reviewed and finalized before changes are applied. 
6. How accurate is the auto-tagging process? Testing shows high levels of quality and accuracy, but like all tools, human review remains an important part of the process as we expect edge cases to pop up based on the variety of PDFs available today. 
7. Does Auto Tagging fix other PDF issues? No, Auto-Tagging will not address all PDF issues like image description, tables, and color contrast. Ally can remediate certain things in your PDF such as setting the language, setting a title, and applying OCR for smaller PDFs.

As an early adopter, UMBC receives access to this feature ahead of the broader community, and our feedback will help shape how it develops. A couple of things to know as you try it out:

• If you encounter any issues or bugs in the feature, please submit a ticket to the Online Learning queue so our team can forward it to Blackboard support. 
• If you’d like to share general feedback or comments at any time, you can use the Ally Auto-tagging PDFs Feature Quick Feedback survey form — fill it out as many times as you need. Just remember that technical issues or bugs MUST go through a ticket.

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