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