5 Quick Wins for an Accessible Syllabus

Picture a student pulling up your syllabus before the first day of class. If they're using a screen reader and your document contains unstructured text, complex tables, and images without adequate descriptions, they may not be able to find your office hours, your late work policy, or even what textbook to buy. An accessible syllabus makes sure that each student gets the same information, at the same time, as everyone else in the room.

The good news: none of these fixes require rebuilding your syllabus from scratch. Here are five quick wins, whether you're working in Blackboard, Word, or Google Docs.

1. Use Real Headings, Not Just Bold Text

A heading that's just bold, larger text tells a sighted reader "this is a section title," but it tells a screen reader nothing. Screen reader users often navigate by jumping from heading to heading, and that navigation breaks entirely if headings aren't marked as actual headings.

Try this:

• Apply your platform's built-in heading styles (Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.) instead of manually resizing or bolding text.
• Keep headings in logical, nested order — don't skip from a Heading 2 straight to a Heading 4.

2. Add Alt Text to Every Image

A photo, logo, or chart without alt text is invisible to a screen reader user, even though it may carry information every other student can see at a glance.

Try this:

• Describe what the image is and why it's there, not just what it looks like.
• If an image is purely decorative, mark it as decorative rather than skipping it — leaving it unmarked forces screen readers to read a meaningless filename aloud.

3. Link to the Current Official Syllabus Statements

Retyping or paraphrasing UMBC's standard syllabus language from memory risks distributing outdated wording. Linking directly means students always see the accurate, current version.

Try this:

• Replace any pasted-in or remembered policy text with a link to UMBC Syllabus Language.
• Check this each semester — the source updates, so your link should point there rather than to a saved copy.

4. State Your Schedule and Late Work Policy Plainly

A vague policy or a schedule listed only by week number forces students to guess or infer — especially hard for students cross-referencing accommodation plans or juggling outside responsibilities.

Try this:

• List specific dates, not just "Week 3," so students can check deadlines against their own calendars.
• Spell out your late work and extension policy directly, rather than leaving it to be asked about.

5. Write Descriptive Link Text

"Click here" tells a screen reader nothing about where a link goes. Screen readers frequently pull up a list of all links on a page, out of context, so the link text itself has to describe the destination.

Try this:

• Replace bare URLs and generic phrases with a descriptive label, like "Course Withdrawal Policy" instead of "click here."
• Do this pass right before you post the syllabus — it's easy to forget once pasted links pile up.

Want the full picture? For platform-specific instructions, including tables, contrast, and exporting accessible PDFs, visit Accessible Syllabi on the Digital Accessibility website.