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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

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OSP Training Team

Check out the April edition of our monthly newsletter for updates on students, faculty, and alumni! 

April 2026 Newsletter

Hello! I am looking to trade a ticket for the 10:00 am ceremony for the 3pm ceremony on the 21st. Please let me know if you have one you can trade. Thanks. 

This workshop, led by three UMBC CSEE faculty, empowers students from all majors to think critically about data—learning how to interpret, question, and communicate insights without requiring coding or statistical expertise. Through interactive discussions, case studies, and hands-on storytelling, participants explore how numbers can both reveal and obscure truth, how AI shapes interpretation, and how human judgment remains essential in making data meaningful. Free to community college students and students at the University at Shady Grove, $20 registration fee for all others. All participants must be 18 and older.

Get more information and register here.

"One Photon, A Trillion Electrons" -- Fascinating news article on Professor Daniel Suarez-Forero, his quantum research, and his journey to UMBC!  

https://umbc.edu/stories/daniel-suarez-forero-quantum-frontier/

The Black Graduate Student Organization (BGSO) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a dedicated community focused on supporting and empowering Black graduate students across all disciplines. The organization provides a platform for professional development, academic excellence, and social connection, hosting various community events and networking opportunities to foster a strong sense of belonging within the university.

For the 2026-2027 academic year, the BGSO is actively seeking new leadership through its Executive Board nominations. Interested students can explore various e-board roles designed to drive the organization's mission forward and advocate for the graduate student body.

Here is the Google form for the nominations: Nomination Form

Deadline is May 31

The annual COEIT Celebration recognizes the outstanding contributions of COEIT students across all academic programs. The ninth annual event was held on May 3, 2026, in the Retriever Activities Center, and welcomed graduating seniors and their families to celebrate with other students, faculty, and staff members of the COEIT community. The celebration also recognized faculty and staff members for their contributions to student success.

Photo: Dean Jeanne van Briesen shares a moment with 2026 COEIT Celebration participants. Photo by Chris Ferenzi Photography

Awards were presented to honorees in the categories of Outstanding Seniors, Undergraduate Research, and Student Leadership. Information systems students recipients of the Vijay Jose Award, the John B. Schwartz Award, and the Moshope Oyeyemi Memorial Scholarship were announced, as was the Computer Science Manohar Shyam Joshi Memorial Award. The Meritorious Service to the College awards were presented to outstanding seniors who supported introductory computing and engineering courses.The complete program of the event and all award winners is available.

All UMBC graduation candidates from COEIT received a gift and were given the opportunity to be recognized on stage by the college and their home departments. 

Congratulations to all of our COEIT graduating seniors!