Accessibility in Blackboard

Blackboard is fully committed to delivering product experiences that conform to the highest levels of global accessibility standards. Towson University’s Blackboard support team knows that accessibility is imperative, not an afterthought.

Tuesday, Nov. 10

Fix Your Content Day 2026

Fix Your Content Day is a worldwide, 24-hour global competition where institutions come together to improve the accessibility of their digital course content using Blackboard Ally. Every single fix helps remove barriers to learning and creates a more inclusive experience for students. It's also an opportunity to bring colleagues together, build accessibility awareness and showcase ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø's commitment to inclusive education.

Join ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø's Blackboard team, FACET, the Library in-person or virtually: collaborate with ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø's instructional designers to fix your digital content by making small, impactful course improvements.

  • When: Tuesday, Nov. 10, 10 a.m. - 3p.m. No registration needed. Stay for 15 minutes or an hour!
  • Where: Cook Library, Room 404B or . No registration needed.
  • What: hands-on support for working with Blackboard's Ally make your course more accessible. Bonus: stay for snacks and great conversation while you work! 

Let's work together to make learning more inclusive! If you have questions, contact . 

All Blackboard products are designed and developed with international and domestic standards. Anthology Blackboard, Inc. is and underscores the importance of accessibility in education.

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Blackboard environment has a current list of optional . If you have questions, please contact

Blackboard Accessibility Tool 

Ally is theintegrated within Blackboard. This tool gauges the accessibility of uploaded documents/files, provides feedback on how to improve issues and identifies alternative content formats for students. Using an accessibility checker supports diverse student needs at ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø through inclusive design and learner preferences. See resources for using Ally on this page.

Accessibility Improvement Opportunities

Support sessions: virtual 

Mark your calendars for upcoming Ultra Pop-ups! Please confirm . If you have login issues, contact .

Department Roadshows: we'll come to you!

Looking for a customized session for your department? We can help! Request a session by emailing

More Accessibility Support

Let's continue to work together to make learning more inclusive! If you have questions or want improve the accessibility of your Blackboard courses, contact .

Recap of Opportunities

ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø's Blackboard team participated in these recent events, providing opportunities for the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø community to improve accessibility and become more learning inclusive:

  • Ultra Pop-up support sessions: See
  • March 11, 2026: ADS'
  • Jan. 12, 2026: ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø's Educator's Summit
  • Jan. 8-9, 2026: USM  
  • Nov. 18, 2025: Global

Resources for Instructors

FAQs

It means websites, apps, and documents which are designed to be equally usable by everyone, including individuals with physical or cognitive disabilities.

The best practice is to store your files in OneDrive. 

For optimal accessibility, share your syllabus as a Word document. This format is more compatible with screen readers and allows easier navigation.

Yes. Proactively creating accessible materials from the start follows universal design principles that benefit all learners, including those with undisclosed disabilities or temporary impairments. Use on your course material accessibility.

Yes. You are responsible for ensuring all course materials are accessible. If it's not, try to find an alternative or contact the vendor to request an accessible version.  

First reduce: remove any materials you don’t intend for your students to use. Next, check for accessibility and fix issues in your syllabus, slide decks, and other essential materials. Use USM's "" article to guide your next steps.

Use the built-in accessibility checkers in Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint) and Adobe Acrobat. For existing Blackboard course content accessibility, use .

If you need help locating accessible content, reach out to and consult with your for possible permalinks or finding available alternative formats. Remediation should be the last stop, if remaking or replacing a document isn’t possible. 

Use to see a full breakdown of your content's accessibility and step-by-step instructions for improvements. If it’s in the green (100% accessible), you’re good to go, and no actions are needed. Recommendation: use the when creating courses and they'll be accessible by default. 

No. Only active courses impact your Ally score. However, if you copy content from an old course into a new one, you must ensure those files meet current accessibility standards before the new semester begins. If you’re not using a file, consider deleting it.

Using the Blackboard Accessibility Tool (Ally)

Learn how to improve the student experience through inclusive design: watch and follow . Learn about with ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø's Blackboard team.

Tips for Making Your Course Accessible

  • Use descriptive headings and apply heading formatting.
  • Avoid using font styles, color, bold, italics, underline or strikethrough to emphasize content.
  • Use purposeful images and include alternative text to those images.
  • Make descriptive links when linking outside your course.
  • Use lists instead of tables whenever possible.
  • Properly list content using bullet points or numbered lists.
  • All videos should be captioned.
  • Format your files and documents to be accessible.
  • Provide students with clear expectations, instructions and directions for all assignments and tests.

Resources for Students