Digital Accessibility
Welcome!
At CSU Monterey Bay, we believe that education should be a universally accessible and inclusive experience for all members of our diverse community. Digital accessibility is not only a legal requirement but also a core value and an essential component of our mission to create an equitable learning environment.
Digital accessibility ensures that our online content, tools, and resources are designed and developed to be usable by individuals with various abilities, including those with visual, auditory, cognitive, and motor impairments. By prioritizing digital accessibility, we foster an inclusive atmosphere that not only meets the needs of our students, faculty, and staff with disabilities but also benefits everyone in our community.
For example, captioned videos not only support someone with a hearing impairment, but captions can also help someone learning the English language or someone in an environment where they cannot play audio.
Accessibility plays a pivotal role in making learning spaces, resources, and materials usable by students with disabilities. As the idea of accessibility becomes more widespread, it is vital to distinguish it from mere availability. Content such as inclusive access textbooks or open education resources might be readily available online or affordable, but accessibility is not guaranteed.
To foster an inclusive learning environment, we must consider the variety of technologies our community uses to access digital content. These tools, ranging from mobile devices to braille displays, audio interfaces, and screen readers, can only function effectively if the content is machine-readable and adheres to accessibility principles. By prioritizing accessibility, we are committed to providing an equitable educational experience for all students, our campus community, and the public.
At the Center for Academic Technologies, we are dedicated to providing resources, support, and training to ensure that our campus content creators meet the highest standards of accessibility. Together, we can create a truly inclusive and diverse learning environment where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
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Ready to get started?
Visit the Get Started Basic Principles sections to learn the techniques you can apply today.