Although the deadline for Title II digital accessibility compliance was extended to April 26, 2027, the communications and web teams at UAB have remained committed to a proactive approach to updating documents on the web and ensuring all new documents comply with Title II guidelines. Efforts have been made to upload accessible documents that have been submitted and to offer alternatives if accessibility cannot effectively be achieved. The goal is that all content being added to the website moving forward adheres to Title II guidelines.
Alternate Solutions
Some PDF documents cannot easily be made accessible due to complex layouts or dense content. In these cases, the web team may suggest these documents be turned into web pages. Recent digital versions of milestone event programs or student guidelines documents are examples of this solution.
Another solution for complex documents is to provide the content in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint format instead of a PDF format. Attention must still be paid that heading styles are used properly in these documents, but the built-in accessibility checkers for these Microsoft products are user friendly and help automate the process. If several of these documents are submitted for listing on the site, the web team may suggest placing these documents in a Box folder and linking the folder to the website. Documents handled in this manner could continue to be managed or updated by the content submitter after the link is live on the website.
Reminders and Resources
Prior to the deadline extension, Medical Education provided several tutorial articles about making accessible PDFs, Word and PowerPoint files, as well as effectively using alt text. Please see below for quick access to those pieces. Please also refer to UAB Digital Accessibility website for additional resources and updates related to the 2027 deadline.