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From the CAL Accessibility Coordinator and Advocate
Dear College of Arts and Letters Community,
In this edition of the CAL Accessibility and Inclusion newsletter, you will find important information and updates about accessibility standards, news related to access and inclusion efforts in the college, support and learning programming across the university, and highlights about available resources to help you expand your inclusive practices.
Thank you,
Caitlin Cornell
ADA Title II Deadline Extended
Institutions now have more time to achieve minimum levels of digital accessibility compliance related to federal mandates for digital accessibility:
The Department of Justice has “prefiled” an “Interim Final Rule” stating it “is revising the regulations implementing title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) to extend the compliance dates for the requirements for web content and mobile application (“app”) accessibility that were adopted on April 24, 2024. The compliance date for State and local government entities with a total population of 50,000 or more is extended from April 24, 2026, to April 26, 2027.”
Here’s a concise article that outlines the deadline shift.
It’s really important that our college not lose any momentum on digital accessibility improvements. We are still beholden to MSU's internal deadline mandating that all new content developed after January 1, 2026 meets WCAG 2.2 AA standards.
The CAL Accessibility and Inclusion team will keep up our messaging about access news and tools, and we will continue building and sharing resources including programming and support for both digital accessibility as well as inclusive instructional practices.
Creating inclusive content is the right thing to do. To understand more about why digital accessibility is so important, visit this recent article by National Public Radio about disabled students' experiences.
Access Spotlight
We use this space to highlight innovative and conscientious access and inclusion work in the college. This month, we want to share course design access work by Dr. Paula Winke.
A few months ago, Dr. Winke read an article about the top ten accommodations being given in higher education and used that list to redesign her course. By redesigning her course to avoid the pitfalls that those most-needed accommodations are called in to address, Dr. Winke has made a huge step toward a more inclusive learning environment for a wide array of student needs. She says:
"Some revisions to my course syllabus include multiple major-assignment and final-exam-format and content options from which students choose or even mix-and-match, so that the assignments and the final exam work for each student and capitalize on each student's individual learning needs...Giving choice and attending copiously to student feedback to present even more choice can reduce stress and anxiety, which frees up space for more collaboration, sharing, and emotional connection to the material and to peer input."
Our team was impressed by Dr. Winke’s innovative approach to inclusive course design that proactively anticipates students' needs. For more information about Universal Design for Learning, an approach reflecting some of the decisions Dr. Winke recently made, read about the UDL guidelines for education. (Early design measures don't address every student need in the classroom; it's important to remain responsive to needs that arise even after careful and conscientious course design).
Take it from Dr. Winke: "I've been teaching at MSU for 21 years, and these last couple of years with more emphasis on Universal Design for Learning have by far been the most rewarding and inspiring yet."
Support and Learning
Here are some highlights of upcoming support and learning opportunities like workshops, webinars, and drop-in sessions across CAL, MSU, and beyond. Browse more support engagements on the CAL Accessibility and Inclusion web page.
This month, we are featuring several opportunities from MSU IT. Find and register for all learning sessions on the Educational Technology events calendar.
PDF Accessibility Essentials: Adobe Acrobat Tips & Tricks
Tuesday, May 12, 2026, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (Virtual)
Learn the basics of PDF accessibility, including how to identify common issues and fix them with Adobe Acrobat tools.
D2L Brightspace Essentials: Navigation, Gradebook Creation, and Structuring Accessible Content
Tuesday, May 12, 2026, 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. (Virtual)
This virtual webinar introduces the basics of setting up a D2L Brightspace course, including core tools and strategies for organizing content and activities.
Mastering Captioning: Enhance Accessibility & Engagement with MediaSpace
Thursday, May 14, 2026, 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (Virtual)
Discover why captioning matters and how to caption videos using MediaSpace to improve accessibility, comprehension, and engagement.
Digital Accessibility Resource Hub
MSU IT's digital accessibility landing page outlines MSU IT's digital accessibility support options like tutorials, document templates, and website consultation.
Resource Highlight
This month, we want to highlight additional information about captioning in MediaSpace: bulk captioning!
As a reminder from MSU IT, "By extending captioning to both new and existing content, [the automatic machine captioning update] helps make MediaSpace more accessible while reducing manual steps for content owners."
Another way to reduce steps to captioning your videos is to learn how to Bulk Order Machine Captions in MediaSpace.
More resources
Visit the resources section of the CAL Accessibility and Inclusion home page to discover additional resources.
Monthly Tip
Here’s your monthly accessibility tip from CAL Accessibility & Inclusion team member Sarah Wellman:
If you've been attending to these monthly tips, you’ve learned a few easy ways to make your content more accessible—now let’s introduce tools that check your work for you!
Grackle
Grackle is a Google Docs/Slides add-on that scans your document and offers instant feedback. It checks for things like missing headings, alt text, and reading order. To use Grackle:
Open a Google Doc or Google Slide
Click on “Extensions” in the top menu
Select “Grackle Docs” or “Grackle Slides” and run the checker
Grackle is free for MSU faculty, staff, and students when logged in with an MSU email address. Check out MSU's Tutorial on Grackle for Google Workspace.
Microsoft Accessibility Checker
Microsoft Accessibility Checker is built into Word and PowerPoint. Just click the “Review” tab, then “Check Accessibility.” It will highlight issues and suggest fixes.
Why use these tools?
They help you catch things you might miss;
They’re fast, simple, and built into your existing tools;
They help build your awareness over time.
Additional Resources
Digital Accessibility for Educators – Self-Enroll (1-hour, self-paced monthly modules to earn a professional certificate)
Contact us!
Have a question about accessibility and disability inclusion, a suggestion for accessibility support in the college, or a topic to highlight in a future newsletter?
Email our team at access@cal.msu.edu.