Digital accessibility ensures that all students, faculty, staff, and community members can access and engage with Germanna’s digital resources. The federal ADA Title II rule requires all public institutions to meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards for websites, documents, multimedia, and digital communication.
This page provides practical guidance on common accessibility barriers, how to remediate them, and where to find support and training at Germanna.
Federal Requirements
Title II of the ADA requires state and local government entities, including colleges, to provide equal access.
WCAG 2.1 AA defines measurable accessibility standards for digital content. Compliance covers:
- Websites
- Documents and course materials
- Video and audio content
- Social media
- Email and other communications
What this means for Germanna: By April 24, 2026, all faculty, staff, and students who create digital content and/or communications must ensure that all materials are accessible before publication or distribution.
Where We Are
247
Inaccessible documents, Germanna.edu
400
Files remediated in Canvas since March 1, 2026
Training & Support
Faculty and Staff Training: Accessibility workshops, hands-on remediation sessions, and resource guides are available through the VCCS accessibility website as well as Germanna's Access Committee.
Individual Support: Staff and faculty can request one-on-one consultations for document, media, and web accessibility.
Student Support: Accessibility Services assists students with accommodation and access needs.
Access at Germanna
Build your digital accessibility knowledge with Instructional Support Services’ Access at Germanna course module. Completion of the course serves as confirmation that faculty and staff have reviewed the requirements and are prepared to meet the April 2026 deadline.
Share Your Progress
Faculty, staff, and students who create digital content for Germanna—such as files, videos, courses, websites, or social media—are encouraged to share their progress toward meeting the April 2026 accessibility deadline.
Need help getting started? Contact the Office of Accessibility Resources or join us during virtual office hours. All sessions are open to faculty, staff, and students.
- Instructional Support Services (coursework & teaching focus) - Fridays at 10 a.m. on Zoom
- General Support (document & website focus) - Mondays at 10 a.m. & Thursdays at 4 p.m. on Zoom
Common Accessibility Issues
In Documents
- Missing alt text for images
- No proper heading structure
- Low color contrast
- Tables without headers
- PDFs created from scans without tags
On Websites
- Links labeled “click here” instead of descriptive text
- No captions or transcripts for media
- Improper heading nesting (skipped levels)
- Insufficient color contrast
- Non-keyboard accessible menus
In Video/Audio
- Missing captions or subtitles
- No transcript provided
- Autogenerated captions with errors
- Videos without audio descriptions
- Poor audio quality or background noise
On Social Media
- No alt text for images
- Posting text only within images (without description)
- Videos without captions
- Hashtags without capitalization (#ThisIsAccessible vs. #thisisaccessible)
- Using emojis in place of words
In Email
- No alt text for images
- Small or hard-to-read fonts
- Links without descriptive text
- Low color contrast
Resources
VCCS Faculty & Staff Training
Upcoming Sessions
- Excel Tables & Charts · March 23
- Open Accessibility Labs · Multiple Dates
Training Session Recordings
- Introduction to Accessibility Basics: Purpose and Practice
- Accessibility at Germanna
- Working with Images (for Faculty)
- Working with Images (for Staff)
- Working with Video (for Faculty)
- Working with Video (for Staff)
- On-Page Content (for Staff)
- On-Page Content (for Faculty)
- Creating Accessible PDFs (for Faculty)
- Creating Accessible PDFs (for Staff)
- Introduction to Tagging
- Images for STEM & Healthcare
- UDoItAdvantage
- Making Accessible Word Documents
- UDoItAdvantage
- Images for Arts & Humanities
- PowerPoint Accessibility
- Videos & Podcasts: Captions & Transcripts
- Google Workspace and Accessibility
- Video Accessibility
Course Modules
Policies
- Germanna Community College Digital Accessibility Policy — coming soon
ACCESS in Focus
We're launching something new to support you with digital accessibility: ACCESS in Focus.
These are short (30–60 minute), hands-on sessions focused on practical skills you can use right away, building accessible Canvas pages, fixing documents, adding captions, and more. Each session tackles one specific skill so you can attend what's most relevant to your work.
All sessions will be recorded for those who cannot attend live.
Upcoming Sessions: April 2 & 8
Accessible Documents Outside Canvas · Thursday, April 2
Word, PowerPoint, and Google Docs using built-in accessibility checkers.
Other Documents Registration
Complex Content: Tables, Charts, Equations, Images · Wednesday, April 8
Support for STEM, geography, art, music, and other visually intensive disciplines.
Complex Content Registration
Upcoming Sessions: April 13 & 22
Video Accessibility and Captioning · Monday, April 13
Canvas Studio caption generation and third-party video verification.
Video Accessibility Registration
Student Experience: Accessibility in Action · Wednesday, April 22
Screen reader demonstrations showing the real impact of accessible design.
Student Experience Registration