Courseware Accessibility

There are several ways to find out whether a specific piece of courseware is accessible. The information available about a tool and the steps you need to take depend on whether the tool has already been approved for University-wide use, approved only for certain uses, or hasn't been through the process yet. The Reviewed Courseware List Links to an external site. on Penn State's Courseware website can help you determine which of the following categories a specific tool belongs to. Searching this list will usually provide information if the tool has already been requested by another member of the University.

Approved for University-Wide Use

This means that the tool has already gone through the review process and been deemed accessible enough that is freely available to use in any course without the need for additional review. While these tools are generally accessible, you may want to learn more about the tool's features, such as keyboard shortcuts, accessibility settings, and other details to ensure that you implement it in a way that works well for all students. In this case, you can do the following:

• See whether there is additional information about it on the Software page of the Penn State Accessibility site Links to an external site..
• Ask an accessibility consultant whether they have tested the tool and have any recommendations.
• Check out the vendor's website to see whether it provides any accessibility information about the product.

Partly Approved (Action Needed)

If the tool is listed as "Action needed for authorization," that means it is only approved for a specific use and must still go through the approval process again before it can be used in your course. In these cases, the tool may be partly accessible but have some functions or features that won't work for all students. 

Exploring New Tools

If you are considering a new tool that is not on the Courseware website and has never gone through the approval process, you may want to have the Accessibility Team perform an initial evaluation by submitting a technology evaluation request in Workfront. This may be helpful if you are trying to decide between multiple tools in order to determine which one is most accessible. Once you have decided on a tool, the following page covers how to initiate the official review process. 

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