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MANAGEMENT
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MANAGEMENT
Instructional and Information Technology Services (IITS)

Instructional Materials

Course instructional materials that are accessible ensure that all students, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, can fully engage with the learning content. California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) takes pride in being a diverse and inclusive campus and ensure that students with disabilities have access to the same learning experience as those without. This commitment is articulated in Executive Order 1111 (EO 1111), the CSU Board of Trustees Policy on Disability Support and Accommodations.

CSUSM uses Blackboard Ally in Canvas to check all instructional materials for accessibility. Unused files in courses contribute to lower course accessibility scores and consume valuable time during the remediation of course materials. Academic Technology Services provides 1:1, department, and small group training for instructors on how to use Blackboard Ally to remediate course materials. Instructors can find guides on the Blackboard Ally – Instructors website. 

Review Instructional Materials for Accessibility

Blackboard Ally is used to scan course materials for accessibility as they are added to the course, identify the results with a score indicator, and guide instructors through the remediation process to make them accessible. Each Canvas course contains an Ally Course Accessibility Report. Instructors are encouraged to review the report and focus on remediating instructional materials one course at a time. Each course that gets to 85% overall accessibility will receive a badge for the course. Each semester the instructional materials specialist reviews the institutional accessibility score for all courses and notifies those instructors of their eligibility to receive the badge and how to add it in their course.

The instructional materials specialist provides 1:1 and department training on effectively using Blackboard Ally to remediate course materials. Instructional Design Services provides 1:1 and department training for Universal Design for Learning principles.

Delete Unused Files

Course instructional materials in Canvas that are not being used have a negative effect on the accessibility score. Instructors are strongly encouraged to delete any files from Canvas that are not available to students. Remediating usused files is a time consuming process for the instructor and for the instructional materials specialist who remediates course instructional materials for students with DSS accomodations.

Identifying unused files and deleting them is a multiple step process. Any files you want to use in the future should be downloaded and uploaded to OneDrive.

How to Delete & Back Up Unused Files

  1. View course files
  2. Delete unused files.
  3. Create a folder for files you want to download.
  4. Move files in to the folder.
  5. Download the folder.
  6. Delete the folder and files in the folder.
  7. Login to office365.csusm.edu and create a folder for your course.
  8. Upload the zip folder you downloaded from Canvas.
  9. Review the Ally Course Accessibility Report and follow the prompts to remediate any files with scores below 85%.