Does all my course content need to be 100% accessible by April 24th, 2026?
You do not need to remove or disable course materials on April 24, 2026. What matters is showing that you are following a reasonable, documented plan for improving accessibility.
The tools and strategies already shared - including the 3R’s Review strategy and 7 Core Skills - along with fixing accessibility issues using Ally, will help support your ability to demonstrate your progress.
Am I responsible for making all of my course content accessible on my own?
It is your responsibility to act within the university’s compliance framework and take reasonable steps to create and deliver accessible course content. Follow your college’s directives and guidance on what content to prioritize. Your college may also be able to provide other assistance.
I have content that I don’t think can be made accessible. What should I do?
Consult with your unit’s accessibility coordinator and with your department or college leadership on how to proceed. There may be strategies or tools being prepared for use. If needed, units will have the option to seek an exception.
Will Ally change my course appearance?
The only difference you'll see within your course is that Ally provides an accessibility score for your files. The score is shown by a gauge icon next to your course files. Select the gauge to view and improve your file accessibility.
What do students see?
Students see a menu to the left or right of each document. From this menu, they can select alternative formats to access available versions they can download. Although students can download alternative formats of your files, you do still need to improve the documents through the feedback panel.
What happens to my original files during the analysis?
The original file stays in your Canvas course. Ally doesn't store a copy of the original, move the original, or delete it.
Does Ally use AI?
Ally uses an AI-based program to do the scan, but it doesn’t do anything with your content and none of your content ever leaves the CarmenCanvas environment. The only generative AI Ally uses is to offer help with generating alternative text for images.
When I upload a remediated file via Ally’s feedback panel, does it replace the original version?
Yes, when you upload a new or remediated file to the feedback panel, the original version in the course is overwritten and any place where it exists in your course is updated.
Is there a way to filter unpublished or otherwise unused content out of the course accessibility report?
No, Ally does not distinguish between published and unpublished content. All content that can be scanned will be scanned. Retiring content that you don’t need is a great way to improve your course’s accessibility score.
What do I do when Ally’s feedback panel says “Guidance not available yet” for the issue I choose to fix?
There are a few issues where Ally doesn't have embedded instructions for remediation steps. We recommend following these guidelines for creating accessible documents from theDigital Accessibility Services team. Additionally, you can work with your accessibility coordinator to find steps for fixing issues.
What accessibility issues does Ally check for?
Ally’s accessibility checklist is based on WCAG 2.1 AA (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). This is an international accessibility standard, and most of the legislation and legal requirements worldwide aligns with this standard.
Additionally, Ally also adds a number of additional checks on top of this that start to target the usability and quality of the course materials a bit more.
What does Ally do with content it can’t check?
Ally includes content it can’t check for accessibility issues, such as ZIP archives and XML files, under “Other” in the institutional report. This content does not receive an accessibility score, does not contribute to the institution’s accessibility score, and does not have an indicator or option to download alternative formats in the user interface.
How does Ally handle password protected content?
If you have uploaded a file that includes its own password protection, Ally will detect the password-protected content and gives the content a 0% accessibility score. Ally then provides guidance to help remove the password through the instructor feedback.
Ally doesn't generate any alternative formats for password protected content, as Ally can’t get access to the actual content.
How does Ally handle content in an external tool or website added to a course?
Ally only evaluates content that exists within your Canvas course.
Ally cannot evaluate content on websites, in publisher sites or other external tools you’ve linked to your course since it can’t access that material.
Are alternate formats generated when a request to download is made?
When an alternative format for a content item is requested for the first time, Ally generates the alternative format on demand. In most cases, it generates within 1-2 minutes.
As soon as it is generated, the alternative format is downloaded. Ally then caches the result, so any additional requests for the same alternative format can be served and downloaded from cache immediately.
What does the instructor need to do to generate alternative formats for a content item?
Ally automatically recognizes any existing or new materials, runs them through the accessibility checklist, and makes the alternative formats available to students and the instructor.
Can I disable alternative formats?
You can turn off alternative formats for individual content items, if you want. You can enable it again later.
Does having alternative formats enabled mean I don’t need to make that content item accessible?
While the alternative formats allow your students to engage with your course in the manner most accessible to them, they are not a substitute for making the original content compliant with the ADA Title II Digital Accessibility Requirements.
What is a contrast check?
Contrast checks verify whether there is sufficient contrast between the text color and its background color. Text with poor contrast can be difficult to read for everyone, but especially for students with visual impairments such as color blindness.
Ally uses the contrast requirements specified as part of the WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines.
See some examples of poor contrast in Ohio State’s 7 Core skills guide.
Is there a file size limit?
Ally doesn’t enforce a file size limit. There may be cases where the algorithm fails to generate alternative formats for certain large files. These recommendations can help:
- Keep the original content to fewer than 100 pages to generate an OCR format for scanned documents.
- Limit content to 100,000 characters for the audio format. This character limit typically corresponds to at least 30 pages or several hours of audio.
- Limit content to 30,000 characters for the translated format.
- Limit to 50MB fixed files uploaded through the Instructor Feedback panel.