Overview

Making your course documents accessible will enable students in your course to fully utilize your materials and will help Temple University to be a truly accessible university.  Students depend on your course syllabus for reading and homework assignments; therefore it is crucial that your materials are usable for all students

Download Template

Download the Template for Creating an Accessible Syllabus.  Please note, the template is designed for Microsoft Word versions 2010 and 2013 for Windows, and Word 2011 for the Mac.

For instructions on how to work with the template and to obtain help, please read the sections below.

Instructions

For Windows and Mac

  • Please be sure to use the latest version of Microsoft Word.  The Template for Creating an Accessible Syllabus is designed for Microsoft Word versions 2010 and 2013 and for Macintosh 2011.
  • This template includes the most common features included on a course syllabus.  Please feel free to add, remove, or rearrange sections that fit your needs while keeping in mind that there are elements that are required to be on your course syllabus.  For information, please read the Temple University Course Syllabi Policy.
  • Text that is highlighted yellow on this template serves as a placeholder meant to be replaced with your content to fit the needs of your course.  Please be sure to replace all of the placeholder information with content that is relevant to your course. .
  • Instructions for making elements such as hyperlinks and tables accessible are included on the template itself for easy reference:
     
  • Please be aware, if you copy text from another source and paste it on to this template, or if you add any sections, the content could be inaccessible.  Please run the Accessibility Checker to correct any identified problems.
  • Please note, at this time, Word 2011 for the Mac does not offer a mechanism to check for potential accessibility errors and warnings.  After you have modified the accessible syllabus template, it is recommended that you examine your finished product using Microsoft's Accessibility Checker using a PC.  The accessible syllabus template is compatible between both platforms.

The Accessibility Checker

Like the spell checker that identifies possible spelling errors in a document, MS Word versions for the Windows platform (PC) contains a built-in Accessibility Checker that identifies accessibility problems in a Word document and makes recommendations on how to fix them. Please be sure to run the Accessibility Checker to check your finished syllabus.

 

 

For the  Macintosh Platform

  • At this time, Word 2011 for the Mac does not offer a mechanism to check for potential accessibility errors and warnings. 
  • After you have modified the accessible syllabus template, it is recommended that you examine your finished product using Microsoft's Accessibility Checker using a PC. 
  • The accessible syllabus template is compatible between both platforms.

Best Practices for Accessible Word Documents using Office 2011 (Mac)

As you copy content from another source and paste it on to the template, or if you add images, or if you add any sections, please be sure to refer to the techniques at the Accessible Digital Office Document Project web site  to ensure that your content is accessible. 

 

Required Syllabus Elements

To obtain information on the elements that are required to be placed on your course syllabus, please read the Temple University Course Syllabi Policy at policies.temple.edu/PDF/313.pdf

Where to Get Help

If you need assistance making your documents accessible, or if you have additional needs that are not covered by this template, a variety of resources are available to you at Temple University.

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