Campus Currents

By Dylan Pichnarcik, Publications Intern 

During the All University Meeting on October 20th, Framingham State Director of Educational Technology Dr. Steven Courchesne discussed new federal accessibility standards that go into effect next April that impact password protected content, such as Sharpoint and Canvas sites.

“The goal is to remove barriers that might prevent people from being able to perceive, to navigate, and to understand the information that we have located on our different platforms,” Courchesne said. 

He said the change will require members of the faculty and staff to update their Canvas and web pages to include captions and subtext to pictures and videos and “structuring our documents so that everyone can consume the documents and navigate them more easily.” 

For the remainder of the fall semester, Courchesne’s office, Educational Technology, will host workshops and hold one-on-one meetings with community members to determine what needs to be updated digitally and how to do it. 

Courchesne encouraged attendees to create a process for updating digital content to make the change manageable. 

“I want to suggest that we think about prioritization. So start with your syllabus - make that right. If you have next week, a key document or a key assignment that's coming up, make that the focus of that week. And I think that if we focus on one or two things at a time and make gradual but continuous progress throughout the semester, by the end of it, you've actually accomplished a lot,” Courchesne said. 

He said there is a deadline set for April 24, 2026, where all content should be updated and available for community members. 

Dean of Student Success LaDonna Bridges said, “If there's a student in your class that requires [digital content] be accessible, we are going to make sure we get whatever it is accessible. We [CASA] don't have the deadline of April 26, so if you are a faculty member with a student in your class that needs something, we're going to work with you to make sure that happens.”