Creating accessible digital course materials can initially seem overwhelming for educators. However, the University of Iowa has introduced the Course Accessible for Everyone (CAFÉ) training, designed to make this process much simpler and more approachable for instructors.
The CAFÉ training program, initiated by Dr. Eden Jones, an instructional accessibility consultant from the Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology, focuses on making ICON courses accessible. This initiative comes in response to a new federal requirement mandating that all digital content, including online course materials, be accessible to individuals with disabilities by April 24.
Inspired by accessibility programs at peer institutions like Northwestern University’s Mission: Accessible, Jones crafted a program that equips instructors with the necessary skills and confidence to enhance the accessibility of their digital content.
The CAFÉ training is a 90-minute session covering seven key principles of digital accessibility. These sessions are available as live, virtually led trainings or through an on-demand guided ICON course known as CAFÉ To Go.
CAFÉ training emphasizes addressing common accessibility challenges through seven main themes:
- Creating easily navigable headings,
- Using links that are clear and meaningful,
- Implementing row and column headers in tables,
- Enhancing readability with lists,
- Maintaining adequate color contrast,
- Providing alternative text for images,
- Offering transcripts for video and audio content.
Through these core principles, educators are empowered to ensure their materials are accessible for all students.
Additionally, the training introduces tools like Anthology Ally and TidyUP, which help identify potential accessibility issues in ICON courses. Ally evaluates materials and suggests enhancements, while TidyUP helps manage files to keep ICON sites organized.
In the fall 2025 semester, a total of 1,129 instructors utilized the feedback tool in Ally a remarkable 38,677 times, resulting in improvements to 24,536 items, with an overall file accessibility improvement of 72%.
“University of Iowa instructors are embracing the training and tools to make their courses accessible to everyone,” says Maggie Jesse, executive director of the Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology and co-chair of the Accessibility Task Force. “They want to do the right thing, and our goal is to make accessibility as easy as possible for them. We want to make accessibility checks a habit for everyone, like using spell check.”
Graduates of the CAFÉ program earn the title of CAFÉ Baristas, demonstrating their expertise in applying accessibility knowledge to ICON courses and other digital materials. To achieve certification, instructors must attain at least a 94% Ally score on one of their ICON courses. To date, 140 instructors and staff have completed the training, with nearly 300 participating in digital accessibility sessions.
Dr. Carly Armour, a graduate student success administrator in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health, became the first certified CAFÉ Barista.
“The easy-to-follow, comprehensive CAFÉ training was really beneficial,” Armour says. “It not only refreshed my accessibility skills but also taught me new ones to remove barriers.”
While technical skills are crucial in addressing digital accessibility, CAFÉ also aims to support educators who may feel daunted by the task. Jones offers encouragement:
“This is an ultra-marathon, not a sprint; nobody is expecting you to sit down for a couple hours this weekend and take your course to 100% accessible. It’s a long process of learning and applying that knowledge slowly, surely, and systematically,” Jones says. “I like to remind folks of the old adage: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”
Jones suggests taking small, manageable steps toward improving course accessibility. As an example, she recommends using brief moments of free time to run accessibility checks on upcoming course materials.
“Think of it like this: you’ve got 10 minutes left in your drop-in hours, no students are here and all your emails are answered. You could spend that 10 minutes a number of ways, but why not pop open next week’s PowerPoint presentations and run the Accessibility Checker really quickly? Just taking small steps like that in the small windows of opportunity that we find can make a difference,” Jones says.
To begin enhancing course accessibility, CAFÉ training is an excellent starting point. Visit the Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology website for information on live trainings and the CAFÉ To Go course.
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