Captioning Videos

Captions, transcripts and audio descriptions of video content are required by law* when institutions of higher education:

• publish videos on public-facing websites
• approve a request for accommodation from students, faculty, staff and/or the general public to facilitate access to a video resource**
• receive a request for accommodation of a webcast of a live/real time open meeting or of training/informational video productions which support the institution of higher education's mission

*Basis in law: Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, governmental organizations must ensure “effective communication” with citizens; Section 504, all federal entities — and organizations that receive federal funding — must make accommodations for equal access; Open Meetings Act, Texas Government Code, Chapter 551 and Texas Administrative Code (1 TAC §213.32), as written in the previous list.

**For students registered with Disability Services, timely accommodations must be made for both required and optional video resources, so as to provide individuals with a comparable educational experience.

Captioning and multimedia accessibility in Higher Ed

To enable greater understanding, please refer to the following:

• Importance of captioning in Higher Ed
• Understanding video accessibility
  
  • IT accessibility regulations
  • Definitions of common multimedia terms
• Our responsibilities
  • Creating accessible videos
  • Copyright or fair use
  • Checklist for captioning compliance
  • Compliance plan for multimedia
• Training and tips for multimedia accessibility
  
  • Workflows for multimedia
  • Video and multimedia tools (including vendors)

Contact the Technology Services accessibility team if you have any questions or comments.