Digital Accessibility Grants

Who May Submit Proposals

Proposals may be submitted by individuals (faculty, staff) who provide instruction that enhances educational development. This includes instruction for students as well as faculty and staff development courses. Eligible applicants must have a course hosted on Canvas or a publicly accessible website and must apply the grant funds toward a course scheduled for Fall 2025. 

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization 

There are no limits or restrictions on the number of proposals submitted by a campus department or organization. 

Limit on Number of Proposals per Applicant

An eligible applicant may only submit one Digital Accessibility Grant proposal per year during this pilot phase.

• Complete the application form in full. (application coming soon)
  • Be prepared to answer questions about your course, types of content and list all parties responsible for content updates. View all application form questions in advance using the Application Preview. 

Proposals will be reviewed by a designated review team or panel, consisting of members from CAEN, OCCE and other Digital Accessibility representatives from across Michigan Engineering. 

Reviewers will evaluate proposals based on the following criteria:

• The application is complete.
• Impact and reach (based on enrollment and the number of semesters the course is offered).

If a high volume of applications is received, the review committee may also consider answers to optional questions outlined on the application form. These questions allow applicants to discuss their planned approach to making their course accessible and how they might disseminate insights, challenges and advice to others on course accessibility.

Notification of the Award 

A Digital Accessibility Grant representative will notify award recipients between March-April, 2025. 

Award Conditions 

Upon receipt of grant funds, award recipients and their project teams will: 

• Complete four formal accessibility checks of their course content throughout the process and make updates based on the report to meet WCAG and ADA requirements. Accessibility checks will occur at the following Intervals:
  • Pre-revision/before the course 
  • Start of the course 
  • Midterm/during the course 
  • End-of-course 
• Complete provided training.
• Act as accessibility champions by sharing insights, challenges, and advice related to making courses accessible through a venue or program within Michigan Engineering, such as a special interest group meeting, a presentation at a departmental faculty meeting, or a presentation at EEI days.
• Keep the course in compliance for Fall 2025 with the goal of maintaining compliance in the future. 

Reporting Requirements 

All grant recipients will be expected to complete a pre-course and post-course survey in Fall 2025 outlining their experiences in digital accessibility revision, accessibility status of their digital content, and reflections on the process of making content more digitally accessible. 

January 20, 2025 – Grant applications open

February 24, 2025 – Final applications due

March – April 2025 – Award recipients notified

Spring and Summer 2025 –

• Recipients undergo training 
• Complete the initial course accessibility check 
• Work to make course content accessible including potentially hiring a student employee to make course improvements

August 2025 – Prior to the start of the course:

• Run another course accessibility check to compare to initial data
• Complete a pre-semester survey on process and report details 

December 2025 – At the end of the course:

• Run another course accessibility check
• Complete post-semester survey on process and report details

January – May 2026 – Present at EEI days or complete sharable resource