Tom represents thousands of students who have a disability and need accessible version of files.

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Like many students, Tom uses computer software to read electronic files aloud. This allows him to consume the text. Other forms of accessible files are Word documents, text-based PDFs, mp3s and Braille.

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PDFs readings are commonly used in higher education. An Image PDF will NOT work with software that reads text aloud. The way to check if the PDF is an image is to attempt to copy/paste the text from the PDF into a Word document. No copy/paste = not accessible = not usable by students with learning or visual disabilities.

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Like dozens of students, Tom wants to know what his options are to get an accessible version of the PDF. On this campus, there are two options.

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Option 1: Use the free tool at Disability Resources for Student's homepage. Student will need their university credentials to login to the conversion tool. Faculty and staff are welcome to use this as well.

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Option 2: Email printdrs@uw.edu. The conversion team will provide an accessible version within 48 business hours.

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With accessible versions of files, students with disabilities can independently access the required information in the same time frame as other students,

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Created by Krista Greear, BSU Ed Tech Graduate Student