How to make sure all your students can access your Moodle modules

If your Moodle course meets UCL’s E-learning Baseline it will also comply with the UK’s new Digital Accessibility legislation.

That’s the message from UCL Digital Education team, who are urging module leaders and administrators to conduct a ‘Baseline Check’ of all Moodle courses by the start of the 2019/20 session.

New legislation

The legislation introduced in September 2018 requires us to make our entire digital estate - all UCL website content, e-learning and library systems – accessible by everyone.

Our students now view Moodle as a central part of their learning at UCL. It is essential that all students are able to access the online resources and activities that are provided. 

Minimum standards for Moodle

Our E-learning Baseline is a set of standards for Moodle that has been recommended as good practice since 2011. It was endorsed by UCL Education Committee as policy in 2017 and included in the UCL Academic Manual 2018-19 (Chapter 11: Teaching and Learning). The E-Learning Baseline sets out the minimum expectations for the use of Moodle in all taught modules at UCL.

Meeting the E-learning Baseline ensures consistent usability, availability and quality of online materials. And it also indicates that the Moodle course complies with the new statutory requirements for accessible content are met.

Dr Clive Young, Advisory Team Leader, Digital Education, said

This is a real opportunity to enhance UCL’s ‘digital estate’. Our E-learning Baseline been designed to be as easy as possible to meet.

How to use the E-learning Baseline 

A simple online Baseline Checker has been developed, supported by online guidance and a new printed version. Module leads will be sent a unique link to the Checker for their course. 

To help the process Digital Education will be able to provide overall progress reports to Heads of Department. Full alignment with some sections – particularly around accessibility –  may take a little time. Digital Education can provide guidance and templates if required. The aim is to reach the Baseline for most Moodle courses over the next academic year.