Deque University now available for accessibility training

Deque’s on-demand, self-selected courses will help UND meet upcoming federal requirements for digital accessibility

Editor’s note: In the UND LEADS Strategic Plan, the Service core value calls on the University to “strengthen services and cultivate programs for recruiting, mentoring and advancing historically underserved and marginalized students and employees.” This story reports on a University-wide effort to help people with disabilities, ensuring that all members of the university community have equal access to educational programs, activities and the physical environment. This story originally was published by UND Today on June 10.

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University of North Dakota faculty and staff now have access to Deque University’s library of digital accessibility courses and training modules.

First announced in May, UND has partnered with Deque University to provide an expansive selection of on-demand, self-selected training options to all employees.

Faculty and staff can access Deque University by logging in using their UND email (@UND.edu) and password. Energy & Environmental Research Center employees without an @UND.edu address will need to submit a ticket to UIT to gain access.

The Equal Opportunity & Title IX website provides step-by-step guidance on how to log in, verify one’s account and access the full curriculum.

Deque University provides training to help address everything from the fundamentals of web accessibility to formatting individual document types, such as Microsoft Word, Excel and PDF.

The partnership is part of a wider University effort to meet digital accessibility requirements for Title II of the Americans with Disability Act, set to take effect in April 2026.

By default, all users will have access to Deque’s full curriculum. Given the extensive selection, UND has created custom learning pathways that can be subscribed to upon request.

Recommended to all employees is the “Fast Track for Any Role” course, which addresses key terms and provides a general, high-level understanding of what makes digital content accessible. Modules are video-based, and most videos are between one to three minutes in length.

Other custom pathways from UND address specific programs and document types.

After following the instructions to log in, please contact helpdesk@deque.com if issues with logging in persist. If an employee does not have access to courses after logging in, they should contact Beth Valentine at beth.valentine@UND.edu.

As a reminder, UND’s Teaching Transformation & Development Academy offers several workshops and training sessions, both live and through recordings, pertaining to best practices and instructional design. Also available is a webpage dedicated to creating accessible content with links to existing campus resources.

Further information and guidance on the topic of digital accessibility can be found on the digital accessibility landing page.

Questions about the regulations, how they apply to specific work and how Deque University can be used within departments can be directed to Beth Valentine, deputy ADA coordinator, or Donna Smith, ADA coordinator.

>> Questions or comments about the UND LEADS Strategic Plan? Your thoughts are welcome! Please contact Ryan Zerr, associate vice president for Strategy & Implementation, or Anna Marie Kinney, coordinator of the University Writing Program, the co-chairs of the UND LEADS Implementation Committee. You also may offer your thoughts by visiting the UND LEADS Strategic Plan home page and clicking on the “Provide your feedback” link.

Thank you for your support of the UND LEADS Strategic Plan!