Ohio State University

Faculty-Driven PDF Accessibility Compliance for 65,000+ Students

Case Overview

Enterprise-Scale ADA Title II and WCAG 2.1 AA Compliance Across Academic Departments

Industry: Higher Education / Public Research University

Location: Columbus, Ohio

Standards: ADA Title II, WCAG 2.1 Level AA, PDF/UA ISO 14289-1, Section 508, Ohio State MDAS

Products: PDFix Desktop Enterprise, VeraPDF Validation

About the Organization

The Ohio State University is one of the largest and most comprehensive public research universities in the United States, serving over 65,000 students across the Columbus campus and regional locations.

As a major research institution, Ohio State offers professional degree programs spanning arts and sciences, engineering, medicine, business, education, and specialized disciplines. The university’s decentralized academic structure means digital content creation happens across hundreds of departments and is managed by thousands of faculty members daily.

“With the April 2026 ADA Title II deadline approaching, we needed to empower faculty across every department to create accessible course materials independently. Centralized remediation couldn’t scale to our volume, and faculty needed tools they could use without becoming accessibility experts.”

– Digital Accessibility Coordinator, The Ohio State University

Key Results

Automation 70%+

Many documents achieve compliance instantly, while complex academic materials receive targeted manual refinement using built-in editing tools.

Cost / Time reduction / Volume

Thousands of documents monthly processed through batch automation in a single desktop application.

Compliance readiness 100%

On track to meet April 24, 2026 ADA Title II with WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliance.

The Challenge

Scale, Faculty Independence, and ADA Title II Compliance

On April 24, 2026, new ADA Title II regulations take effect requiring all public universities to ensure digital content meets WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility standards.

For Ohio State, this mandate presents an unprecedented challenge:

Thousands of PDF documents created daily across hundreds of academic departments
Decentralized content creation by faculty with varying technical expertise
Complex STEM content including mathematical equations, scientific diagrams, technical charts, and specialized notation
Diverse document types: lecture notes, lab manuals, research papers, study guides, exam materials, course syllabi
Students with disabilities requiring equitable access to all course materials under federal law

The university’s Ohio State MDAS (Minimum Digital Accessibility Standards) establishes institutional requirements aligned with WCAG 2.1 AA, creating clear compliance targets but also demanding scalable solutions.

Key Challenges

Enable thousands of faculty members to create accessible content without accessibility expertise
Process course materials across all academic departments
Support complex STEM content with mathematical equations, technical diagrams, scientific notation, and specialized formatting
Meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA and PDF/UA standards
Achieve Ohio State MDAS compliance across the entire institution
Provide validation and proof of compliance before course materials are published to students
Meet the April 24, 2026 federal compliance deadline for ADA Title II regulations

The Solution

PDFix Desktop Enterprise: Faculty-Driven Accessibility at Scale

Ohio State deployed PDFix Desktop Enterprise as a comprehensive accessibility workstation that combines powerful batch automation with precise manual editing capabilities. Faculty and accessibility staff process documents using the Make Accessible Command for automated remediation, then validate and fix remaining issues directly from the built-in validation pane – all within a single desktop application.

How the Hybrid Automation Workflow Operates:

1️⃣ Make Accessible Command: Comprehensive Automated Remediation

For non-tagged or poorly structured documents, the Make Accessible Command executes a complete accessibility transformation:

Removal of old tag structures
Flattening of form XObjects
Font embedding
Auto-tagging of content
Metadata updates
Bookmark generation
PDF/UA compliance fixes

2️⃣ Built-In Validation Pane: Instant Compliance Verification

PDFix Desktop Enterprise includes an integrated VeraPDF validator that checks compliance immediately
Built-in VeraPDF checker runs comprehensive PDF/UA and WCAG 2.1 AA tests
Validation pane displays results with clear pass/fail indicators
No external tools required

3️⃣ Manual Tag Editing: Precision Control for Complex Content

When automated processing produces compliance errors or when complex academic content requires refinement, faculty use PDFix Desktop’s manual editing capabilities.

Each document requiring manual intervention receives targeted attention only where automation fell short, rather than complete manual remediation from scratch.

4️⃣ Faculty-Friendly Desktop Workflow

The entire process happens within a single desktop application designed for academic users:

Key Workflow Advantages:

No file uploads to external services
Complete data security
Batch automation handle simple materials efficiently
Manual precision for complex content
Instant validation feedback
Single-application workflow

Solution at a Glance

PDFix Desktop Enterprise
- Make Accessible Command
- Batch Automation
- Built-In VeraPDF Validation

Key Advantages

Hybrid automation model
Instant build-in validation workflow
Error remediation from validation pane
Batch processing efficiency
STEM content support
Complete data security
Single-application solution
Standards-based remediation

Standards Covered

WCAG 2.2 Level AA Conformance
PDF/UA ISO 14289-1 Compliance
ADA Title II Requirements
Section 508 Compliance
Ohio State MDAS

Results and Measurable Outcomes

Quantitative Impact

Faculty-Driven Accessible Content Production
- Departments independently produce accessible course materials
Thousands of Course Documents Monthly
- Simple documents achieve compliance through batch automation, while complex STEM materials receive efficient targeted manual refinement.
70-80% Automation Success Rate
- The Make Accessible Command achieves full compliance for straightforward academic materials, while complex documents benefit from strong foundational remediation.
Instant Validation
- Built-in VeraPDF validation enables faculty to verify compliance immediately, then remediate errors directly from the validation pane.
Equitable Student Access
- All students gain timely access to course materials through screen readers and assistive technologies.