FACULTY: Apply Heading Styles for Accessibility (Word and Blackboard Ultra)

Learn how to apply heading styles in Word and Blackboard Ultra to create accessible, structured documents. This article explains how headings support screen reader navigation and help resolve common Blackboard Ally accessibility issues, with a short video demonstration.

Headings are the foundation of an accessible document. They provide structure that screen readers and accessibility tools rely on to navigate content.

Many documents appear organized using bold text, larger fonts, or fonts with “heading” in the name. While these visual changes may improve readability, they do not create the structure needed for accessibility.

Using built-in heading styles ensures your content is properly structured and accessible to all users.

Why Headings Matter

When you apply heading styles, you are not just changing how text looks. You are adding structure behind the scenes that accessibility tools can recognize.

This allows users to:

• Move between sections of content
• Navigate documents more efficiently
• Understand how content is organized

Without heading styles, users may need to read through content line by line.

Common Blackboard Ally Messages

A frequent message in the Ally Accessibility Report is:

• “This document does not have headings”
• “The headings in this document do not begin at level 1”

These messages indicate that your document is missing structure or that heading levels are not applied correctly.

Best Practices for Headings

• Heading 1 → Document title (use once, at the top)
• Heading 2 → Main sections
• Heading 3 → Subsections (if needed)
• Use descriptive heading text (for example, "Course Schedule" instead of "Section 3")

Avoid:

• Using bold or larger text instead of headings
• Choosing a font with “heading” in the name instead of applying styles
• Skipping heading levels (for example, Heading 1 to Heading 3)

Use Tables for Data, Not Layout

Tables should be used only for presenting data, not for controlling layout or spacing in your document.

When tables are used for layout, they can create confusion for screen readers, which read content in a linear order.

• Use tables to organize data in rows and columns
• Avoid using tables to position text or create visual spacing

If you include tables in your document, additional steps are needed to ensure they are accessible.

Apply Heading Styles in Microsoft Word

1. Highlight the text you want to format
2. Go to the Home tab
3. In the Styles section, select:
   • Heading 1
   • Heading 2
   • Heading 3

Check Your Structure Using the Navigation Pane

1. Go to the View tab
2. Select Navigation Pane
3. Review the list of headings

If no headings appear, styles have not been applied.

Apply Headings in Blackboard Ultra Documents

When creating content directly in Blackboard Ultra:

1. Create or edit a Document
2. Highlight your text
3. Use the Style dropdown
4. Select:
   • Title
   • Header
   • Subheader

Although the names are different, these serve the same purpose as Heading 1, Heading 2, and Heading 3 in Word.

Before and After: What to Look For

Before:

• Text is bold or larger
• No headings appear in the Navigation Pane
• Ally flags missing headings

After:

• Heading styles are applied
• Navigation Pane displays document structure
• Ally score improves

Video Demonstration

Watch a short video demonstrating how to apply heading styles, check document structure, and understand how headings impact your Ally Accessibility Report.

Additional Resources

If you would like to further customize heading styles or are working in different versions of Word, the following resources may be helpful:

• Customize or create new styles in Microsoft Word
• Use styles in Word for the web

Bridgewater State University faculty and staff have access to the full version of Microsoft Office, including Word.

To install Microsoft Office:

1. Go to https://portal.bridgew.edu/
2. Select Apps from the left navigation
3. Click Install Apps in the upper right corner