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Alternate Media

The term alternate media or alternate format is the provision of academic and instructional materials in a format that supports access for a student with a disability. Alternate media and alternative format are terms that are used interchangeably. Colleges should anticipate that most requests for materials in alternate formats will include electronic text, braille, tactile graphics, large print, or audio and are encouraged to develop in-house capacity to produce at least short and simple documents free from errors in each of these formats. The CCCAC offers training in the production of these formats at no cost to the college. 

Some campus best practices to streamlining the production of alternate formats include:

  • Adopting accessible instructional materials that can be more easily converted into alternate formats.
  • Identifying textbooks well in advance of campus bookstore deadlines
  • Encouraging students to submit alternate format requests as early as possible.

Alternate Media Guidelines

These guidelines have been developed by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and in collaboration with various Alternate Media Workgroups to provide guidance and direction for producing documents in alternate formats for students with disabilities. The most recent update to the guidelines can be found within the Vision Resource Center's CCC | Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSPS) Community or dowloaded directly: Alternate Media Production Guidelines - 2024 Update (PDF)

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