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PDF Accessibility Micro-Grants

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PDF Accessibility Micro-Grants

Overview

The PDF Accessibility Micro-Grants initiative utilizes critical needs funding organized through the Campus Accessibility Working Group (CAWG) to support professional remediation of instructional, research, and administrative PDF documents across the university. This program is designed to reduce the challenges associated with manually remediating complex PDF documents while maintaining a fair, transparent, and high-impact distribution of university remediation resources. 

For the purposes of this program, complex PDF documents are those containing charts, tables, graphs, images, scanned content, mathematical notation, scientific content, forms, or other elements that require specialized accessibility techniques beyond standard text remediation. 

The program offers two funding opportunities:

Individual Micro-Grants support the PDF remediation needs of individual Virginia Tech employees.

Strategic Partnership Micro-Grants support larger-scale accessibility initiatives proposed by colleges, departments, and administrative units. Rather than funding small collections of individual documents, these grants prioritize high-impact collections of PDFs that benefit large numbers of students, employees, or members of the public. 

By supporting the remediation of these complex documents, the program helps to ensure that digital information is accessible to all users, including individuals with disabilities. The goal of PDF remediation is to enable assistive technologies to accurately interpret, navigate, and present document content, supporting equitable access to instruction, research, administrative services, and public-facing university resources.

Eligibility

Employees from any Virginia Tech college, department, or administrative unit are eligible to apply for PDF Accessibility Micro-Grants.

Projects may request funding for complex PDF documents that:

  • Support instruction, research, administration, or public-facing university services.

  • Do not have an available native source file (e.g., Microsoft Word). 

  • Do not contain handwriting. 

  • Require specialized accessibility remediation due to elements such as charts, graphs, images, scanned content, mathematical notation, scientific content, forms, or other complex layouts. 

What May Be Funded

Projects may include:

  • Course materials
  • Public-facing website documents
  • Departmental publications
  • Forms
  • Reports
  • Student resources
  • Outreach publications

Priority Considerations

Applications will be evaluated based on several factors, including instructional impact, document complexity, available funding, and anticipated benefit. Priority may be given to projects involving:

  • Required course materials
  • High-enrollment courses (more than 100 students)
  • Public-facing websites
  • Documents serving a broad university or public audience

Recipient Responsibilities

Recipients of PDF Accessibility Micro-Grants are expected to:

  • Designate a primary point of contact to coordinate with TLOS throughout the project.
  • Upload PDFs to the PREP PDF Dashboard for remediation services.
  • Notify TLOS of any service delays or issues with remediated files.
  • Work with their unit’s fiscal agent to ensure remediation invoices are processed using awarded funding.
  • Participate in a brief TLOS consultation highlighting best practices for creating accessible source files.
  • Complete a brief post-project survey to provide feedback on the remediation process and the impact of the micro-grant.

If you receive an award, TLOS will partner in the following ways:

  • Transfer awarded funds to your department
  • Provide consultative support for using the PREP PDF Dashboard, including uploading PDF files, obtaining quotes for vendor-remediated files, and managing the invoicing process.

Award Levels

All awards are valued at $2.75- $4.00 per page, depending on the complexity of each PDF page. 

Individual Micro-Grants

  • Small: single or multiple PDFs with a combined total of up to 100 pages 
  • Medium: single or multiple PDFs with a combined total of approximately 100-500 pages

Strategic Partnership Micro-Grants

  • Medium: single or multiple PDFs with a combined total of approximately 100-500 pages
  • Large: single or multiple PDFs with a combined total of approximately 500 - 2,000 pages

Application Process

Log in with your VT Google account and submit your proposal by Friday, September 25, 2026. We will announce awards beginning Friday, October 23. 

Questions about the PDF Accessibility Micro-Grants application process can be directed to tlos@vt.edu