Captioned Media Information for Instructors

Overview

To facilitate accommodations for students requiring Captioned Media, instructors are advised to assess all media intended for integration into their course curriculum or sharing on their course website for the duration of the semester. Any media lacking appropriate and accessible captions or transcriptions will need to be captioned professionally by the Disabled Students' Program. This page will offer guidance on obtaining captioning for video media and/or transcription for audio content. 

  • The Department of Justice and UCB signed a Web Accessibility Agreement.This agreement reaffirms UCB's dedication to ensuring universal accessibility of all media content. Students with captioned media accommodations must be provided with effective, accessible, timely, and equitable communication access.

  • Auto-generated captions are not considered compliant, as they do not meet the required standards for accuracy, completeness, and equal access. Therefore, auto-captions are not acceptable for students who are approved for a captioned media accommodation. All video content must include professionally produced captions to ensure effective communication and full accessibility, as mandated by federal law (ADA Title II & III, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act).

Processing Requirements

  • All Captioned Media requests must be submitted via the DSP Portal (AIM). 
  • All Media submitted for captioning must be processed through bCourses/Kaltura by uplaoding the media to My Media or Media Gallery. DSP cannot process media outside of the bCourses/Kaltura platform. 

Instructor-Owned Media

Any pre-recorded, instructor-owned videos will need to be accurately captioned to be ADA compliant. If videos are not captioned, they may not be shown in class or be required to view outside of class time. Please submit Captioned Media requests via the DSP Portal (AIM).

Course Capture Classes

  • You do not need to wait for professional captions to be added before sharing your Course Capture videos with your students.
  • The Research, Teaching, and Learning (RTL) department and DSP will automatically process all Course Capture videos. When the captions are complete, the captioned version of the video will automatically replace the uncaptioned version in your bCourses Media Gallery. An email notification will be sent when the captioned version of the video is complete and available in your bCourses Media Gallery.
  • You do not need to submit requests through the DSP portal, AIM, for Course Capture-recorded lectures.
  • Any other media shown in class (i.e. YouTube, films, Vimeo) will still need to be submitted to DSP for captioning via the DSP portal, AIM before it is made available to students.

Third-Party Media

All commercial media (Netflix, Amazon etc.),  YouTube/Vimeo videos, and other third-party media must be captioned in accordance with Federal Law (ADA) and University policy.  

Third-Party Media Resources

  • The Media Resources Center (MRC) is UC Berkeley Library’s primary collection of materials in audio and visual formats, including DVDs, videocassettes, streamed audio and video, compact audio discs, and audiocassettes. The MRC collection is intended to support the broad range of study and research interests on campus with particularly strong holdings in humanities and social sciences materials as well as a broad range of general interest materials in the fields of science and technology. 
  • Described and Captioned Media Program (DCMP) provides a streaming library of accessible education videos in their DCMP Media Center.

Audio-Only Transcription

In instances where the instructor intends to utilize audio-only files, such as podcasts, transcription is suitable. Numerous podcast platforms offer downloadable transcripts, or instructors may request transcription services from DSP.

For information on how to submit an audio transcription request, please view Instructions for Getting Your Media Captioned.

Captioning Turnaround Time

For shorter videos of ten minutes or less, please allow 10 business days. For longer videos, please allow 15 business days. For last-minute media captioning requests, please submit your request via the DSP portal, AIM(link is external)(link is external), and indicate your desired turnaround time. Please plan accordingly. If videos are not captioned, they may not be shown in class or be required to view outside of class time.

Captions vs Subtitles

  • Subtitles are generally intended for people who are able to hear. Subtitles are most often used to display a different language than the one spoken in the video. Subtitles only include the words spoken.
  • Captions are intended to provide access to people who are unable to hear. Unlike subtitles, captions include the spoken word, sound effects, music description, punctuation, and identification of speakers.

Checking for and Reviewing Captions

If the DVD has closed captions, it should be labeled “CC.” 

For any streaming videos the instructor plans to use, they should check for a “CC” button and then review the captions to make sure they are accurate.  Be aware that most major streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime often provide captions.

*A warning about YouTube videos: Often YouTube videos show the “CC” symbol indicating they are captioned. However, if you click on the “CC” symbol, and it says “English (Auto Generated),” these captions are produced using voice recognition software and are less than satisfactory. When used in the classroom, they may limit accessibility for the student with a hearing loss, and the errors are sometimes so inaccurate and inappropriate that they are distracting to the hearing students in class. We recommend that instructors review the entire YouTube video to check the accuracy of the captions before showing it in class.  If captions are not accurate, instructors should request that DSP have them captioned.

An easy trick for determining if a YouTube video is likely acceptable for accessibility purposes:

  • Click on the “CC” symbol at the bottom right of the video window. In the top left, if it says “English (auto generated),” it is captioned using voice recognition, which is not acceptable for accessibility.
  • If a YouTube video is captioned professionally, it is more likely to be accurate. Click on the “CC” symbol, and in the upper left of the video it will show “English” in the upper left corner rather than “auto generated.”

Media when ASL Interpreters and Realtime Captioners are Present

In some cases, a student may also use the support of ASL Interpreters and/or Realtime Captioners during  in-person lectures or online synchronous class. Media material should still be captioned even when an ASL Interpreter or Realtime Captioner is present.  

Interpreting all speaking parts or describing visuals meaningfully is challenging for interpreters. Remote Realtime Captioners may only hear the class, lacking video context, while unclear audio further complicates their task. Additionally, students find it difficult to simultaneously watch videos and read captions on their laptops.

Captioned Media Support

Instructors should check their DVDs and streaming videos well in advance (preferably before the semester begins) to determine if they are appropriately captioned. For Captioned Media support, please contact  dsp-captionedmedia@berkeley.edu(link sends e-mail).

Step-by-Step Instructions

Captioned Media FAQs