Learn about all of the accessibility focused tools and resources available to you to ensure all Bobcats have the same opportunity to excel.
Accessibility
Federal Timeline
Federal agencies have extended the compliance timelines for digital accessibility regulations: the ADA Title II web accessibility deadline moved from April 2026 to April 26th, 2027. The intent of the extensions is to give institutions time to complete the work — not to defer it.
UC Merced's commitment hasn't changed. Under UC's IT Accessibility Policy (IMT-1300), WCAG 2.1 Level AA remains the standard for our digital content, and the campus continues its steady progress: accessibility review in every software purchase, accessible course tools in CatCourses, and improvements across campus websites. The extra time is our opportunity to finish strong.
Accessible Formats
Accessible formats aren't just for students with disabilities — they make content work better for everyone. An audio version turns a reading into a podcast for the commute. Immersive Reader helps students focus, adjust text size, and follow along by ear. Translation opens materials to multilingual students and families. OCR turns old scanned handouts into text that can be searched, copied, and read aloud.
With YuJa Panorama inside CatCourses and SensusAccess for everything else, every Bobcat can choose the format that fits how they learn — automatically, and at no cost.
Software Ordering
To ensure that any Bobcat, regardless of ability, can use campus software in alignment with Federal Title II requirements and UC's IT Accessibility Policy (IMT-1300). Accessibility review is now a standard part of every new and renewal software purchase.
The software ordering process in ServiceNow now includes accessibility-related questions about the purpose of the software, its cost, how many people will use it, and its impact on our campus. Your answers help us right-size the review and keep your purchase on schedule. Vendors need to provide conformance documentation and adequate planning will ensure that enough time to complete these necessary reviews is available.
Artificial Intelligence
Access the tools and resources available through AI on campus.
AI Advisory Council
The Council is tasked with shaping the university's approach to AI integration across campus. With the council makeup including perspectives from academic and administrative units along with technical experts they are working towards the next steps for campus and will reconvene this fall.
Among other work, the council is seeking submissions for pilot projects, with grant funding available via the Chancellor's AI Innovation Awards to explore new ways to thoughtfully deploy AI across campus.
Meet SCOUT
Whether we’re trying to understand a policy, locate the right service, draft a communication, or connect information across multiple university resources, SCOUT aims to reduce the time spent searching so you can spend more time moving forward. We’re inviting faculty and staff to request Early Access to SCOUT.
Once accepted, you will receive access to SCOUT before the broader campus and will be invited to use it to support your real work. Your experiences and feedback will directly influence future improvements, new capabilities, and how SCOUT continues to evolve.
Visit the SCOUT website to request Early Access and learn more.
Learn more about the academic technology services focused on making sure you've got what you need in and out of the classroom.
Academic Technology
Our Spaces
As you return to campus (or come for the very first time) we want you to get a head start on your semester by (re)introducing the rooms and labs supported by the ACTS team.
- Find Your Room: Use our Interactive Database to explore 350+ classrooms. Filter by feature, check room status, and access support links in one click.
- Explore our Labs: Utilize our Computer Labs for specialized software and TEAL Labs for advanced, collaborative teaching environments.
- Familiarize Yourself With the Tech: Please read through our Bring Your Own Adapter (BYOA) guidelines and notes on our Analog and Digital classrooms.
CatCourses
CatCourses is UC Merced’s Canvas Learning Management System (LMS). It provides a central repository for all academic course sites in which instructors can interact with and provide educational materials to their students.
Key Information:
- CatCourses automatically generates course sites for all UC Merced courses
- Instructors gain access to their course sites as soon as they are assigned as the Instructor of Record (IOR) and at least one student has enrolled in the course
- Student rosters are automatically updated as they change with the Registrar
- Students gain access to course sites one week prior to the start of instruction each semester
Special Event Support
Outside of dedicated classroom times, ACTS Special Events staff facilitate the audio-visual needs and support of events from semesterly Commencement ceremonies to weekly club meetings. This includes:
- General Tech Support
- Sound Amplification
- Theatrical Lighting (Lakireddy Auditorium)
- Video Projection
- Zoom Webinar Licenses
If you are hosting an event on campus, please ensure you submit a special event support request, so the team can help you run a successful event.
❗Please Note❗
All special events requests must be submitted at least two weeks in advance of your event. Any support requests submitted within the two week window risks not receiving support for the event.
RemoteLab
One of the most utilized services OIT offers, RemoteLab allows faculty, staff, and students to connect remotely to managed computing environments and specialized instructional software. With one or two exceptions, the software available via RemoteLab is identical to the software installed in OIT's physical computer labs; including
- Jupyter Notebook
- MATLAB
- SolidWorks
- Mathematica
You don't have to download any special programs to access the RemoteLab environment - it's all available through your web browser!
Research Computing
Learn more about research computing services to enhance your research projects and leverage the powers of high-performance computing.
Our Services
CIRT delivers comprehensive research computing infrastructure and support services to optimize faculty research capabilities across UC Merced, including:
- High-Performance Storage: Robust infrastructure, high-speed data transfer, and seamless integration with MERCED and Pinnacles HPC clusters
- Expert Consultation: Personalized technical guidance for laboratory workflow improvement, research project optimization, and compute/storage requirements for grant applications
HPC Cluster
CIRT provides comprehensive access to on-campus and regional HPC resources, helping researchers navigate computational workflows seamlessly. Our expert team facilitates scaling from local clusters to large super-computing facilities, ensuring optimal resource allocation for projects of every size.
Interested in scaling your workflows? Schedule a consultation with us!
JupyterHub
CIRT provides a fully managed JupyterHub for Instruction service that enables instructors to deliver interactive, cloud-based computational learning environments for courses across UC Merced.
Students can access JupyterLab and RStudio directly through their web browser without installing software, while instructors benefit from centrally managed computing environments, persistent storage, and scalable cloud infrastructure.
Office Hours
CIRT runs weekly office hours to support HPC users and instructors interested in using JupyterHub for course delivery. These sessions provide a collaborative environment where researchers and educators can access both peer mentoring and expert technical guidance from our experienced team to discuss essential research computing topics, including:
- Code development and debugging
- Job submission and scheduling
- Parallel computing strategies
- Software compilation
- Job array implementation
Brush up on your information security knowledge including OIT services that protect your data, devices, and more.
Information Security
Security Services
The Information Security team serves as a partner, providing specialized services designed to support faculty research, teaching, and administrative activities while maintaining the highest security standards including;
- Security consultations for research projects involving sensitive data and international collaborations
- Risk assessments and compliance guidance for grants and research activities
- Incident response support and vulnerability management across campus systems
- Vendor security assessments for academic software and third-party tools
- Data classification and protection strategies tailored to your research objectives
Protected Data
Data classifications are important when handling different types of university information. The UC system categorizes data as follows.
- P1 (Minimal protection): Public data, like what’s on UC Merced’s website.
- P2 (Low protection): Internal/Private data, like emails, course materials, and business records.
- P3 (Moderate protection): Data that could cause moderate harm if leaked, like student records (FERPA), personnel files, or certain research data.
- P4 (High protection): Very sensitive data that must not be shared, like social security numbers, passwords, or research data with personal details or export restrictions.
Understanding data protection levels ensures you apply appropriate security practices.
Network Access Levels
The campus network operates on three access levels: Slate, Blue, and Gold, each providing different levels of access based on device compliance and authentication status.
- Slate provides basic internet access
- Blue offers access to most campus services
- Gold provides access to systems containing protected data through managed devices.
Understanding these access levels helps you ensure appropriate connectivity for your academic work. Personal devices can access Slate or Blue levels. University-managed devices can connect to the Gold level for accessing sensitive research data or administrative systems that require enhanced security.
ProtectUs
Our flagship security initiative, ProtectUs covers all services and systems both hidden and seen that support the security of the campus. It serves as OIT and the larger community's commitment to not only guard internal resources, but to protect all of us.
Our efforts focus on open transparency on how OIT handles data and the information you provide to us via our various systems and services. Through ProtectUs, we establish clear security standards and protocols that safeguard both individual privacy and institutional integrity. This approach ensures that every member of our campus community can work, learn, and collaborate with confidence in our digital environment.
Stay Connected
Keep in the know when it comes to upcoming OIT projects, services, and statuses of our systems.
System Status
The OIT System Status page is the central location where we share the current status of all major campus IT systems, including key vendor-hosted services such as Office 365, Zoom, Box, and more.
There we provide quick and accurate status information during service and system outages and during maintenance efforts on all campus technology.
Visit the page or subscribe to receive automatic alerts when we post updates.
UC Merced Connect
UC Merced Connect is our campus app, desktop portal, communications platform, and one-stop shop for access to key campus systems and information.
Opt-in to the UC Merced Connect Office of Information Technology channel to get timely updates about new services, events, changes that may affect you, and more.
Thank you for reading the 26/27 Faculty Technology Guide.