The Client

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is a federal agency with a workforce and stakeholder base that spans the full range of abilities and learning needs. As a government organization, FWS is held to the highest standards of accessibility — not as a best practice, but as a legal and ethical mandate. Every piece of training content they deploy must meet federal accessibility requirements and be genuinely usable by employees and stakeholders with disabilities.

When FWS needed to bring their video training content into full compliance with federal accessibility guidelines, they partnered with COURSE to build a solution that met the standard completely — not partially, not aspirationally, but in full.

The Challenge

FWS needed their video training content to be accessible to individuals with disabilities across every dimension of the federal accessibility standard. That meant accurate closed captioning for employees with hearing impairments, professionally narrated audio descriptions for visually impaired users, downloadable transcriptions for text-based learning, and full compliance with both WCAG 2.1 AA and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

The challenge wasn't just technical. Accessibility at the federal standard is rigorous, specific, and unforgiving — 99% accurate captions aren't close enough when legal compliance requires precision. Every element of every video had to be tested across assistive technologies and platforms before it could be considered complete. And the solution had to work seamlessly across devices for a workforce that accesses training in varied environments and conditions.

What We Built Together

COURSE delivered a comprehensive ADA-compliant video solution across every dimension FWS required — built to meet federal standards completely rather than approaching them.

Closed captioning was implemented at 99% accuracy with precise synchronization to spoken dialogue throughout each video. Captions were built for clarity rather than speed — prioritizing the comprehension of employees with hearing impairments over any other production consideration.

Audio descriptions were professionally narrated to detail on-screen actions and visuals for visually impaired users — adding a layer of content that made the training genuinely immersive and effective for learners who couldn't rely on the visual track alone. Every description was written and recorded to convey the full instructional intent of each video without requiring sight to receive it.

Transcriptions were produced for every video in accessible, downloadable formats — enabling text-based engagement for learners who preferred or required it, and making content searchable within FWS's learning management systems.

WCAG 2.1 AA and Section 508 compliance was applied across all content — ensuring FWS met its legal obligations under the Rehabilitation Act and the broader federal mandate for accessible government communications. Every compliance requirement was addressed explicitly and documented.

User experience testing with assistive technologies completed the build — rigorous testing across platforms and devices to ensure seamless usability in real-world conditions, including mobile environments where a significant portion of government workforce training now takes place.

The Results

FWS achieved 100% compliance with federal accessibility regulations across all video training content — a complete outcome rather than a partial one.

Employee engagement among staff with disabilities improved as training became genuinely accessible rather than theoretically compliant. The training modules reached the full intended audience without requiring workarounds or accommodations on the learner's end. Accessibility became embedded in the training infrastructure rather than bolted on afterward.

The engagement established a repeatable standard for FWS's ongoing training content — a clear framework for how future video production should be built from the start to meet federal accessibility requirements without a separate remediation process.

What's Possible

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service needed federal-grade accessibility compliance built into every layer of their video training content. COURSE delivered it completely — closed captioning, audio descriptions, transcriptions, WCAG and Section 508 compliance, and assistive technology testing across every module.

If your organization operates under federal accessibility requirements or serves a diverse audience that includes users with disabilities, this is what full compliance looks like — not checked boxes, but genuinely accessible content.