Conversation: Preparing to Meet New Federal Digital Accessibility Rules�November 4, 2024

Bree Callahan

ADA/Section 504 Coordinator

A Bit About Bree

• 20+ years in the work of disability access across multiple higher education settings
• Values the partnerships needed to assess, design and implement access
• Access to education is a core value

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ADA Coordinator Role

• Provides leadership, coordination, and oversight to advance the University’s ADA/Section 504 mission, vision, and strategic priorities relating to accessibility.

Agenda

• UW’s Commitment to Accessibility
• Overview of the DOJ Rule for Digital Accessibility
• Next Steps for UW
• Questions & Feedback

UW’s Commitment to Accessibility

Alignment with UW Mission & Values

At the University of Washington our mission is the preservation, advancement, and dissemination of knowledge. 

• Our community values equity, diversity, and innovation
• UW is home to digital accessibility leaders
• We are uniquely positioned to imagine, plan, and implement meaningful and effective change

Accessibility = All of Us

This work reflects our values  

• Goes beyond legal accommodations for students, staff and faculty with disabilities.
• Recognizes the intersectional identities, experiences, and needs of our entire campus community
• Creates a more inclusive experience for everyone who interacts with UW services: students and their families, prospective students, visitors, patients, researchers, staff, instructors.

University Investments in Accessibility

• UW Diversity Blueprint
• Centralized Accessibility Portal
• ADA Transition Plans
• UW Data Profiles inclusion of disability
• DO-IT Program (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology)
• Accessibility Imbedded into Academic Delivery
• ADA & Accessibility Steering Committee

New accessibility rules for digital materials

Intent of the ADA Regulations Update

Goal: Ensure people with disabilities acquire the same information, engage in the same interactions, and enjoy the same services within the same amount of time as people without disabilities.  

• Provide public entities with more clarity about what they must do to comply with the non-discrimination requirements of the ADA.
• Establish technical standards for web and mobile app content to ensure equal access to programs, services, and activities provided by a public entity. 

Requirements of the Regulations

Public entities, including the University of Washington, must:

• Ensure our web and mobile app content, including academic course content, is accessible by April 24, 2026, and beyond  
• Comply with stated technical standards: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1, Level AA (limited exceptions)

Scope of the Regulations

• Content on the web such as: text, images, sound, videos, documents, social media, websites, portals, web applications, animations, infographics, Ebooks, and interactive HTML.
• Platforms that deliver web content and provide access to programs, services and activities of the University such as: Cloud Services, Learning Management Systems (e.g., Canvas), Library Databases, Patient Portals, Mobile Apps, Online Tools.
• All online digital course content fits into this scope

Magnitude of Web Content at the UW

93 UW-affiliated YouTube channels with�12,000�public facing videos

> 2.5 million UW webpages

  > 36,000 �UW Courses annually

�in 2021 the University had 47,000 transaction with vendors

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>250,000�online PDFs in Canvas

> 255,000 PDFs 

(public facing, per Google search) 

Next Steps for the UW &You

How will we meet the new ADA requirements?

1. Transformation (new content)
• Embrace accessibility as a shared responsibility
• University processes, policies and tools must foster and support the creation of accessible digital content
2. Remediation (existing content)
• All units will have to remove, archive, or fixing existing web and academic course content that does not meet the new technical standards

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Transformation Goals

1. Digital content is created accessible
2. Accessibility is baked into our approach to creating digital content by promoting awareness, training, support and tools
3. University employees understand their roles and responsibilities in ensuring accessibility
4. Procured third-party products meet technical standards 
5. University processes foster compliance with the technical standards

Transformation Timeline

Institutional Responses

ADA Digital Accessibility Task Force

What You Can Do Now

1. Build a strong understanding of digital accessibility
2. Spring clean focus:
• Audit websites and courses
• Clean up old files
• Delete out-of-date and unused course content and materials
• Archive old material
3. Learn more and stay up to date:
• Visit the ADA Office website to learn more
• Review Accessible Technology Services trainings, tools and resources
• Engage with Academic Student Services for end user Canvas support and resources for the faculty community

Questions & Feedback?