Thank you for your continued leadership as we advance the University Digital Accessibility Initiative (UDAI). This month, April 24, marks the beginning of a new era of digital accessibility as the ADA officially launches the expanded federal digital accessibility requirements. We are excited to enter this next chapter, with a spirit of continued forward momentum. Below is an update on our collective progress and outline of what’s coming next as we work together to build a more accessible UW–Madison.

Since our last communication in December, we have:

• Hosted town hall engagements with digital accessibility liaisons and university communicators to raise awareness of the initiative and provide initial information to support digital accessibility across their areas.
• Added Personalized Accessibility Information for digital accessibility liaisons, communicators and instructors to the Digital Accessibility Hub. These pages provide structured information on practical actions to start complying with the expanded federal rule requirement, including step-by-step information for instructors and an overview of the tools that have been provided to support their Canvas content.
• Collaborated with colleagues across the institution to ensure vendors are notified of the new federal digital accessibility rule. To date, we’ve received confirmation that over 800 notifications have been sent.
• Received a budget from central campus for human-created captions for media content in Kaltura Mediaspace, the university’s enterprise media hosting tool. These captions will be provided by a vendor and will reduce the work instructors and staff need to do. Captions also benefit all learners, not just those with disabilities.
• Conducted a Change Readiness Assessment Survey, which indicated that continued leadership engagement and support for digital accessibility is needed across the university in order for stakeholders to be aware of digital accessibility, use the provided resources and tools, and prioritize accessibility in their work.

We are currently:

• Refining the digital accessibility fundamentals that serve as a cornerstone of accessibility so everyone can develop a basic understanding of digital accessibility and how to create content accessibly. These will be rolled out university-wide through a host of university newsletters and other communications channels.
• Exploring enterprise PDF remediation solutions and other accessibility tools to support content creators.
• Developing an iterative leadership compliance strategy that will help elevate digital accessibility as a business priority. This strategy will support you in developing clear action steps, assignments and deadlines to guide this work in your school, college, division or unit and ensure continuous forward momentum.
• Updating the Digital Accessibility policy to align with the ADA requirement and transfer it from DoIT to the Office of Compliance.

Digital accessibility is everyone’s responsibility, and you will continue to receive timely updates, training opportunities and practical guidance to help you and those in your units with this compliance obligation. Thank you for all you are doing, and all you will do, to help us build a more accessible UW–Madison. Together, we can remove barriers, remediate key materials, create accessible content from the start, and foster a culture of accessibility and inclusion for everyone. Tamara Walker, UDAI Co-sponsor and DoIT Academic Technology Director, Associate Vice Provost for Learning Technologies Ruben Mota, UDAI Co-sponsor and ADA Coordinator, Office of Compliance