Digital accessibility brings ‘Wisconsin Idea’ online

Just as buildings have wheelchair ramps and Braille signage, digital content should accommodate people with visual, auditory, cognitive and/or physical disabilities. Ahrens has put this concept into practice while redeveloping the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR) website alongside Natasha Kassulke, the director of strategic communications for OVCR.

“Working for Natasha has been really valuable for me because I’ve gotten a more in-depth view of the problems people may have accessing the website, and learning that will help in my future career,” Ahrens said.

UW-Madison has been leading the charge to improve digital accessibility across campus. Kassulke believes this initiative and the OVCR website project go hand-in-hand – presenting a golden opportunity for her office to bring a core university value to life.

“To make that material accessible is critically important,” Kassulke said. “That’s really what UW-Madison is about. We talk about the ‘Wisconsin Idea.’ That means we don’t keep our knowledge to ourselves. It’s not locked on campus. It’s for the betterment of society, the state and the nation. That means reaching people who communicate in different ways and have different needs. I think this fully embodies the ‘Wisconsin Idea.’”

Of course, just because it’s the right thing to do doesn’t mean it’s been an easy thing to do. Building a new website from the ground up is no small task, and making every element on every page digitally accessible on both desktop and mobile devices adds more layers of difficulty. While reviewing nearly 3,000 webpages, Kassulke and Ahrens have had to consider things like heading structure, page organization, alternative (“alt”) text, captions, descriptive hyperlinks, chart and table layouts, color contrast ratio, audio transcriptions and screen reader compatibility.

Because there are so many pieces to balance, digital accessibility might feel daunting. Luckily, you don’t need to be an expert to get started. Kassulke and Ahrens recommend taking a phased approach. First, remove any unnecessary or outdated website content so you’re left with only the material that must be made accessible. Then, improve your existing content gradually, breaking the work into manageable chunks. Tackle the fundamentals before moving on to the more complex elements. If you get stuck or just need some guidance, UW has plenty of digital accessibility resources on campus, including the Digital Accessibility Community of Practice and one-on-one training sessions with experts.

“You don’t have to do it all overnight,” Kassulke said. “Work through it. It’s going to take time. We have to be patient, but eventually, it just becomes second nature and part of your workflow.”

For Kassulke and Ahrens, knowing the digital accessibility upgrades will make a difference for people visiting the OVCR website continues to be the pair’s driving force of motivation.

“We’re all about customer service, and we have very diverse customers with diverse needs,” Kassulke said. “It’s part of what we do in our office – to think about how we can better serve people. We’re always trying to improve.”

The hands-on experience Ahrens has amassed in website building and digital accessibility features means she is more than prepared for whatever professional path she decides to walk. And with each page they build, the OVCR team moves closer to having a website that can serve everyone, regardless of their abilities. Ahrens said that’s what makes this work meaningful.

“I love knowing this information that was already accessible will become even more accessible for more people,” she said. “We want to share information with everybody. We don’t want anybody to be left out.”