Project team
| Executive Sponsor | Lois Brooks, Vice Provost for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer |
|---|---|
| Sponsors | Tamara Walker, Associate Vice Provost for Learning Technologies and Academic Technology Director Ruben Mota, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator |
| Responsible DoIT Director | Will Burns, Center for User Experience (CUE) Director |
| Program Manager | Al Nemec, Center for User Experience (CUE) Digital Accessibility Program Manager |
| Service Owner | Center for User Experience, DoIT Academic Technology |
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Core project team
- Will Burns, Academic Technology, Center for User Experience Director
- Al Nemec, Academic Technology, Digital Accessibility Program Manager
- Alison Caffrey, Academic Technology, Project Manager
- Lauren Bruce, DoIT, Communications Manager
- Laura Grady, Academic Technology, User Experience Architect
- Leah Bowers, Academic Technology, Digital Accessibility Architect
- Daniella Peters, Academic Technology, Digital Accessibility Architect
Steering committee
- Tamara Walker, Associate Vice Provost for Learning Technologies and Academic Technology Director
- Ruben Mota, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator
- Will Burns, Academic Technology, Center for User Experience Director
- Al Nemec, Academic Technology, Digital Accessibility Program Manager
- Alison Caffrey, Academic Technology, Project Manager
And additional stakeholder representatives as identified.
Project timeline
High-level milestones
November 2021
UW–Madison approved the Digital Accessibility Policy to replace the Web Accessibility Policy that was established in 2001.
November 2022
Work begins to establish a network of digital accessibility liaisons to provide support to their local units in collaboration with the Center for User Experience.
February 2023
Digital accessibility liaison pilot launches.
April 2023
University-wide communications to recruit and onboard digital accessibility liaisons begins.
July 1, 2023
The Digital Accessibility Policy goes into effect.
July 2023 to July 2024
Focus on document accessibility, including but not limited to Word documents, PDFs and Google Docs. Grow and sustain the liaison network.
July 2023 to November 2023
Establish a process by which liaisons can facilitate remediation of documents.
July 2023 to March 2024
Develop guidelines that integrate accessibility practices into document creation processes.
November 2023 to May 2024
Create a maintenance plan for training, self-service guides, and resources.
January to May 2024
Conduct Liaison Network focus groups and finalize improvement plan.
April 2024
The Department of Justice publishes its final rule for the Americans with Disabilities Act regarding the accessibility of digital tools used by public universities.
July 2024
Website and courseware accessibility implementation phase began.
April 2026
All digital tools used at the university must be accessible per the updated regulations for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Project updates
List of articles
UW–Madison prepares for compliance with new federal rule on digital accessibility
Universities must make digital resources accessible by Apr 24, 2026, under a new Justice Department rule. Learn about the committee tasked with identifying barriers and resources needed for compliance.
November 6, 2024Accessibility with UDOIT: Text styling in Canvas
UDOIT is a tool that helps instructors fix digital accessibility barriers directly within Canvas. Learn more about how screen readers interpret text styling, and how to make your course better for students who use them.
July 26, 2024Digital Accessibility Policy: implementation plan roadmap
The Digital Accessibility Policy aligns with UW–Madison and Universities of Wisconsin policies that protect people with disabilities against discrimination and honors our institutional statement on diversity. This roadmap tracks the implementation of the new policy over the life of the project.
July 2, 2024Enhancing usability with the Digital Accessibility Policy
At UW, we have a legal and ethical obligation to provide equal access to university resources for all. One way we can do this is by ensuring our digital resources are accessible. Accessibility is everyone's responsibility: Learn about the latest efforts in our shared journey.
February 20, 20243 things you can do to start building a more accessible digital campus
Our goal at UW–Madison is to ensure that all people, regardless of their ability, can use all of our public websites, applications, digital documents and experiences. Learn about the new policy—and what you can do to help.
September 20, 2023- More Digital Accessibility posts
Feedback loop
Questions? Concerns? Other feedback? Please let us know by filling out this response form. The policy implementation planning team will review and respond during our weekly meeting.