The purpose of the University Digital Accessibility Initiative is to establish a sustainable university infrastructure for content creators within each school, college and division to create, develop and procure digital tools and electronic resources that are accessible, as required under the new federal rule for the Americans with Disabilities Act. This new rule establishes, for the first time, technical standards for digital accessibility that public higher education institutions must follow.
This initiative has 4 objectives:
- Create a communications strategy to engage all schools, colleges and divisions to prioritize digital accessibility as an institutional priority and individual responsibility.
- Develop the necessary university infrastructure to support schools, colleges, divisions and individual content creators in making new and existing digital content, including university-developed software, accessible.
- Construct the necessary university infrastructure to ensure university-purchased digital tools are accessible.
- Produce baselines and benchmarks to demonstrate progress in digital tools and content accessibility according to the new rule.
On this page
Approach and timeline
The new federal rule goes into effect on April 24, 2026. This initiative covers work that will be completed in preparation for the spring 2026 term and through December 30, 2026.
Through collaboration with our university partners, this project will identify project focus areas, timeline, communication channels and resources available to create a sustainable framework for digital accessibility at UW–Madison. An iterative project approach ensures the project team can address findings throughout the initiative. Current university guidance and how-to resources can be found on the University Digital Accessibility Initiative Hub.
Project Team
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Executive sponsors
- John Zumbrunnen, Interim Provost
- Rob Cramer, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration
- Nancy Lynch, Vice Chancellor for Legal Affairs
Sponsors
- Ruben Mota, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Coordinator
- Tamara Walker, Associate Vice Provost for Learning Technologies and DoIT Academic Technology Director
Business Owners
- Mark Whittaker, Deputy ADA Coordinator
- Will Burns, Center for User Experience Director
- Al Nemec, Center for User Experience Digital Accessibility Program Manager
Project manager
- Grace Kilpatrick, Sr Project Manager
- Ahmad Brezat, Sr Project Manager
Contact us
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