UW-Madison - Digital Accessibility Policy Implementation Plan (DAP)
The following document contains the implementation plan in support for the UW-Madison - Digital Accessibility Policy.
Surrounding text in italics is not part of the official document.
Background
The following plan describes the implementation of the UW-Madison Digital Accessibility Policy to
feasibly and proactively support learners, faculty, staff, and the public with disabilities. Any
requirements stated in this overview derive their authority from the policy. In alignment with the
UW-Madison Digital Accessibility Standards, this overview has been developed to meet the following
policy goals:
- Establish shared institutional responsibility in the university’s capacity to be digitally accessible
- Aim to reduce the need for accommodations for people with disabilities as a result of inaccessible digital resources and information technology
- Ensure compliance with the university’s obligations under applicable state and federal regulations
Focus on Process and Progress
In order to improve the accessibility of UW-Madison digital resources and information technology, we
(similar to our peer institutions) must embrace a long-term, ongoing set of processes that continuously
move us closer towards the goal of accessible digital resources and information technology at
UW-Madison.
The processes outlined within the Digital Accessibility Standards and this overview put into practice the
very notion that makes up the Wisconsin Idea. When we, as a community, consider and enact digital
accessibility practices within our organization and with outside partners, we create a more inclusive and
equitable university experience for all.
Funding and Resourcing
The level of implementation of the Digital Accessibility Policy depends on an institutional commitment
to dedicate university resources to provide systemic support to university units. These details are to be
determined upon approval of the policy, standards, and implementation plan overview by IT
Governance.
Concurrent Implementation Strategies
Given UW-Madison’s vast digital landscape, this plan summarizes the following concurrent strategies
utilized to implement digital accessibility at UW–Madison, balancing the needs of people with
disabilities with the university’s mission and business priorities. These strategies will be executed in
partnership with the Digital Accessibility Liaison Network (see Addendum B: Digital Accessibility
Liaison Network Overview).
Throughout implementation, the Center for User Experience will act as a central resource for
UW-Madison supporting the university and disability units with identified digital accessibility barriers
affecting students, employees and visitors through services, processes, training, and guides.
| Strategies | Goal | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Addressing immediate digital accessibility needs | Respond to digital accessibility barriers reported by users, support units in addressing barriers, and systemically improve accessibility through collaboration with UW-Madison units. | Manage immediate digital accessibility needs through
digital accessibility practices and processes. The
Center for User Experience, the UW-Madison ADA
Coordinator, and individual unit Digital Accessibility
Liaison(s) will: Identify and document immediate digital
accessibility barriers impacting current users:
|
| Phased implementation of the Digital Accessibility Policy | Implementation of digital accessibility over the long term. | Implementation of the refreshed UW-Madison Digital
Accessibility Policy in an organized, phased approach
in partnership with the Digital Accessibility Liaison
Network (as much as each unit’s resources will allow)
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through due diligence digital accessibility efforts over a
decade.
For an overview of phases and timeline see the Addendum A: Timeline and milestones for the phased implementation of the Digital Accessibility Policy. |
Addendum A: Timeline and Milestones for the Phased Implementation of the Digital Accessibility Policy
To support our university’s mission and business goals, this implementation rolls out the UW-Madison
Digital Accessibility Policy in an organized, phased approach, allowing appropriate allocation of
resources necessary to onboard all university units successfully and managing institutional needs by
systematically addressing them over a multi-year implementation. This addendum references the
UW–Madison Digital Accessibility Liaison Network (see Addendum B: Digital Accessibility Liaison
Network overview) as described in the Digital Accessibility Policy.
| Phase | Milestones |
|---|---|
| Policy Approval
July 2021 - Nov 2021 |
Present the Digital Accessibility Policy to IT governance for review and to request approval. |
| Delivery of Training
July 2021 - July 2023 |
The Center for User Experience will:
Deliver a free training program for UW-Madison to support a division, school or college’s accessibility efforts. The training program will also support future Digital Accessibility Liaisons, content creators, managers, and designers/developers in gaining skills in digital accessibility. |
| Policy Communication
and Resource Development
July 2021 - July 2023 |
The Center for User Experience will:
|
| DAL Communications
and Support Structure
July 2022 - July 2023 |
Set up resources for Digital Accessibility Liaison (DAL) Network (see Addendum B). Units can begin designating Digital Accessibility Liaisons and sharing that designee’s name and contact information with the Center for User Experience. |
| Procurement
July 2022 - July 2023 |
The Center for User Experience will work with central procurement and unit procurement teams to integrate accessibility requirements and contract language into the procurement process. |
| Policy Effective Date
(July 1, 2023) |
The policy, implementation plan, and standards take effect July 1, 2023. Digital Accessibility Liaison designee(s) contact information due - Schools, colleges, and divisions share their Digital Accessibility Liaison designee(s) to the Center for User Experience by July 1, 2023. |
| Document Accessibility
July 2023 - July 2024 |
Documents (including but not limited to Word documents, PDF documents, and Google Docs) will be prioritized by the university under implementation of the policy based on the conformance requirement table. |
| LMS and LTI Accessibility
July 2024 - July 2025 |
Learning Management Systems (LMS), for example Canvas, and Learning Technology Integrations (LTI), for example Canvas LTIs used in courses, will be prioritized by the university under implementation of the policy based on the conformance requirement table. |
| Multimedia Accessibility
July 2025 - July 2026 |
Video and audio content will be prioritized by the university under implementation of the policy based on the conformance requirement table. |
| Website Accessibility
July 2026 - July 2027 |
Website content accessibility will be prioritized by the university under implementation of the policy based on the conformance requirement table. |
| Web App Accessibility
July 2027 - July 2028 |
Web app accessibility will be prioritized by the university under implementation of the policy based on the conformance requirement table. |
| Mobile App Accessibility
July 2028 - July 2029 |
Mobile app accessibility will be prioritized by the university under implementation of the policy based on the conformance requirement table. |
| Local Software Accessibility July 2029 - July 2030 |
Local software accessibility will be prioritized by the university under implementation of the policy based on the conformance requirement table. |
Addendum B: Digital Accessibility Liaison Network Overview
To support compliance with the UW–Madison Digital Accessibility Policy, each school, college, division,
or administrative unit designates Digital Accessibility Liaison(s), and notifies the ADA Coordinator and
the Center for User Experience of the appointment or any changes to the designee.
Digital Accessibility Liaison(s) serve as the primary contact(s) for their unit and, in collaboration with the
Center for User Experience and as resources allow, implement the requirements of the UW–Madison
Digital Accessibility Policy in their unit. The Center for User Experience provides the liaisons with
guidance on the acquisition, development, delivery of digital resources and information technology, and
supports the liaison in responding to accessibility requests, complaints, and remediation within their
units.
The intention of the Digital Accessibility Liaison network is to:
- Be flexible with the needs and resources of individual units
- Create a direct communication channel between the Center for User Experience and the units implementing the policy to modify support as needed
- Establish a reporting network of due diligence efforts as well as resource restrictions associated with compliance. For example, resource restrictions for an individual unit may require that implementation follows a longer timeline. The liaison and the Center would communicate about these 6 restrictions and document a more flexible plan.
Units may choose to create a team or small committee to act as Digital Accessibility Liaison(s) and
spread the roles and responsibilities across multiple individuals; or select a single designee for their
group liaison. Regardless of arrangement, the Center for User Experience will support designee(s) with
onboarding to the Digital Accessibility Liaison Network, accessing training, and facilitating adoption of
practices associated with an organized transition to improved accessibility for that school, college, or
division.
Roles and Responsibilities
The table below details the responsibilities of the Digital Accessibility Liaisons and the support provided
by the Center for User Experience.
Digital Accessibility Liaison (DAL) Responsibilities
| Minimum DAL Requirement | Center for User Experience Support and Resources |
|---|---|
| Act as the designated (by their unit) digital accessibility representative for their unit’s digital resources. Shares resources and information about policy compliance with their broader unit. Have general knowledge of the digital resources and information technology owned by their unit. |
|
If units choose to and are able to expand the role of the Digital Accessibility Liaison to support
compliance with the policy, the suggested activities below provide additional ways to do so. In lieu of the
Digital Accessibility Liaison performing these activities, the Center for User Experience will provide
units with resources (as detailed in the column below labeled “Center for User Experience support and
resources”) for scenarios that meet the criteria of the conformance requirement table.
| Unit-Level Support provided by DAL (as needed and as unit resources allow) | Center for User Experience Support and Resources |
|---|---|
| Digital Resource and Information Technology Evaluation
Coordinate support for their unit through the Center for User Experience to conduct accessibility evaluations of existing and newly developed, acquired, or procured digital resources and information technologies in their unit to identify and document accessibility barriers. Coordinate communications, processes, and accessibility assistance support. |
|
| Business Process Development/Integration
Working with developers, content creators, and others in their unit, integrate digital accessibility best practices into existing business processes by pointing their colleagues to training and resources from the Center for User Experience. |
|
Reporting and Engagement
|
|
| Strategic Planning, Road Mapping, and Remediation
Develop a strategic plan and roadmap for accessibility improvements in their unit.
|
|
Addendum C: Questions and Answers about Policy Compliance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Will I need to make my digital resources and information technology accessible by the policy effective date? | No. Though as an institution we do have a current obligation to meet the current Web Accessibility Policy, the new Digital Accessibility Policy provides a structured implementation timeline for when units will need to focus efforts to comply with the updated policy. |
| How much money/additional resources will this cost my unit? | We have designed an implementation plan and
timeline to allow units to implement this policy
with the flexibility to manage the accessibility of
their digital resources and information
technology as their unit’s resources allow. The
intention of the policy is for units to incorporate
digital accessibility best practices (per the Digital
Accessibility Standards) into their existing
business processes; and to not incur additional
costs in services as much as possible. For example,
units currently paying for captioning services will
continue to pay for those services, but will likely
not see a significant increase in spend.
Given that this policy focuses sharply on ensuring that digital resources and information technologies required to comply with the policy are accessible, a unit may find the need for additional resources when building, procuring, or managing that digital resource or information technology. All the resources a unit may need for building, procuring, or managing a digitally accessible resource is typically already available, free of charge, through the Center for User Experience. Other investments of time and effort include designating a Digital Accessibility Liaison(s), with a minimum requirement for the Liaison to act as a representative for their unit to receive and share with their unit information about compliance with the Digital Accessibility Policy. Digital Accessibility Liaisons may provide unit-level support (in collaboration with the Center for User Experience) if a unit chooses and has the resources to do so. |
| Do I need to hire a new position to act as the Digital Accessibility Liaison? | Your unit may choose to do so, but it is not necessary for policy compliance. Per the implementation plan, you may structure the designation of the Digital Accessibility Liaison as your unit sees fit. The responsibilities of the Liaison can be flexed depending on your unit’s resources. A singular unit may even designate multiple Digital Accessibility Liaisons as it sees appropriate for its own business operations. |
| Will I need to hire a professional captioning service for every video? | No. Per the policy, standards, and implementation
plan, and as demonstrated in the Policy
Compliance Scenarios, the need to professionally
caption a video is determined by the policy
conformance requirement presented by the
context and audience of the video, as detailed in
the Conformance Requirement table.
However, as an inclusive best practice, we encourage you to caption your videos as possible, using a choice of methods detailed in the Create Accessible Video and Audio Content guide. |
| Do all my course materials need to be accessible? | No. Per the policy, standards, and implementation
plan, and as demonstrated in the Policy
Compliance Scenarios, the need to make course
content accessible is determined by the policy
compliance requirement presented by the
context and audience of the video, as detailed in
the Conformance Requirement table.
However, as an inclusive best practice, we encourage you to make your course content as accessible as possible, using a choice of methods detailed in the Make it Accessible guides. |
| My course content is available to the public, or I give presentations to and share content with the general public. Does this content need to be accessible? | Yes. Per the Conformance Requirement table, if UW-Madison-created content is open to the general public, we must make that content accessible. The Make it Accessible guides provide best practices for making content accessible, and the Center for User Experience is a central resource to support units with content accessibility. |
Authority
The Digital Accessibility Implementation Overview is maintained by UW–Madison’s Center for User
Experience under the direction of UW-Madison’s ADA Coordinator and the Vice Provost of Information
Technology and Chief Information Officer. Revisions of the policy implementation plan will be reviewed
and approved by IT Governance per UW-Madison Policy 510. The Vice Provost of Information
Technology and Chief Information Officer, the ADA Coordinator, or the Center for User Experience
may initiate a revision by contacting the Policy Planning & Analysis Team (PAT) who will engage IT
Governance.
Enforcement
Updates are communicated to the university community through Digital Accessibility Liaisons as well as
university mass communication channels. Implementation of updates are supported at the individual
unit level by the local Digital Accessibility Liaison(s), under the oversight of the Center for User
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Experience, which is under the direction of the Vice Provost of Information Technology and Chief
Information Officer.
Contact
Please address questions or comments to itpolicy@cio.wisc.edu.