Making digital content more accessible may feel overwhelming鈥攅specially when you’re balancing other priorities. If you’re unsure where to begin, you’re not alone. That鈥檚 why we鈥檙e launching a new blog series highlighting how UW departments and units are approaching the Digital Accessibility Initiative and helping ensure equal access for everyone in the UW community.
First Up: UW Information Technology
天美影视传媒 Information Technology (UWIT) has launched a multi-phase project focused on auditing, assessing, and updating digital content to make it accessible. Each phase is preceded by a pilot that is then reviewed, refined, and scaled for the rest of UWIT to complete. The effort is designed to identify and remediate barriers as well as to build long-term, sustainable accessibility practices.
Timeline: Recent & Upcoming Milestones聽
Here鈥檚 a look at UW-IT鈥檚 phased progress on digital accessibility:
- May: Initiated pilot to inventory and assess applications.
- June: Identified and oriented representatives for each UWIT division to support coordination and accountability. Notified all UW-IT staff to begin digital accessibility training.
- July: Generated a comprehensive inventory of all digital content across UWIT. Hosted office hours to support collection of digital content inventory for all UWIT.
- August: Priority digital content will be identified鈥攆ocusing on high-impact applications, systems, services, websites, and documents.
- September: Assessments of priority content will begin, providing a baseline for accessibility and guiding remediation plans.
- April 2026 and beyond: Maintain accessibility of digital spaces as well as an environment of continuous learning and support for accessible and inclusive digital content.
How UW-IT Will Measure Progress
To stay on track and make real progress, UW-IT is focusing on the following goals:
- A complete and prioritized list of digital content鈥攍ike websites, documents, systems, and services
- Accessibility reviews of key content, starting with the most widely used or high-impact items
- Clear plans for fixing prioritized accessibility barriers
- Long-term strategies to keep content accessible beyond the April 2026 deadline
What鈥檚 Next
In future posts, we鈥檒l continue highlighting how teams across UW are tackling this shared goal. Whether you鈥檙e just beginning or already underway, we hope these stories will inspire and support your journey toward more accessible, inclusive digital spaces. Stay tuned!
If your department has a digital accessibility story to share, we鈥檇 love to hear from you! Contact us at digitalaccess@uw.edu.
Join the Pack: Support Digital Accessibility
For more information, resources, and support, visit the Digital Accessibility portal.