As one of the 天美影视传媒鈥檚 highest-volume instructional units,聽 sits at the intersection of digital learning, faculty support, and student experience. With nearly 300 active courses serving a wide range of learners, accessibility at Continuum College is not just a compliance requirement鈥攊t鈥檚 a cornerstone of equity, quality, and sustainability.
In preparation for the April 2026 federal digital accessibility deadline, the college is demonstrating what early, coordinated implementation can look like: building internal capacity, standardizing design practices, and creating a scalable model other UW units can learn from.
I spoke with Krissy Jones, Director of Learning Design, and Tim McCabe, Director of Learning Technologies, about how their teams are preparing, the challenges聽they鈥檙e聽addressing, and what accessibility means for the future of digital learning at UW.
- How is 天美影视传媒 College preparing for the April 2026 deadline, and what does this milestone聽represent聽for your Learning Technologies and Learning Design teams?
- Krissy: We鈥檙e fortunate to have a team of very passionate individuals. Part of our mission in Learning Design is to ensure that our courses are as inclusive as possible. Even before this new initiative, we had already adopted the Web Content Accessibility Guideline (WCAG) 2.0 standard and were using them consistently in all the courses we developed to ensure full accessibility, and that was a tremendous stepping stone to meet the WCAG 2.1 standard. We also apply (UDL) principles and use the course rubric. Those three frameworks鈥擶CAG 2.0, UDL, and Quality Matters鈥攕erve as our guiding points when developing courses with instructors.
When the accessibility initiative began, what was your strategy for understanding where Continuum stood and how to move forward?
Tim: I was asked to get a clear picture of where accessibility issues existed in our courses and what the scope of work would look like before we began remediation.鈥╓e worked with program management to聽identify聽all active Continuum-owned courses鈥攖here were 294 total鈥攁nd reviewed every single one manually to聽determine:
1. Which courses needed manual accessibility checks.
2. Which accessibility items required manual review versus what was already covered by automated tools like or .
3. How to track issues in a scalable, useful way for the remediation stage.
We went through the full WCAG checklist, narrowed it to 15 key items for manual review, and created a standardized tracking sheet for each course. Each sheet linked directly to Canvas pages, allowing reviewers to flag accessibility issues (like heading structures) on specific pages. Over five weeks, about 15 volunteers from across the organization鈥攆rom Learning Design, program management, and Continuum IT鈥攑articipated. It was a massive team effort and resulted in nearly 300 tracking sheets, one for each course.
That sounds monumental!
Tim: It really was. But the collaboration between teams made it possible. Everyone stepped up and volunteered鈥攊t was truly an all-hands聽effort.
What are the greatest challenges in making digital learning experiences accessible through this process?
Tim:聽I鈥檇聽say the biggest challenge is the variation in accessibility knowledge across the organization. Some people have deep聽expertise, while others are just learning. This process has been聽a great opportunity聽to get everyone on the same page鈥攂oth in terms of knowledge and consistent practice.
碍谤颈蝉蝉测:听I completely agree. The top challenges we see are knowledge, expectations, and time. Not everyone has the same understanding of what accessibility means in a learning environment. Expectations also聽haven鈥檛聽been standardized across the university, which makes it tricky.鈥ˋnd then there鈥檚 time鈥攎aking learning materials fully accessible takes time, especially for instructors who are already stretched thin.
- Beyond the audit and remediation, how are you supporting instructors and course developers to design with accessibility in mind?
- Krissy:聽Our Instructor Development team creates short, targeted videos on specific accessibility tasks鈥攍ike making PowerPoint slides accessible. Instructors can also sign up for one-on-one consultations for personalized help.
We also maintain a learning resource library, which walks instructors through course design from start to finish. It includes templates, resources, a 鈥淒esign-Build-Launch鈥� checklist, a course quality review rubric, and WCAG guidelines鈥攁ll in one place.鈥� Most instructors appreciate those one-on-one sessions, though, because they can learn in real time and apply concepts directly to their own courses.
- Looking beyond 2026,聽what鈥檚聽your vision for the next phase of accessibility at Continuum College and across UW?
- Krissy: The immediate next step is to take the results of Tim鈥檚 audit and begin resolving the accessibility issues identified. We鈥檝e formed a new team focused on prioritizing fixes鈥攕tarting with the low-hanging fruit that can be addressed through existing Canvas tools.
After that, we鈥檒l tackle more complex issues that require manual remediation. We鈥檙e planning a process where instructors can sign up for help from our Learning Design, Learning Technologies, or Production teams to resolve accessibility issues efficiently.
- Are you collaborating with other UW units on these efforts?鈥�
- Krissy:聽Yes. Several members of our leadership team are active on campus-wide accessibility committees for the Digital Accessibility Initiative. These connections help us stay aligned with UW鈥檚 larger accessibility goals and share what聽we鈥檙e聽learning.
- Is there anything else聽you鈥檇聽like the UW community to know about your accessibility work鈥攐r about your approach to Universal Design for Learning (UDL)?鈥�
- Krissy:聽UDL is at the forefront of our design practices because it supports inclusion and engagement for all learners. Along with WCAG and Quality Matters, UDL principles are one of our core frameworks.鈥燱e鈥檙e聽also聽very open聽to collaboration. If other UW units or schools are struggling to meet accessibility goals,聽we鈥檙e聽happy to share what聽we鈥檝e聽learned and collaborate on solutions.聽We don鈥檛 have all the answers, but we鈥檙e learning together鈥攁nd that鈥檚 what this work is really about.
- Thank you for meeting with me! It鈥檚 inspiring to see how Continuum College鈥檚 teams are leading with collaboration, innovation, and inclusion as UW moves toward 2026 and beyond.
Interview by Melissa Albin (UW-IT聽 Strategic Communications)
Join the Pack: Support Digital Accessibility
- For more information, resources, and support, visit the Digital Accessibility portal.
- If your department has a digital accessibility story to share, we鈥檇 love to hear from you! Contact us at digitalaccess@uw.edu.