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Accessibility at the UW

Category: Digital Accessibility

Celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day on May 15

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Join the Pack, Learn New Skills, Be Inspired

Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) is celebrated annually on the third Thursday in May to highlight the importance of digital accessibility and its impact on over one billion people worldwide with disabilities. Since its launch in 2012, GAAD has encouraged communities to build more inclusive digital spaces—and the University of Washington is proud to take part.

Each year, the UW community marks GAAD with a day of interactive workshops, insightful talks, and hands-on activities focused on creating accessible and inclusive documents, courses, web content, and more. This year’s event on May 15 is co-hosted by UW-IT Accessible Technology Services, CREATE, and the UW Center for Learning, Computing, and Imagination.

Spend the day discovering tools, strategies, and resources to help you build accessibility into your digital spaces—while also preparing for the April 2026 WCAG compliance deadline.

Here’s an overview of the day’s events:

  • Morning – Start strong with workshops focused on fixing common accessibility problems
  • Mid-day – Hear from UW leadership and digital accessibility experts
  • Afternoon – Dive deeper with hands-on workshops specifically tailored for UW instructors to make courses more accessible or website owners to learn about DubBot, an enterprise web accessibility checker
  • Evening – Be inspired by Josh Miele, a technologist and author of Connecting Dots, as he shares his journey navigating as a blind person in a sighted world

Some sessions will be hybrid (HUB 250 and Zoom), while others will be in person or online only. Check the full schedule, session details, and find registration links on the UW GAAD 2025 website.

DOJ Digital Accessibility Rule: What Faculty & Staff Need to Know 

Post categories: Digital Accessibility

With the Department of Justice’s ADA Digital Accessibility Rule set to take effect in April 2026, it’s crucial for UW faculty and staff to stay informed and proactive. This blog will provide ongoing guidance and provide resources to support compliance with state policy and federal regulations.

Although questions related to federal oversight of the rule have been raised, the UW is committed to ensuring an inclusive and accessible digital experience.  Even if enforcement and prioritization were to shift at the federal level, individuals and organizations will still have the right to pursue accessibility-related lawsuits. Additionally, Washington State is updating its own Digital Accessibility Policy, further reinforcing compliance requirements. As legal landscapes evolve, we will post updates to ensure continued adherence to digital accessibility requirements.

UW faculty and staff are encouraged to start making accessibility improvements now by visiting the What You Can Do Now page.

For a deeper dive into the rule itself, visit the Rule Guidance and FAQs page, which is continuously updated with new questions and answers.

Join the Pack in making these changes and help create a more inclusive digital environment at UW!

UW Advances Digital Accessibility

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Advancing Digital Accessibility with New Tools and Training

The University of Washington is taking significant steps toward a more inclusive digital future, calling on faculty, staff, and administrators to prioritize accessibility in their digital spaces. With new federal regulations impacting web and course content, UW is taking proactive steps to ensure compliance and foster a culture of digital accessibility across our campuses
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Digital accessibility is both an ethical responsibility and a legal requirement. By April 2026, digital resources are expected to meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To support this transition, the ADA Office, UW-IT Accessible Technology Services, and Teaching@UW are partnering with others across the UW campuses to provide accessibility tools, events, and training opportunities.

ADA Digital Accessibility Initiative & “Power of the Pack”

UW has launched the ADA Digital Accessibility Initiative, a collaborative effort between Compliance Services, the Provost’s Office, and UW-IT to establish university-wide governance and sustainable accessibility practices. A key part of this initiative is the “Power of the Pack” campaign, which emphasizes shared responsibility—when everyone contributes, the entire community benefits, making you an integral part of this collective effort.

Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) Is May 15

In celebration of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) on May 15, the UW is offering a series of free in-person and online presentations and workshops. Participating in these events provides an excellent opportunity for collaboration, information sharing, and  enhancing your understanding of digital accessibility. A detailed agenda will be announced soon.

New Accessibility Checker Available

One of the latest resources is DubBot, an automated website accessibility checker now offered through UW-IT. This tool scans UW websites for common barriers—including poor color contrast, missing alt text, and keyboard navigation issues— allowing web administrators to find issues and make their websites more accessible for people with disabilities.

“UW-IT provides this tool to help all UW website owners, including faculty, researchers, and staff, identify accessibility barriers, just as Ally can be used to highlight issues in Canvas,” says Mary Mulvihill, Executive Director of UW-IT’s Accessible Technology Services.

Faculty and staff can request access to DubBot and find more information at the Accessible Technology DubBot website.

Stay Informed and Take Action

With the April 2026 deadline approaching, UW is actively ensuring that its digital presence reflects its values of accessibility, inclusion, and innovation. Through the “Power of the Pack” campaign, the University encourages all faculty, staff, and administrators to participate in training and collaboration opportunities to help create more accessible and inclusive digital environments.

To stay informed of digital accessibility tools, resources, and training, visit and bookmark the Digital Accessibility website and this news blog.

Digital Accessibility Meet-Ups

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Join UW’s Monthly Accessibility Meetups: Web Usability & Instructional Accessibility

Accessibility is a key part of creating inclusive digital experiences, whether you’re designing websites or developing accessible courses. To support these efforts, UW-IT’s Accessible Technology Services hosts two monthly meetups: one focused on Web Accessibility and Usability and another devoted to Instructional Accessibility for faculty and course designers.

These informal gatherings provide opportunities to discuss accessibility challenges, get feedback, and learn best practices from experts and peers. Whether you’re a web developer, designer, faculty member, or instructional designer, these meetups offer valuable insights to enhance accessibility in your work.

About the Web Accessibility/Usability Meetup

The Monthly Web Accessibility/Usability meet-up is a place for accessibility-minded colleagues to casually review and discuss projects, including hands-on testing and code review. You will be encouraged to bring questions and troubleshoot issues from your own website, as it is a great learning experience for everyone.

These sessions are led by Hadi Rangin, a web accessibility specialist with UW-IT Accessible Technology Services. Hadi, who holds a master’s degree in computer science and is a screen reader user himself, offers a unique perspective on how websites and web applications can be made more usable including users with disabilities. If you’re working on a project and would like to get accessibility feedback from your peers, email Hadi (hadir@uw.edu) to be added to the agenda. Visit the Accessible Technology Services events page for more details on how to join.

Instructional Accessibility Meetup for Faculty & Course Designers

Faculty and course designers interested in making their online courses more accessible can join the Instructional Accessibility Meetup for a casual yet insightful discussion on best practices and Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

These meetups are hosted by Mary-Colleen Jenkins, an instructional accessibility specialist with UW’s Accessible Technology Services (ATS) and a former UW instructor and will feature guest speakers from the UW community. Mary-Colleen understands the challenges faculty face in improving course accessibility and provides practical strategies for prioritizing accessibility without feeling overwhelmed.

The upcoming session in March, “The Basics of Building Accessible Tables” with Gaby de Jongh, will cover essential techniques for making tables more accessible for students with disabilities.

Why join?

Both meetups provide a collaborative space to learn, share ideas, and ask questions about accessibility. Whether you’re troubleshooting web accessibility issues or figuring out how to make your course materials more inclusive, these gatherings connect you with a supportive community.

Why now?

By April 2026, digital resources are expected to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). To support the University community in this effort, several UW offices, including the ADA Office, UW-IT Accessible Technology Services, and Teaching@UW, are partnering to share accessibility tools, events, and training opportunities. As we work together to meet requirements, we will also create better online experiences for the entire UW community.

Find more details and links to register on the Accessible Technology Services events page.

Coffee and Compliance

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Begin 2025 with a spirit of collaboration and join the ADA Office and UW-IT Accessible Technology for a “Coffee & Compliance” conversation on February 11, 3:00-4:00, in observance of Compliance & Ethics Week.

UW’s Records Management Office is hosting the Coffee & Compliance series in partnership with offices across UW campuses to provide training to help members of the UW community meet state, federal, and UW laws, regulations, and policies.

If you would like to learn more about the new ADA Rule on Digital Accessibility and some practical steps for meeting it, visit the Compliance & Ethics Week page to register.

Bring your digital accessibility and compliance questions; we’ll share information and learn together as we create a more inclusive community.

Update: the recording for this event can be found on UW Records Management’s Compliance & Ethics Week page.

DubBot Accessibility Checker

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We want to share some exciting news about a no-charge tool that will help the UW community build a digitally accessible future. 

UW-IT is now offering an automated website accessibility checker, DubBot, for UW websites. 

 A website accessibility checker is an essential tool that helps ensure your website is usable by everyone. It scans your site for accessibility barriers—such as poor color contrast, missing alt text, and keyboard navigation issues—helping you identify problems that could exclude people with disabilities. 

 

With an accessibility checker, you can quickly identify problems to help bring your website in line with new Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements that take effect on April 2026.  

Request access to DubBot and find out about training opportunities on the Accessible Technology DubBot website. 

Power of the Pack

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Digital Accessibility at UW

At the University of Washington, we all play a vital role to play in advancing digital accessibility. Whether you’re a faculty member creating course materials, an IT professional designing systems, or an administrator managing web content, your contributions help build an inclusive, welcoming digital environment. Together, we can create a campus culture that reflects our shared values and ensures the success of every member of our community.

Digital accessibility is not just the right thing to do—it’s also required by law. As a public institution, UW must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard by April 2026.

To support this mission, this blog will serve as a hub for resources, compliance updates and training opportunities. Our goal is to empower you with the tools and knowledge to ensure our websites, learning management systems, and digital tools meet these standards and build a culture of learning, accessibility, and inclusion.

You can get started today! Here are some ways to join the pack:

Join us in leading the charge toward a digitally accessible future for the University of Washington. Together, we can make a difference!

Get started with digital accessibility

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The new Title II Rule on digital accessibility is about transforming how we create, share, and interact with digital content. Embracing this change means undergoing a University wide effort to foster an inclusive digital environment where everyone can access and benefit from our digital presence. Here are some steps that faculty and staff can take now to prepare for this important transformation:  

  • Build a strong understanding of digital accessibility
  • Review and inventory current content
  • Clean up old files
  • Delete duplicate content

Learn how to get started on these steps with the ADA Office’s guidance: What You Can Do Now