Skip to content

Web Council meetings are on the first Thursday of the month at 9 a.m. via Zoom.

Web Council Meetings

May 2025 Web Council agenda

Meeting date

Thursday, May 1, 2025 at 9 a.m. via Zoom.

Agenda

Word on the Street: Thom Thorpe, director of web strategy in UMAC, will offer a roundup of news and notes as we begin May.

Deleting vs. Archiving: Beth Somerfield, deputy ADA coordinator for digital accessibility, will join us to answer questions on deleting and archiving legacy web content.

Accessibility Short: Terrill Thompson of UW-IT Accessible Technology Services will provide another in the Accessibility Short series focusing on top accessibility issues reported by DubBot across all UW websites. (Will present at the June meeting)

Meeting summary

The May meeting of the University of Washington Web Council focused on community updates, digital accessibility compliance, and best practices for managing legacy web content. The session featured presentations by Tom Thorpe (community updates), Beth Somerfield (digital accessibility and archiving), and a brief accessibility issue highlight by Terrell Thompson.

Key highlights

Community updates and announcements

  • Communities of Practice: Updates were provided on several UW communities of practice, including upcoming Drupal and accessibility/usability meetups, summer camps focused on data visualization, and marketing communications roundtables. Attendees were encouraged to join relevant groups and share with colleagues.

  • Job Openings & Networking: Several new positions were announced, with a reminder to check the UW jobs page and share opportunities within networks.

  • Local Events: Upcoming Seattle-area events were highlighted, such as American Marketing Association mixers, Photoshop user group meetings, and Microsoft’s AI Fabric tour.

  • Conference Calendar: A comprehensive list of upcoming conferences was shared, including accessibility-focused events and innovation/UX conferences, with planning already extending into 2026.

  • New Resources: A new guide on creating accessible organizational charts was introduced, and Global Accessibility Awareness Day (May 15) was promoted as a key event for the community.

  • Innovation Theme: The May theme centers on innovation at UW, with a call for stories using the hashtag #uwinnovates.

Digital Accessibility Rule & Legacy Content Management

Presenter: Beth Somerfield, Deputy ADA Coordinator for Digital Accessibility

  • ADA Digital Accessibility Rule: The Department of Justice (DOJ) published a rule requiring web content to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) by April 24, 2026. Work is underway at UW to build the necessary infrastructure and resources for compliance.
  • Federal and State Context: Despite uncertainties at the federal level, the rule remains in effect, and Washington State’s policy is even stricter. Compliance is required regardless of potential federal enforcement changes.
  • Exceptions to accessibility requirements:
    • Archived web content: Content created before April 24, 2026, kept only for reference, research, or record-keeping, not updated since archiving, and stored in a clearly labeled archive area, does not need to be made accessible unless requested. Clear labeling and consistent presentation are essential.
    • Pre-existing conventional electronic documents: Word, PowerPoint, PDF, or spreadsheet files created before the deadline and not currently used for active services/programs are exempt unless requested for accessibility.
    • Password-protected and individualized documents: Only for individual use (e.g., bills, private communications).
    • Pre-existing social media posts: No need to retroactively fix old posts; new posts after the deadline must be accessible.
    • Third-party content: Content posted by the public (not under contract) is exempt; content created by contractors or under institutional direction is not.
  • Practical scenarios discussed
    • Presidential blog posts: Old, unedited posts intended for historical value can be archived if clearly labeled.
    • Changing hosting or presentation: Moving content or updating banners does not affect archive status, as long as the substance is unchanged.
    • Archival labeling: Use consistent banners or labels (WordPress plugin and HTML snippets available) to indicate archival status. Consistency and clarity are key.
    • Content strategy: Consider whether archival content needs to remain online; deleting unnecessary content improves usability and reduces compliance workload.
  • Questions addressed
    • Partial page archiving: Preferably, entire pages should be archived, but sections can be labeled if necessary, provided labeling is clear and consistent.
    • Docusign and PDF forms: If forms are actively used, they must be accessible. The university is exploring alternatives and remediation strategies for complex PDF workflows.
    • External links and course content: Responsibility for accessibility extends to resources required for participation in programs or courses; specific guidance is forthcoming.

Accessibility Short preview

Presenter: Terrell Thompson

  • Top issue identified by Dubbot: The most common accessibility problem is the use of identical link text (“Read more”) for different destinations. Best practice: links with the same text should point to the same place; otherwise, differentiate the link text for clarity and accessibility. Terrill will give the gull presentation at the June Web Council meeting.

Closing notes

  • Resource sharing: Links to guidance, FAQs, and tools discussed will be added to the agenda and made available on the Web Council website.
  • Ongoing communication: Questions from the meeting will inform future blog posts and communications regarding digital accessibility.
  • Next meeting: Scheduled for June 5, the final meeting before the summer hiatus, with a new topic to be announced.

Below is a consolidated list of all links posted in the meeting chat, organized by topic and with a brief description for context.

Web Council and events

Digital accessibility initiatives and guidance

Archiving and accessibility tools

Summary table

Access notes

  • Some resources (such as the GitHub plugin) require a UW GitHub account or special permissions. If you encounter access issues, contact uweb@uw.edu for help.
  • For the most up-to-date guidance and FAQs regarding digital accessibility and archiving, regularly check the Digital Accessibility at UW site.

April 2025 Web Council agenda

Meeting date

Thursday, April 3, 2025 at 9 a.m.

Zoom recording

Agenda

Word on the Street: Thom Thorpe, director of web strategy in UMAC, will offer a roundup of news and notes as we begin spring quarter.

UW Bothell Web Project Retrospective: Members of the web team in UW Bothell’s central Office of Marketing & Communications will be presenting about its website redevelopment project, which included a large restructure, a complete redesign and a CMS migration. They’ll do a brief review of the process itself and talk about what worked well, the challenges they encountered along the way and what’s next. Bring your questions!

Security Short: UWIT’s David Talkington explains how to respond to a suspected cybersecurity incident.

March 2025 Web Council agenda

Meeting date

Thursday, March 6, 2025 at 9 a.m.

Zoom recording

Agenda

Word on the Street: Thom Thorpe, director of web strategy in UMAC, will offer a roundup of news and notes as we wrap up winter quarter.

UMAC KPI Dashboard: Tiffany Sevareid, Teri Shelton, and Rakshanda Bhure from UMAC will take us on a tour and project retrospective of the UMAC KPI Dashboard. The presentation will highlight the phases of development so far, challenges encountered along the way, and potential future enhancements. They will close with a deep dive into the code for selected features. For those who prefer not to attend the deep dive portion, there will be a clear transition point with an opportunity to ask questions.

February 2025 Web Council agenda

Meeting date

Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025 at 9 a.m.

Zoom recording

Agenda

Word on the Street: Thom Thorpe, director of web strategy in UMAC, will offer a roundup of news and notes as we brave the icy chill of winter quarter.

Brand portal tour: Alyssa Campbell, senior brand manager in UMAC, will give us a tour of the brand portal and Fill-in-the-Blank toolkit.

Accessibility short: Terrill Thompson of UW-IT Accessible Technology Services will provide an Accessibility Short, with an update on the rollouts of DubBot (our new enterprise web accessibility checker) and Deque University (a library of online asynchronous training courses on digital accessibility). 

December 2024 Web Council agenda

Meeting date

Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024 at 9 a.m.

Meeting recording

Agenda

Word on the Street: Thom Thorpe, director of web strategy in UMAC, will offer a roundup of news and notes as we continue our journey through the autumn quarter.

Boundless Refresh: Lauren V. Caple, associate director of web development in UMAC, shares a project retrospective on refreshing and updating the Boundless storytelling website.

Security Short: Josslyn Lewellen, security system administrator in UWIT, will share a presentation on password security.

November 2024 Web Council agenda

Meeting date

Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024 at 9 a.m.

Meeting recording

Agenda

Word on the Street: Thom Thorpe, director of web strategy in UMAC, will offer a roundup of news and notes as we continue our journey through the autumn quarter.

Cyber Hygiene and Ransomware Resilience: Information Security Analyst Melissa Albin (Office of Information Security) will discuss protecting login credentials, recognizing and reporting phishing, spear phishing, and scams, securing devices and connections, managing passwords, tips for travel and working from home, permissions for collaborative tools, and backing up data & devices and disposing of them securely.

Accessibility Short: Terrill Thompson from Accessibility Technology Services will give a quick tour of Deque University and announce upcoming trainings.

October 2024 Web Council agenda

Meeting date: Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024 at 9 a.m.

Meeting recording

  • Word on the Street: Shelby Schumacher, UX specialist for the UMAC web strategy team, will present a Thom Thorpe-inspired roundup of news and notes as we begin the academic year.
  • Accessibility updates: Terrill Thompson of UW-IT Accessible Technology Services will provide an update on the UW’s preparation to bring all websites into compliance with ADA rules by April 2026. Specific topics to be covered will include: What we’ve learned from a comprehensive inventory of the UW web estate (how many websites do we have anyway?); current efforts underway to prioritize our websites; and the availability of new tools, resources, and services, including DubBot (for automated accessibility checking), the UW Web Checklist (for manual checking), Deque University (for training on web accessibility), and a Student Web Accessibility Team (SWAT) that’s being trained in ATS to help with website accessibility efforts.

September 2024 Web Council agenda

Meeting date: Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024 at 9 a.m.

Meeting recording

  • Word on the Street: Thom Thorpe, director of web strategy in UMAC, will offer a roundup of news and notes as we gear up for the start of the academic year.
  • Back-to-School Communications: We will get an overview of messaging, events and social media plans from Courtney Coster, director of brand marketing strategy, and Jacob Kelly, assistant director of social media strategy.
  • Security Short: Peter Giles and Mike Lane from the Office of Information Security will do a short demonstration of Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP), a free and open source web app security scanner.

June 2024 Web Council agenda

Meeting date: Thursday, June 6, 2024 at 9 a.m.

Meeting recording (UW NetID required)

Word on the Street: Thom Thorpe, director of web strategy in UMAC, will gives us the latest news and notes as we get ready to celebrate graduation.

Empowering Small Groups to Create Impactful Websites: Join us for a ‘train the trainer’ talk where we’ll explore a streamlined process for working with small groups with minimal communications experience to create impactful websites. Dive into the essentials of a solid website plan, from setting audience goals and structuring information architecture to creating realistic timelines. Equip yourself with the expertise to foster best practices on even the smallest websites, ensuring every group’s message is heard loud and clear. Veronica Brace, a web designer with DEOHS, will walk us through the process she created and has refined while building 16 websites in 5 years. After the presentation the resources and templates we use will be available for your team.

May 2024 Web Council agenda

Meeting date: Thursday, May 2, 2024 at 9 a.m.

Word on the Street: Thom Thorpe, director of web strategy in UMAC, will gives us the latest news and notes as we approach the end of the academic year.

Accessibility (ADA update): On April 24, the U.S. Department of Justice published their much-anticipated new rule for digital accessibility under ADA TItle II.  The effective date is June 24, 2024, and at that point, the UW will have two years (deadline: June 24, 2026) to bring its websites and mobile applications into compliance. What exactly are the requirements, and what do we need to do in order to meet them? Terrill Thompson from UW-IT Accessible Technology Services will share what we know so far, and will lead a discussion of the implications. Also, Terrill will share details about Global Accessibility Awareness Day activities (May 16), and Jeane Marty and Shelby Schumacher will provide an update on work they’ve been doing to create a new web checklist.