Digital Accessibility

All electronic content that is shared publicly and affiliated with the university should be digitally accessible and must be remediated to adhere with these guidelines, regardless of whether this content is intended for academic, administrative, student support, or external campus purposes. This includes public-facing websites, internal tools, mobile apps, social media, and course materials. This specifically covers:

• Websites: All HTML content, navigation menus, and forms
• Documents: PDFs, Google Workspace materials, Word docs, PowerPoint slides, and Excel sheets hosted on the web or Learning Management Systems (Canvas & SumTotal)
• Multimedia: Videos (must have captions/audio description) and audio files (must have transcripts)
• Course Materials: All content within Canvas, including quizzes, syllabi, and reading materials
• Third-Party Software: Any vendor tool required for student or staff use

The deadline for departments to reach compliance is April 24, 2026. Note: Content that is purely archival (never updated, used only for research/reference) may be exempt, but if linked for active business or classwork, remediation is required.

Compliance checking requires a hybrid approach:

1. Automated Scanning: Tools include Siteimprove and Grackle (available at UCSB), WAVE, Silktide, and AXE browser extensions. These catch ~30–40% of issues (e.g., missing alt text, broken links).
2. Manual Testing: Manual verification is required for keyboard navigation (ensuring site functionality without a mouse) and color contrast.
3. Assistive Technology Testing: Ideally, key flows should be tested using a screen reader (like NVDA, Narrator on Windows, or VoiceOver on Mac)

On April 24, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published a final rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Previously, digital accessibility was treated as a "best practice" or a response to individual accommodation requests. This new ruling requires all state and local government entities (including public universities like the University of California) to comply with WCAG 2.1 AA standards or better by April 2026, shifting the legal requirement from "reactive" to "proactive."

Enforcement occurs at two levels:

1. Internal: The UCSB ADA Compliance Officer and the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) generally oversee policy adherence
2. External: The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice is charged with investigating alleged non-compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and pursuing related enforcement actions

• Legal Risk: Failure to adhere to the regulations will potentially expose the university to federal investigations and legal liabilities
• Internal Consequences: Departments may face administrative mandates to remove non-compliant content immediately, potentially disrupting courses or business operations until the content is fixed

Compliance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA guidelines ensures that there are no barriers that would prevent members of our community from obtaining academic, administrative, or student support materials digitally. These standardized requirements help ensure that students, staff, faculty, alumni, or other UCSB affiliates with disabilities (visual, auditory, motor, and cognitive) have equal access to digital information and spaces. 

While necessary to provide equitable and inclusive education and employment opportunities, accessible design improves the user experience for everyone in our community (e.g., captions help in noisy rooms; high contrast helps in bright sunlight). Accessible websites also support effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO), making it easier for search engines to crawl and rank sites based on content.

Yes. This is a federal mandate applying to all public entities. All University of California campuses are subject to the same Title II ruling and deadline. The UC Office of the President (UCOP) is in the process of updating the systemwide Electronic Accessibility Policy to align with these federal standards.

We recommend that departments approach compliance effort using a risk-based prioritization model:

• New Content: Ensure everything published from today forward is compliant
• High Traffic/Impact: The department’s homepage and most widely used pages and forms
• Critical Path: Materials required to apply, register, pay, or pass a class
• Active Course Materials: Content currently being taught
• Legacy/Archive: (Lowest priority) Old newsletters or reports that are rarely accessed

We recognize that reviewing and remediating content is a significant undertaking. However, this expected workload can be significantly alleviated by archiving digital materials that are old, outdated, and/or no longer accessed regularly. Think of this as a “digital spring cleaning” that will help decrease the amount of content requiring remediation. 

Yes. It is critical that UC Santa Barbara’’s academic materials are compliant with new guidelines to ensure an accessible education for all students. Moving forward, faculty must verify that all PDFs, syllabi, or other course documents uploaded to Canvas meet compliance standards, and videos shown in class or posted online must have captions. The Office of Teaching & Learning will work with instructors and provide several resources to assist remediation efforts.

Please note: While the Disabled Students Program (DSP) is available to support students and Academic Affairs departments with academic accommodations, they are not responsible for remediating academic documents and content. Content must be accessible by default for all learners.

Yes. Responsibilities likely include:

• Budgeting for potential remediation vendors (e.g., paying for captioning services or PDF remediation)
• Ensuring administrative staff have time and training to create accessible communications (emails, memos)
• Verifying that departmental software purchases meet accessibility standards; this may include sourcing new vendors that provide accessible goods and services

Yes. Purchasing officers act as gatekeepers to ensure the tools and services acquired for campus operations are accessible:

• All software, hardware, and digital services must meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards or higher at the time of purchase.
• Vendors must provide a VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) before procurement. When available, departments should also request an output VPAT to verify accessibility claims.
• Important: If a purchased tool is unusable by staff with visual, auditory, motor, or cognitive impairments—including temporary disabilities—the department is legally responsible for providing an equally effective alternative solution or replacing the tool entirely.

Yes. While UCSB is in the process of developing a formal training plan, the ITS Training & Development team has curated a set of interim resources to support immediate needs. The UCOP Electronic Accessibility Committee (EAC) also maintains comprehensive resources on its Electronic Accessibility webpage.

• Faculty support: The Office of Teaching and Learning
• For legal/policy questions: Contact UCSB's ADA Compliance Officer
• For student accommodations: Contact the Disabled Students Program (DSP)
• For website accessibility support: The UCSB Web Standards Group

These concerns should be escalated to your Department Chair or MSO/Business Officer. Systemic concerns related to funding or staffing needs should be shared with the ADA Compliance Officer or Chief Information Officer. Departments are asked to demonstrate a “good faith effort” and roadmap for full compliance, so it is essential to document a compliance plan and report any constraints.

The revised policy will outline an exception process when compliance with the new WCAG 2.1 Level AA standard is not possible. In instances where an exception to the Electronic Accessibility standard has been approved, the policy requires locations to attempt remediation and implement an "Equally Effective Alternative Accommodation Plan" (EEAAP). That plan ensures people with disabilities can still meaningfully access the same information, services, or activities while remediation proceeds.