Digital Accessibility Compliance

In 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice announced new rules under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that require state and local governments — including public universities — to make their websites and digital tools accessible to everyone. By April 2026, all university web pages and online course content must meet these standards.

UNI’s Title II Team is leading the work to ensure our digital content meets these new ADA rules and follows Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA guidelines.

Digital Accessibility Compliance
Two students looking at a laptop

Areas of Focus

The following web content and mobile applications are UNI's key areas of focus to ensure full ADA compliance by April 2026.

  • Websites/web applications
  • Multimedia
  • Digital documents
  • Software & apps
  • Email & digital communications
  • Digital signage
  • LMS
  • Social media 

Your Part in Digital Accessibility

Accessibility is a shared responsibility. Every unit at UNI must make sure its web content and mobile applications meet the minimum standards set by ADA Title II and UNI’s digital accessibility guidelines.

The Title II team is here to help. Our goal is to help the campus community comply with these standards by empowering units to follow these steps: assess your content and tools, prioritize your needs and address your identified needs.  

We will provide training, workshops, tools and one-on-one support throughout the fall and spring semesters — stat tuned for details about these upcoming resources.

‌Staff

UNI staff members sitting around a table

All digital content used for university business must be accessible by April 2026.

  • If you create or maintain content, you’re responsible for making it accessible. Some units may choose to centralize this work — check with your department to confirm your role.
  • If you purchase digital products (like software, training or apps), you must ensure they meet accessibility requirements.

‌Faculty

UNI faculty member teaching students

Course content — new or third-party — must meet WCAG 2.2 AA standards by April 2026.

  • This includes videos, readings and online tools. For example, if you embed a YouTube video, it must include captions or a transcript with audio description.
  • Archived courses don’t need to be retroactively updated. But if you reuse past materials, you must make them accessible.

‌Students

Students talking at a table in Schindler

You only need to make content accessible if it’s for university business (not personal coursework). Examples include:

  • Content created for a student job (e.g., department social media posts).
  • Websites or digital materials for a university-sponsored student organization.

Student work like class assignments or personal projects does not need to meet accessibility standards.