[Ucrfacultyandstaff] Important federal and systemwide requirements affecting digital content

[UCR Chancellor]

Dear Campus Community:

The University of California and UCR are committed to providing a digital
environment that is accessible to everyone
<https://accessibility.ucr.edu/digital-accessibility>, including
individuals with disabilities.

For many years, UC campuses have implemented a system-wide policy
<https://www.ucop.edu/electronic-accessibility/initiative/policy.html> to
promote full, equal, and independent use of our digital resources. Recent
changes to federal law under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities
Act mean that all UC campuses and national labs must meet new requirements
to ensure accessibility <https://www.ada.gov/resources/2024-03-08-web-rule/>
. These changes mandate new standards for digital content produced by the
university. This includes websites, web applications, emails, online
surveys, social media, electronic documents, learning management system
content, podcasts, streaming video, mobile applications, third party
software, instructional materials, and all other content delivered
digitally. It is essential that all UCR employees become familiar with and
help to implement these new standards.

UCR’s Digital Accessibility Steering Committee has been leading our efforts
to meet these new federal requirements before the deadline of April 24, 2026.
Consistent with UC guidance, the committee has established an advisory
committee with faculty representatives and staff experts, reviewed campus
practices, drafted a campus IT Accessibility Policy Program
<https://accessibility.ucr.edu/digital-accessibility/policies-and-guidelines>,
identified and prioritized areas where remediation is most needed,
collaborated with staff who serve as webmasters for much of our
high-priority content, and procured new software to facilitate remediation
and produce compliant content going forward.

Because digital content is produced and managed broadly across the
university, almost all of us at UCR will need to change our work habits. Below
is what this means for you, depending on your role:

   -

   Anyone who is responsible for digital content (even just email or online
   meetings):
   -

      Visit UCR’s digital accessibility home page
      <https://accessibility.ucr.edu/digital-accessibility> to learn about
      what you need to do. For non-compliant content that you are responsible
      for, archive what you no longer need, fix what you will continue to use,
      and begin producing compliant content going forward.
      -

      Watch for future campus-wide communications from the Provost’s office
      focused on specific digital accessibility topics. These may
include things
      like installing helpful plug-ins, archiving old content, transcribing and
      captioning, using alt-text, and remediating PDFs. Advance notification of
      changes to enterprise-level default settings in our digital tools and
      platforms also will be sent.
      -

   All instructors who use Canvas:
   -

      UCR’s learning management system (Canvas) is our most-viewed digital
      platform. UCR has procured software from UDOIT that integrates
with Canvas
      and facilitates content remediation. XCITE has developed
resources to help
      you learn how to use UDOIT in Canvas
      <http://teaching.ucr.edu/udoit-guide>, and to improve digital
      accessibility in instruction more broadly
      <https://teaching.ucr.edu/accessibility-guidance-faculty>.
      -

      The Provost’s Office is temporarily funding Canvas remediation
      assistance that will be provided by trained personnel in XCITE. If
      you are an instructor of record for Spring 2026 and would like to
      request help for remediating your Spring 2026 Canvas content,
please complete
      this XCITE registration form <https://teaching.ucr.edu/a-team>.
      Pending availability of funds, this service will be offered at a
later date
      to instructors of record who are scheduled to teach after Spring 2026.
      University Extension instructors should contact Ann Kwinn
      <ann.kwinn at ucr.edu>.
      -

   Website owners and editors (including sites not hosted on the ucr.edu
   domain):
   -

      Learn how to use SiteImprove
      <https://websites.ucr.edu/accessibility/siteimprove>, which helps
      identify digital accessibility issues and measure progress toward
      compliance with the new requirements. If you supervise a professional or
      student staff member who edits web content, ensure they become familiar
      with digital accessibility standards and using SiteImprove.
      -

      Contact Kathy Rondeau-Taylor <kathleen.rondeau-taylor at ucr.edu> in ITS
      if you would like to be included in a series of regular meetings focusing
      on accessibility issues for website owners and editors.

Thank you for your partnership in this important effort, and please direct
any questions to the Digital Accessibility Steering Committee:

Ken Baerenklau, Associate Provost (Chair)
Kiersten Boyce, Chief Compliance Officer and ADA/504 Coordinator
Beth Claassen Thrush, Director of Strategic Initiatives and Special Projects
Matt Gunkel, AVC and Chief Information Officer
Mariam Lam, VC for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Kathy Rondeau-Taylor, Executive Director for Portfolio Management

Sincerely,

S. Jack Hu, Ph.D.
Chancellor

Elizabeth Watkins, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
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