Institutional Accessibility Program Mobilization

Kankakee Community College needed to rapidly align its public-facing digital ecosystem with federal accessibility requirements under the DOJ Title II Final Rule (WCAG 2.1 AA).

Kankakee Community College
June 2025 – April 2026


Overview

The institution had no formal accessibility governance structure, a decentralized content ecosystem, and significant legacy document exposure. I led the development of an institution-wide accessibility program, shifting the approach from reactive remediation to structured, risk-aligned execution.

Institutional Context

The initiative spanned public-facing websites, institutional documents, and systems used across academic and administrative departments. Accessibility responsibilities were distributed, with no centralized intake, prioritization, or accountability framework.

Problem

  • No centralized accessibility governance
  • Distributed ownership across departments
  • High volume of legacy PDFs and content
  • Limited vendor accessibility accountability
  • No intake, tracking, or escalation workflow

These conditions created both legal exposure and operational ambiguity.

Strategic Approach

Governance Before Remediation

Established an Accessibility Coordination Group and secured VP-level sponsorship. Defined a clear institutional compliance posture to guide prioritization and execution.

Defining Defensible Compliance

  • Governance structure operational
  • Intake and workflow processes defined
  • High-risk content prioritized
  • System-level improvements underway
  • Phased remediation strategy documented

Risk-Based Prioritization

Implemented a risk × usage model to focus remediation efforts on high-impact content and student-facing systems.

System-Level Improvements

  • Aligned CMS templates to WCAG standards
  • Implemented accessible form standards (JotForm)
  • Prioritized HTML alternatives over PDFs
  • Improved accessibility of institutional email communications

Scalable PDF Strategy

  • Conducted vendor sampling (CommonLook, Allyant)
  • Built cost model ($10K–$34K range)
  • Executed targeted vendor remediation
  • Established internal remediation workflows
  • Defined phased backlog strategy

Intake & Workflow Infrastructure

  • Centralized accessibility intake form
  • Triage model led by Web Strategy
  • Structured case logging
  • Defined escalation paths

Training & Adoption

  • Partnered with HR and Teaching & Learning
  • Deployed training via Vector
  • Built departmental "super user" network

Vendor Governance

  • Centralized VPAT repository
  • Integrated accessibility into procurement
  • Initiated vendor evaluations

Results

  • 100+ high-priority pages remediated
  • Major public-facing sections nearing compliance
  • Accessibility statement deployed sitewide
  • Governance and intake workflows operational
  • Training actively deployed across departments
  • Vendor remediation strategy established

Outcome

Achieved a defensible, risk-aligned compliance posture ahead of the federal deadline by prioritizing high-impact remediation, establishing governance, and reducing future accessibility risk through system-level improvements.

Key Insight

Accessibility at institutional scale is not achieved through full remediation under deadline pressure. It is achieved through governance, prioritization, system design, and continuous execution.

Leadership

This initiative required aligning executive leadership, technical teams, content owners, and external vendors into a coordinated, sustainable accessibility program embedded within institutional operations.

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