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
• Prioritized HTML alternatives over PDFs where appropriate
• Improved accessibility of institutional email communications

Scalable PDF Strategy

• Conducted vendor sampling with PDF remediation partners
• Built cost models for outsourced remediation planning
• Executed targeted vendor remediation for priority documents
• 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
• Supported accessibility training deployment
• Built a departmental support model for shared accessibility practices

Vendor Governance

• Centralized VPAT and accessibility conformance evidence
• Integrated accessibility review into vendor and procurement workflows
• Initiated vendor accessibility evaluations and documentation practices

Results

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

Outcome

Established a defensible, risk-aligned accessibility posture ahead of the federal deadline by prioritizing high-impact remediation, formalizing 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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