This page serves as Western Kentucky University’s central hub for all digital accessibility matters, with a specific focus on compliance with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Title II ADA Final Rule on Web and Mobile Accessibility. It is intended for faculty, staff, administrators, student employees, and students.
Purpose
Provide one authoritative location for digital accessibility requirements at WKU
Translate the DOJ Title II Final Rule into clear, campus-specific expectations
Define roles, responsibilities, and workflows across the institution
Support proactive accessibility to reduce barriers, complaints, and risk
Reinforce accessibility as a civil rights and institutional equity obligation
DOJ Title II Final Rule — What WKU Must Know
On April 24, 2024, the DOJ issued a final rule updating Title II of the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA), requiring that web content and mobile applications provided by public entities—including public universities—be
accessible.
For the first time, the DOJ adopted an enforceable technical standard:
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA
The rule applies to all digital services, programs, and activities, not just public-facing websites.
Compliance Deadline for WKU
The DOJ issued an Interim Final Rule in April 2026 extending compliance deadlines.
WKU Compliance Deadline: April 26, 2027
Applies to all covered digital content that remains in use after this date
While enforcement begins at the deadline, WKU is expected to demonstrate good‑faith progress and planning well in advance.
What Content Is Covered at WKU
Academic & Instructional Content
Canvas courses and embedded tools
Syllabi, lecture slides, handouts, and readings
PDFs and scanned documents
Recorded and live instructional videos (captioning required)
Online quizzes, exams, and assignments
Web & Administrative Content
All wku.edu pages and departmental subsites
Forms, workflows, and portals
Event, program, and admissions information
Technology & Applications
WKU‑owned or WKU‑licensed mobile apps
Third‑party tools used to deliver WKU programs or services
Please prioritize materials that students use regularly or that significantly impact
learning, such as required readings, weekly modules, assessments, multimedia, and
frequently accessed documents. Materials that are no longer used or are not accessible
to students do not require remediation. Materials placed into a formal archived area
and not used for instruction qualify for the archived content exception.
Fix all identified accessibility issues.
Ally provides an accessibility score for each item and indicates issues such as missing
alt text, contrast errors, inaccessible PDFs, uncaptioned videos, and incorrectly
structured documents. Ally gives detailed instructions and alternative formats to
guide remediation.
Contact CITL for support with any accessibility fixes.
Social Media
If we use social media to communicate with the public, that content must be accessible.
What does accessibility looks like on social media? Accessibility is often straightforward
and benefits everyone. Key practices include:
Alternative (alt) text for images so screen reader users can understand visual content
Captions on videos for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing and for viewers watching without sound
Plain language and clear formatting whenever possible and avoid special fonts
Avoiding reliance on color alone to convey meaning
Use emojis appropriately, Screen readers interpret emojis literally based on their assigned description (e.g.
blue heart). Because of this, it can be confusing if emojis are placed between words.
Avoid excessive use of emojis.
Write your hashtags in CamelCase (like #CampusAccessibility)
Keep URLs short, screen readers will read them out to users, just as if they were words strung together
in a long hashtag.
You do not need to be an expert—small changes make a meaningful difference. For social
media accessibility, please implement the following practices:
Instagram – Alt text on images; captions on Reels; review and edit AI generated alt text
Facebook – Alt text on images; edited captions for videos
OIE and ITS provided in-person training regarding digitally accessible communication
strategies. The training, Digitally Accessible Content, can be accessed online.
Extensive ITS accessibility auditing, using integrated AXE scanning as well as Lighthouse
and WAVE testing (these are automated accessibility audit tools).
Ensuring students with communication needs receive appropriate services and support
through SARC.
Formal institution wide University Accessibility Policy adopting WCAG 2.1 AA is currently
under review with the intent of being approved soon.
Are there exceptions?
The new regulations spell out specific and limited exceptions from the requirement
to conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA.
Properly archived web content where content was created before April 26, 2027. Archived
web content must meet all of the following requirements to be excepted:
The web content was created prior to April 26, 2027. This includes both digitally
created or reproduced scans from paper copies or physical media.
The web content is retained exclusively for reference, research or records keeping.
The web content is not altered or updated after being archived.
The web content is organized and stored in a dedicated area clearly identified as
being archived.
Pre-existing conventional electronic documents created and posted on a website before
April 26, 2027, which are no longer used to apply for, gain access to, or participate
in the university’s services, programs or activities. Conventional electronic documents
include portable document formats (“PDF”), word processor file formats, presentation
file formats, and spreadsheet file formats.
Content posted to a WKU website by a third party, so long as that party is not posting
due to contractual, licensing, or other arrangements with WKU, such as on a community
bulletin board.
Individualized password-protected or otherwise secured conventional electronic documents.
Individualized documents are about a specific person, property or account.
Social media posts made prior to April 26, 2027.
There will be instances in which the university must provide accessible versions of
items falling under these exceptions upon request by users who need accommodation
to access them.
Why This Matters
Digital accessibility isnotoptional.
Failure to comply may result in:
DOJinvestigations and correctiveaction plans
Legalcomplaints and resolutionagreements
Reputational and financial harm
Barriers to equal access for people with disabilities
Accessibility reflects WKU’s corecommitments to equity, inclusion, and academicaccess.
What should I do if a third party contacts me about the accessibility of a WKU website
or app?
If you receive a request from a third party concerning ADA compliance for a digital
property (website, app, etc.) belonging to, managed by or developed by WKU, please
immediately forward that request to the Office of Institutional Equity by emailing
Chantel Gillenwater at chantel.gillenwater@wku.edu or call (270) 745-5462.
Procurement
Please work through Purchasing to update existing contracts or consider new ones to ensure compliance with this
federal rule.
Some of the links on this page may require additional software to view.
