Digital Accessibility Initiative: What you need to know about new regulations

Colleagues,

To align with new federal regulations and ensure digital content is accessible to all students, patients and members of the public, the University of Kentucky is undergoing a comprehensive transformation of its digital content and assets.

Led by a work group that includes our Office of Campus Accessibility and ADA and subject matter experts, guidelines have been developed for creating accessible and compliant digital content, i.e. web-based content, which is a shared responsibility across our institution. 

As a member of the UK community, if you produce or disseminate digitalcontent for students, patients or the public, you are responsible for ensuring it is compliant and meets accessibility standards, as outlined in the guidelines provided by the university. The guidelines, which will be continually updated for additional types of content, can be found here.

Digital materials for these users — including but not limited to websites, mobile apps, social media content, videos, trainings and digital documents — must be accessible by April 24, 2026, to align with new federal regulations. You can find more information on these regulations here.

The Office of the Provost and the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching are providing guidance for and communicating with faculty members regarding academic course content. 

We are here to support you as you work to create compliant and accessible digital materials for all UK students, patients and members of the public. If you have questions about content that is not yet reflected on our webpage, please submit those in the General Inquiry Form. 

We will keep you updated on our compliance efforts throughout the year, and we appreciate your collaboration in this important effort.

Eric N. Monday
Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration
Co-Executive Vice President for Health Affairs