Faculty Forum - February 20, 2026 - Digital Accessibility

On Friday, February 20th, Academic Technology Services hosted a Faculty Forum on Digital Accessibility. 

Our featured participant was Brad Starkey-Owens, UC Davis Digital Accessibility Program Manager, who joined us for a conversation about the campus vision for digital accessibility, upcoming timelines, and preparations that faculty should be considering now, especially in

Hosted by Academic Technology Services, and with input from members of the campus IT Accessibility Policy Program (ITAPP) Committee, our forum was collegial and supportive. Attendees brought their questions and experiences related to making their Canvas class materials more accessible and inclusive for all relevant members of our campus community. Our forum presented us an opportunity to learn from one another while also better understanding expectations and resources.

Discussion topics included the following:

• Campus accessibility resources
• Timelines and important deadlines
• A brief review of key concepts raised in recent Quick Access articles on The Wheel

All these discussions take place in the context of announced Department of Justice rules on accessibility of web content that we make available on our web pages and in our UC Davis Canvas course pages. Our Title II Accessibility Updates page puts it this way: “This new rule establishes a deadline of April 2026 for public agencies to be compliant. It provides deadlines and specific guidance for Accessibility guidelines that were already in place, specifically regarding web content and mobile apps. It codifies Web Content Accessibility Guidelines AA 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) as the official standard to which public entities must comply and provides some guidelines around when and where exceptions may be appropriate.”

As we have learned during this school year, digital accessibility represents both a pedagogical commitment and an institutional priority.  We hope this February forum helped all attendees move forward with greater confidence and clarity.

Access the Zoom chat from the event.

Selected resources / links shared during the event

• UC Davis Digital Accessibility
• Information about weekly Digital Accessibility Q&A
• Upcoming trainings for digital accessibility (and recordings of past ones)
• Sample accessibility statements
• Recommended PDF Workflow | Accessibility
• “Quick Access” blog series on The Wheel about digital accessibility under ADA Title II
• Need ideas on where to start? Start with this short list.
• Upgrades to built-in Canvas Accessibility Checker coming Wednesday, February 25
• Student Affairs color contrast checker
• Guidance on PowerPoint’s built-in accessibility checker
• Digital Accessibility Foundations
• 5 steps toward digital accessibility from Student Affairs

We aim to make our content (including video content) accessible to all. If you encounter an accessibility issue, or wish to request content in an alternate format, please email us at instructionaldesign@ucdavis.edu.