Even before new federal accessibility standards took shape under the 2024 Department of Justice Title II ruling, the 91探花鈥檚 was already working to build a culture of digital inclusion.
Through collaboration across IT, faculty leadership, and student support, the school has been quietly modeling what it means to make accessibility part of everyday practice鈥攏ot just a compliance requirement.
In this conversation, we spoke with Chelsea Elkins (Access and Advocacy Coordinator), Kevin Rimlinger (Head of IT), and Liz Kirk (Associate Dean for Education) about how their efforts began, what鈥檚 worked, and what they鈥檝e learned along the way.
- Chelsea, could you start by describing your role and how accessibility became part of your work?
- Chelsea: I鈥檓 the School of Public Health鈥檚 Access and Advocacy Coordinator, supporting students with disability-related needs and accessibility needs. That includes helping students navigate the (DRS) accommodation process, but it also means working with staff and instructors. Early on, I started partnering with Kevin and Liz to promote digital accessibility for the staff and faculty side of the school.
- Liz, as a faculty leader, how have you been involved in this effort?
- Liz: I鈥檓 the Associate Dean for Education and a teaching professor in Food Systems, Nutrition, and Health. My role is really about communication and coordination and making sure the great work that Chelsea and Kevin are doing is visible to all faculty. I also help ensure we鈥檙e integrating accessibility goals into our teaching practices.
- Kevin, what鈥檚 been your focus from the IT perspective?
- Kevin: I came to the School of Public Health about two years ago to lead departmental IT teams toward more school level shared IT services. Accessibility was already part of the conversation before I arrived. Our web technician, Tim Knight, was deeply involved with accessibility evaluations鈥攆irst with earlier tools and then with DubBot鈥攖o make sure our external websites met standards.
- We prioritized accessibility in two areas: first, our public-facing sites, because that鈥檚 what the world sees; and second, our digital course materials, which are created by people who aren鈥檛 accessibility experts. We wanted to help them feel supported and confident rather than overwhelmed.
- It sounds like the school was advancing digital accessibility well before the university鈥檚 initiative accelerated. When did your team begin formal training and outreach?
- Chelsea: That started in early 2023. So yes, before the DOJ ruling came out. Liz and I teamed up with our instructional TAs to create our first-ever digital accessibility workshop for instructors. From there, an instructor connected me with Mary-Colleen Jenkins from 91探花IT鈥檚 Accessible Technology Services, and that partnership really expanded what we were able to do.
We鈥檝e offered 60- and 90-minute sessions on topics like universal design and creating accessible PDFs, and we also started doing what we call 鈥渕ini-lessons,” which are 15-minute trainings on things like using headings, writing alt text, or creating accessible tables. The idea is to make learning manageable and flexible. And we鈥檝e expanded from faculty to include staff and TAs, since everyone contributes to digital content.
- What impact have these sessions had?
- Liz: They鈥檝e been really important. At the beginning of this academic year, Kevin and Chelsea went on what we call a 鈥渞oadshow鈥� visiting departmental faculty meetings to talk about accessibility. That outreach required buy-in from chairs and leadership, and it made a difference. It raised awareness and showed that accessibility is a shared priority, not an add-on.
- Accessibility as a shared priority: How have you gotten that message across?
- Kevin: We wanted to make it clear that accessibility isn鈥檛 just one person鈥檚 job. It鈥檚 a shared responsibility. We started messaging accessibility as part of effective communication and not just a compliance task. And we emphasized 鈥減rogress over perfection鈥� which we’ve heard again and again from Mary-Colleen. People tend to focus on the hardest problems first, like making complex formulas accessible. But we tell them: start with the easy wins, such as headings, alt text, link clarity鈥攁nd build from there.
- Honestly, even if I didn鈥檛 care about accessibility, these practices make my job easier as a communicator. It鈥檚 hard to sell a message when you are advocating a process change that seems to add work, but it鈥檚 true: Accessibility just makes everything work better鈥攆or everyone.
- That theme鈥攑rogress over perfection鈥攕eems powerful. How do you help people get started?
- Chelsea: We encourage small steps. It鈥檚 okay to start simple, and it鈥檚 okay if things aren鈥檛 perfect. That mindset has been key. It also helps that we have strong leadership support. Liz was the first to host our workshops, and Dean Hilary Godwin has been behind this from the start. Her support helped us get in front of department chairs and faculty. When leadership is visibly engaged, people understand that this work matters.
- How does this connect with the school鈥檚 public health mission?
- Liz: It鈥檚 completely aligned. We do this to help all our students. Accessibility ensures that everyone can fully participate and engage with the material. That鈥檚 part of who we are as a school鈥攑reparing students for the world by removing barriers to engagement.
- Kevin, you mentioned that accessibility makes things work better for everyone. Can you say more about that?
- Kevin: The first time I attended one of Chelsea鈥檚 sessions, I realized how simple many of these practices are. Using proper headings, meaningful link text, good contrast鈥攖hose things make your communication clearer and your materials more portable.
- Chelsea, you mentioned universal design. How does that fit in with your goals?
- Chelsea: Universal Design is definitely part of what we鈥檙e moving toward. The technical aspects of digital accessibility are important, but we鈥檙e also thinking about teaching and pedagogy and how we can design courses so that common accommodations are already built in.
For example, if instructors find they鈥檙e giving the same accommodations every quarter, maybe there鈥檚 a way to design the course differently, so those supports are already there. It won鈥檛 cover everything, but it can go a long way toward inclusion.
Liz: That鈥檚 something we鈥檝e been discussing at the school-wide curriculum committee, too. We鈥檙e not all the way there yet, but many instructors are moving in that direction by designing their courses, materials, and Canvas pages to be less challenging for everyone.
- As we move toward the 2026 digital accessibility deadline, what鈥檚 next for your school?
- Kevin: Keeping the message front and center. Our Canvas accessibility scores are improving; we鈥檝e bumped our school average to just over 70 percent, but it鈥檚 a moving target. As new materials are added, the scores change. Accessibility isn鈥檛 a one-and-done thing; it’s ongoing. We鈥檒l need to keep nudging and reminding people and continue making the message visible everywhere.
Chelsea: There are so many campus resources from the Digital Accessibility Initiative to Accessible Technology Services and our subject librarians. Within departments, there鈥檚 also a lot of expertise. It鈥檚 about connecting people to the right support.
Liz: For faculty, I鈥檇 say take accessibility into your normal lecture prep. Every time you update materials, that鈥檚 your chance to improve accessibility. Once it becomes part of the process, it stops feeling like extra work.
Learn More
Explore resources and training through UW鈥檚 Digital Accessibility portal and Accessible Technology Services.