Timeline

Western Michigan University’s digital accessibility efforts have evolved through sustained collaboration, policy development, and continuous improvement. Since establishing a formal governance structure in 2017, the University has expanded accessibility support services, embedded accessibility into procurement and instructional design, and strengthened policies to align with evolving standards and federal requirements. This timeline highlights current efforts and key milestones that illustrate WMU’s commitment to ensuring equitable access to digital content and technologies for all users.

• April 24, 2026 — Federal deadline for compliance - remediation goal for external/public web services.
• March 2026 — Inventory audit and risk assessment complete, external website remediation efforts underway
• January 2026 — ADA Title II regulations communications, website and training support begin.
• 2026 — Web Accessibility Policy review and name update to Digital Accessibility Policy
• 2025 — ADA Title II regulations steering committee established. Leadership structure created, policy revisions made, resources website created
• 2021 — Web Accessibility Policy updated.
• 2020 — Ally for Elearning integrated to help faculty and students create accessible course materials.
• 2019 — Accessibility reviews and testing added to the procurement process.
• 2018 — Support services and faculty instructional resources launched for accessible course design.
• 2017 — Two accessibility compliance specialist positions created.
• 2017 — WMU Web Accessibility Policy adopted.
• 2017 — Digital Accessibility Committee established to coordinate campuswide accessible-technology compliance.