UA formalizes digital accessibility standard
February 20, 2026
Across the UA System work is underway to meet the new rule established by the Department of Education requiring higher standards for digital accessibility in advance of the April 2026 compliance deadline. To help guide this process and define the scope of work required, the Office of Information Technology recently published a formal web accessibility standard outlining digital accessibility requirements. Below is a select overview of the key elements of this policy.
This standard applies across the university system, and applies to all UA digitally delivered content. UA will adhere to the following standards:
- All new and revised digitally delivered content will meet WCAG 2.1, Level AA standards
- Existing digitally delivered content will be assessed and brought into compliance on a prioritized schedule as resources allow
- All procurement of digital content and technologies will require compliance with WCAG 2.1, Level AA standards
- Applications failing to meet WCAG 2.1 requirements must be avoided or restricted to use-cases where compliance can be fully maintained
Compliance is required for all digital content used in university programs, services, and activities, including:
- Public-facing websites and mobile apps: All informational, administrative, and departmental websites, including student portals, registration systems, and official university-branded mobile applications.
- Academic course content: All materials hosted within Learning Management Systems (LMS) such as Canvas or Blackboard. This includes syllabi, lecture notes, quizzes, and any digital resources required for participation in a course.
- Electronic documents: All conventional electronic file formats used for university business or instruction, including PDFs, Word documents, spreadsheets, and presentation slides.
- Multimedia content: All materials that integrate two or more distinct content forms (e.g, a combination of auditory and visual information) including time-based media (podcasts, narrated slides), synchronized media (video with audio), and interactive or immersive media (360-degree video, AR/VR simulations).
- Social Media content: All informational or promotional content posted by official university accounts on third-party platforms (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X).
- Third-party vendor platforms: Software and services procured through contractual or licensing arrangements (e.g., parking apps, library databases, and HR portals).
Key Exceptions
- Archived content: Content stored for reference, research, or record-keeping that is not currently used and has not been changed since archiving may be exempt.
- Pre-existing social media posts: Posts made before the April 24, 2026, deadline do not need to be remediated, but all posts after this date must be compliant.
- Individualized, password-protected documents: Files (PDFs, etc.) about a specific person or account that are secured (e.g., an individual's financial aid statement) are exempt.
For all exceptions, an accessible format must still be provided upon request.
UA systems and services which fail to abide by approved information security controls may be subject to the implementation of compensating controls to effectively manage risk, up to and including disconnection from the UA network or blocking of traffic to/from untrusted networks.
UA employees, students, and other affiliates who attempt to circumvent an approved information security control may be subject to sanctions or administrative action.
This standard is supported by University of Alaska Board of Regents Policy and Regulation Chapter 02.07.