Accessibility initiative update
Undergraduate Education and Faculty Affairs staff are making great strides toward accessible digital content ahead of the April 2026 deadline set by the Department of Justice (DOJ) 2024 ruling.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued updated Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidance for web, app, and content accessibility that affects all public entities, including Penn State, in the ruling. Course content, websites, digital communications, videos, electronic documents, and social media that are shared online, with or without a password, are subject to this ruling. A high level summary of the ruling is available at accessibility.psu.edu.
The University has outlined the following steps to reach this goal:
- Create University-wide plans to remediate content
- Train faculty and staff to create accessible content, so that after April 2026 all newly created content is accessible
- Remediate most impactful content by April 2026 deadline
To stay on target, all staff should complete the Introduction to Accessibility training course by the end of January. To date, 56% of UE staff have completed the training and uploaded their certificate.
For step-by-step instructions for registering for the course or retrieving your certificate, please follow these course instructions. Course certificates should be sent to your Unit Lead for them to file in the project Team’s space.
In addition, your accessibility liaisons, Mary Ann Tobin and Kerry Newman, and project manager Kyrie DeShong are available to answer questions or set up unit meetings to address accessibility questions. Thank you for all the work you've done so far!
Events and Deadlines
1/2 Staff should record Jan. 2 as Official Campus Closure in Workday
1/12 Classes Begin
1/12 First Day of Classes Photo Booth | Student Orientation and Transition Programs
1/12 Drag Bingo | Student Orientation and Transition Programs
1/12 Instructional Foundations Series | Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence
1/13 Taiwan English Teaching Flagship (ETF) Program Information Session | Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Mentoring
1/13 Winter Bingo | Student Orientation and Transition Programs
1/13–1/15 Spring Involvement Fair
1/15 51st annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Banquet
1/15 Success Starts Here | Penn State Chaiken Center for Student Success and Student Orientation and Transition Programs
1/15 Rock The Ice | Student Orientation and Transition Programs
1/15 How to Plan a Class Session | Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence
1/16 Sustainable Lab Consultants Program: Reducing Environmental Impacts and Energy Use in Laboratories | Sustain Penn State
1/18 Late Drop Begins
1/19 Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
1/20 Open for spring semester | Penn State Learning
1/21 Join a CommunENTI | Entrepreneurship and Innovation Minor
1/21 Making Sure Disruptions Don't Derail Student Learning | Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence
1/21 Intersections Film Series: "Razing Liberty Square" | Sustain Penn State
1/21–1/22 Spring Career Days
1/22 An Introduction to Active Learning | Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence
1/27 How to Give Feedback that Promotes Learning | Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence
1/28 Orientation Team Leader Application Deadline | Student Orientation and Transition Programs
1/28 Sustainability Careers in Nonprofits | Sustain Penn State
1/29 All-UE Meeting, 3:30–4:30 p.m., 135 Reber Building and via Zoom
WANT US TO FEATURE YOUR EVENT?
Email UECommunications@psu.edu