Tuesday, July 29, 2025, 2:45 PM - 3:30 PM CDT
Complying with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) presents a significant challenge for smaller colleges. The absence of specialized web accessibility personnel and ambiguity around leadership and responsibility often hinder smooth implementation. This session provides a practical overview of our experience implementing WCAG at Moraine Park Technical College in Wisconsin, highlighting key strategies, challenges, and lessons learned.
The official project commenced with a collaborative effort involving representatives from Disability Services, IT, and Digital Marketing. We identified over 20 key areas requiring attention, from the public website and Canvas to institutional file management and the Banner system. This seemingly limited project suddenly impacted nearly every facet of the college’s operations.
Adrian Wille, Digital Marketing Manager, will discuss the challenges encountered in achieving WCAG compliance for the public website. He will outline the steps taken to establish web governance structures and develop training programs from the ground up for various volunteer web content publishers across the college. Key areas include shifting the language from compliance to student-friendliness while stressing SEO impacts and the benefits of learning new skills.
Becky Kuszynski, Disability Resources Manager, will highlight the cross-departmental collaboration integral to the project’s progress. She will discuss strategies for securing buy-in from college leadership and support staff, the partnership with Deque University and the development of training initiatives aimed at improving document accessibility.
We will explain how to foster synergies by aligning our training sessions and introducing internal incentives to reward participation. We will explore ongoing efforts to cultivate a culture of accessibility and shared accountability across departments.
By sharing our successes and challenges, along with the valuable lessons learned during this change management journey—despite the lack of formal authority and any financial resources—we aim to inspire other small colleges to turn the seemingly impossible into reality.
