January – March 2025 Progress Report


The University of Colorado Denver is committed to ongoing digital accessibility initiatives aligned with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1, levels A and AA criteria. Level A represents the minimum level of accessibility, addressing basic web features necessary for some users to access content, while Level AA provides a more comprehensive standard that accommodates a wider range of users and situations. These efforts aim to enhance accessibility for users with sensory, cognitive, and mobility disabilities, fostering an inclusive online environment for all individuals. The university's commitment to equal access to IT has been more formally stated through the publication of an Information Technology (IT) Digital Accessibility Policy.

Organizational Efforts


Campus Accessibility Steering Committee (ASC)

In Progress: Efforts are underway to establish clear governance, roles, and responsibilities related to IT accessibility within the organization.

  • Establishment of an executive sponsor(s), Doug Sicker, Assistant Vice Chancellor for IT Strategy & Services (Emeritus Professor), and Antonio Farias, Vice Chancellor for ACE.
  • The formation of the Digital Accessibility Compliance (DAC) initiative and subcommittees related to digital accessibility.
    • Web subcommitee, lead James Hough
    • Report and Response subcommittee, lead Gillian Lazzarini
    • Training subcommittee, leads Crystal Gasell and Jenny Fox
    • Software subcommittee, leads Kenny Sisco and Tyler Howarth
    • Procurement subcommittee, lead Heather Vigeveno
  • Community engagement through open forum held in February 2025.  


Web Subcommittee

In Progress: Working toward our three initial goals for web accessibility.

  • Goal 1: Assess CU Denver’s compliance with level A and AA WCAG  standards, including web-hosted PDF files.
    • Established relationship with CU Denver Office of Information Technology (OIT)’s accessibility team to determine how we support their work.
  • Goal 2: Measure and report progress in Siteimprove, CU Denver’s automated accessibility checker.
    • Initial exploration with OIT’s accessibility team to gather requirements for reporting progress to leadership.
  • Goal 3: Create a user-friendly central web page for digital accessibility information and resources.
    • Partnered with Training Subcommittee to audit current digital accessibility resources.
    • Planned and rewrote the content for CU Denver’s main accessibility page. 


Training Subcommittee

In Progress: Efforts to enhance digital accessibility skills within the organization through hiring and training are ongoing.

  • Created a shared university calendar of events, trainings and workshops on digital accessibility. Located on the Office of Access and Campus Engagement (ACE website).
  • Hired a 0.4 FTE within the Division for Teaching Innovation and Program Strategy (TIPS) to provide training and one-on-one support to faculty and staff on digital accessibility issues.
  • Center for Faculty Development and Advancement (CDFA), Digital Strategy and Innovation Council (DisC), and TIPS have provided trainings for faculty and staff on a variety of topics, document creation, document remediation, Anthology Ally, SensusAccess, etc.
    • TIPS created a digital accessibility website with resources for faculty and staff
    • Created an Addressing Digital Accessibility Video Series to support training and awareness across the university
  • Implementation of Anthology Ally in all Learning Management System (LMS) courses to assist faculty in identifying accessibility issues and is a student facing tool for students to self-service alternative formats of content and documents within Canvas.
  • Pilot Implementation of SensusAccess as a tool for PDF remediation.


Software Subcommittee

  • Committee convened and drafted initial goals.
  • Started partnership process with Procurement Subcommittee upon identifying overlapping processes.


Report and Response Subcommittee

In Progress: Efforts to propose a repeatable process for the reporting and response to inaccessible Information and Communication Technology.

  • Committee met to draft initial goals.
  • Identified three reporting formats for users to report digital accessibility barriers, which include email, calling the OIT Help Desk, or Submitting an OIT Ticket.
  • Established monthly meetings the first Wednesday of each month.


Procurement Subcommittee

In Progress: Efforts to ensure all IT products and services are reviewed for digital accessibility during the procurement process are ongoing.

  • Committee convened and drafted initial goals.
  • Started partnership process with Software Subcommittee upon identifying overlapping processes.
  • Established biweekly dual-committee meetings every other Friday.

Publish Date: June 2025

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