The Office of Information Technology and the Office of Accessibility would like to notify the Auburn community about significant changes to federal regulations regarding digital accessibility.
For the past eight years, Auburn University has had an Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility (EITA) Policy that mandates that all course materials, webpages, videos, social media, and other digital content comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Level AA standard. The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has enforced accessibility under the 'public places of accommodation' clause of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which has been in effect for decades.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice updated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act to address digital accessibility, applying the well-established WCAG Level AA standard. This update clarifies that nearly all digital content, including content behind login portals (such as Canvas, AU Access, Elevate, Endeavor, Tiger Buy, etc.), must be accessible. Few exemptions apply to this requirement, with a compliance deadline set for April 2026. Employees—whether faculty, A&P, or staff—are encouraged to begin creating and remediating content to ensure compliance by the deadline.
Listed below are Auburn and external resources that faculty can reference for additional guidance.
For assistance or more information, please reach out to the Office of Accessibility or Office of Information Technology. Let’s work together to ensure all our digital content meets these important requirements.
The contents of this Knowledge Base article were originally published on September 13, 2024, as an Office of Communications and Marketing news article. The news article was featured in the September 17th edition of the Auburn News.