Digital accessibility compliance and training
Updated Dec. 9, 2025
Use new templates to help ensure digital accessibility
As UT Southwestern works to meet updated federal digital accessibility standards, it is essential that all content we create, revise, or update is accessible to everyone, including individuals with disabilities and impairments.
To help you create your documents with accessibility in mind, the UTSW Brand team has put together accessible PowerPoint and Word templates. Additionally, more information is available on the Digital Accessibility website.
Oct. 1, 2025
To the UT Southwestern Community:
In alignment with our commitment to excellence and inclusivity, UT Southwestern is actively preparing to meet updated federal accessibility standards. Under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), all digital content – including websites, mobile applications, and electronic documents – must comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Levels A and AA. This rule requires UT Southwestern to ensure accessibility by April 24, 2026.
As a public institution, we are dedicated to making our digital resources accessible to all, reinforcing our mission to advance education, research, and clinical care.
To support inclusivity, it is essential that all content we create, revise, or update is accessible to everyone, including individuals with disabilities and impairments. We will take the following steps to incorporate accessibility practices into our daily routines:
- Build awareness of digital accessibility standards and tools.
- Leverage approved templates that are designed to meet accessibility requirements.
- Incorporate accessibility testing tools during content creation and updates.
- Identify and communicate priority digital assets that require remediation to leadership.
Training
Register to attend a Digital Accessibility 101 training session. The one-hour session will help you to understand accessibility and apply simple, effective practices in your daily work.
- Oct. 22, 3:30 p.m.
- Oct. 23, 11:30 a.m.
- Nov. 4, 8:30 a.m.
- Nov. 6, 1 p.m.
- Dec 11, 11 a.m.
- Dec 15, 3 p.m.
- Jan 20, 1 p.m.
- Jan 28, 9 a.m.
- Feb 9, 11 a.m.
- Feb 17, 1 p.m.
Register to attend application-specific training sessions.
- Nov. 10, 11 a.m. (Microsoft Word)
- Nov. 14, 11 a.m. (PowerPoint)
- Nov. 17, 1 p.m. (Microsoft Word)
- Nov. 18, 1 p.m. (PowerPoint)
- Nov. 25, 10 a.m. (PowerPoint)
- Dec. 2, 2 p.m. (Microsoft Word)
- Dec. 9, 12:30 p.m. (PowerPoint)
- Dec. 17, Noon (Microsoft Word)
Review the available resources below.
- UTSW Digital Accessibility website: You will find best practices for creating accessible documents, websites, and applications.
- Digital Accessibility Teams channel: A resource for sharing best practices and answering questions.
- Tools and resources: A SharePoint site that will evolve to provide even more tools and resources.
- Discuss questions or concerns you may have with your department leaders.
UT Southwestern has established a dedicated governance committee to guide and oversee our progress in enhancing digital accessibility. We are fully committed to supporting you throughout this journey by providing comprehensive training, access to technological resources, and recruitment of accessibility specialists.
Thank you for your focused efforts to integrate these important standards into our daily practices. If you have questions related to these changes, please digital.accessibility@utsouthwestern.edu our Digital Accessibility team.