When the University of Michigan launched the Digital Accessibility Strategic Initiative in 2024, the ADVANCE Program embarked on a comprehensive effort to improve digital accessibility across its research, programming, and communications.
ADVANCE develops resources that support faculty across the university. Its research reports, presentations, and other publications often contain complex PDFs, charts, tables, and data visualizations that require thoughtful accessibility practices to ensure everyone, including people using screen readers and other assistive technologies, can fully access the content.
Kelsey Arras, communication and project specialist and digital accessibility liaison, led ADVANCE’s digital accessibility efforts with support from program leadership and colleagues across the department. ADVANCE Director Denise Sekaquaptewa and the senior leadership team encouraged the initiative. Contributors Kolbe Sussman, Anli Peng, and fellow research team colleagues helped make accessibility a shared responsibility, with a particular focus on making research reports accessible.
Digital accessibility aligns with ADVANCE Program values. We’re really thinking about how we integrate this into our everyday work.
– Kelsey Arras
Rather than treating accessibility as a final review before publication, ADVANCE built accessible practices into every stage of content development. Staff redesigned the research report process to incorporate accessibility from the beginning. Writers now use heading structures to organize content for assistive technologies. Every publication undergoes an accessibility review before it is released. ADVANCE introduced screen reader-friendly appendices that make complex research data easier to navigate with assistive technologies.
To support this work, Arras, Sussman, and Peng created a PDF Accessibility Handbook that helps staff remediate and publish accessible documents. Arras also developed an HTML Guidebook with practical information for creating accessible web content.
Arras expanded accessibility knowledge across the unit by developing training for staff and student employees. The training gave participants the confidence to create accessible content in their everyday work. Accessibility soon became a shared responsibility across the unit. “Everybody has an ownership piece of it, which is really exciting,” Arras said.
These projects are most successful when everyone has the tools, knowledge, and confidence to contribute.
– Kelsey Arras
The initiative extended beyond research publications to improve access across ADVANCE’s digital resources. Staff members Arras and Shawn Beard used Siteimprove to raise the accessibility score of the ADVANCE website to an average of 85%. ADVANCE also digitized more than 20 years of departmental records into searchable digital archives. Those records are now easier to find, search, and use.
ADVANCE will continue applying accessible practices to every new research report while expanding those workflows to presentations, handouts, and other communications materials. As accessibility standards, technology, and assistive tools continue to evolve, the team will refine its processes and resources to ensure accessibility remains an integral part of its everyday work.
To learn more about digital accessibility training, office hours, tools, and support, visit the University of Michigan Digital Accessibility website.
