ADA Web Audit Team

Dear Colleagues,

Consistent with the University's mission and desire to bring a better digital experience to the MSU community, MSU IT, in partnership with the ADA Coordinator's Office is excited to announce a new Web Audit Team that will regularly and proactively audit and review MSU's highest priority web pages and digital content.

The new Web Audit Team will report to both MSU IT and the ADA Coordinator's Office and be led by Brooke Knapp (formerly with DigitalX) in the newly created position of Assistant ADA Coordinator for IT. The team will support, but run independent of DigitalX, and will be housed within the ADA Coordinator's Office.

The team is formulating an initial list of the highest priority sites for audit. Units will be notified in advance of planned audits. Audit results will be shared with you along with Deans, Directors, and Chairs, content creators, and web developers, with the goal of improving the web accessibility of your digital content.

The Web Audit Team will also continue the self-review process DigitalX established over the past five years in their accessibility initiatives. Additional information regarding the new format of the yearly self-reviews will be forthcoming.

You will be invited to a Web Accessibility Policy Liaisons (WAPL) meeting in July to discuss this initiative in more detail; including the plan for the future and to address any questions or concerns you may have.

Here are a few questions that we plan to discuss at the WAPL meeting:

• Can sites or other digital properties be requested for audit?
• What level of involvement should WAPLs have in the auditing process?
• What resources will be provided?
• What is the expected timeframe for an audit?
• How does this impact the annual self-review process going forward?

This initiative will also provide meaningful career development opportunities for MSU students, who will perform the auditing and review support while receiving valuable work experience in digital accessibility. The student positions have been posted with the expectation they will be hired and trained by the start of the fall semester.

For additional information regarding the Web Audit Team ahead of the meeting, please contact Nate Evans or Tracy Leahy.

Sincerely,

Tracy Leahy
ADA Coordinator
Office for Civil Rights and Title IX
civilrights@msu.edu