Accessibility Remediation Project

Make your website accessible by April 2026

In compliance with federal regulations, all public- and internal-facing web content must meet accessibility standards by April 23, 2026.

This includes all websites ending in .umn.edu—from departmental pages to personal and research group sites. To support this initiative, faculty websites will be migrated to a University-supported platform—either Drupal Lite or Google Sites.

The CSE Accessibility Team is here to help. We’ll assist with content fixes and ensure a smooth migration process, so your site is accessible, compliant, and error-free.

Get Started

The first step is to take a short accessibility basics course, and here are additional easy resources to understand accessibility.

How to Get Help

You don't need to be an accessibility expert—we're here to help. From start to finish, the CSE team will support you in making your website accessible with confidence.

 

Open Labs

Meet with the CSE Accessibility Team to understand what the errors mean and how to fix them. Open Labs are held via Zoom every Thursday at 2:00 PM.

 

Self-Help Guides

Follow along with our self-help guides to learn how to resolve accessibility errors on your own.

View all guides

 

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about making your website accessible by April 2026, send us a message at [email protected]

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do we have to make our sites accessible?

In addition to meeting the federal requirement, digital accessibility promotes equal access to information and opportunities. We want to ensure that websites and online content are usable by everyone, including individuals with disabilities. Failing to meet accessibility requirements can lead to legal penalties, financial burdens, and reputational damage. After the deadline, the University may also take action by shutting down non-compliant websites.

What needs to be accessible?

All public- and internal-facing web content must meet accessibility standards by April 23, 2026. This includes all websites ending in .umn.edu—from departmental pages to personal and research group sites, as well as any web-facing software applications. 

How is accessibility being measured?

The University of Minnesota is tracking accessibility progress using the University-supported enterprise PopeTech scanning software. All sites must show zero errors in PopeTech by the deadline. Keep in mind that accessibility is an ongoing effort and you will need to continue keeping your websites error free, even after the deadline.

What needs to be migrated?

The College of Science and Engineering is requiring that all faculty research group and personal pages be migrated on to University-supported platforms—Drupal Lite or Google Sites. This includes sites hosted from your home directory (www-users.cse.umn.edu/~usernane).

Websites with features that cannot be replicated in Drupal Lite or Google sites will be evaluated on a case by case basis, but will still need to be accessible and University brand compliant. 

What if I already have a Google Sites or Drupal Lite site?

If you already have a Google Sites or Drupal Lite website you do not need to migrate it, but it must still meet all accessibility standards and be error-free.

What do I need to do?

For owners of Drupal Lite and Google Sites, the CSE Accessibility Team will share PopeTech scan results with links to self-help guides for site owners who wish to fix accessibility errors on their own pages. The CSE Accessibility Team will also be available to assist with reviewing all existing pages and making the necessary adjustments to comply with accessibility standards. They will coordinate gaining access with site owners.

For owners of sites not already in Drupal Lite or Google Sites, the CSE Accessibility Team will contact owners with migration options. These will include self-help resources for those who wish to migrate themselves, as well as an option for the CSE Accessibility Team to move content to a new site.

For owners of department and center sites within the CSE consolidated website, the CSE Accessibility Team will share PopeTech scan results so editors can correct any accessibility errors by the deadline.

When will I receive my scan?

We'll be contacting site owners throughout the fall. We will prioritize sites that need more help and time to fix errors or migrate.

What should I do about documents?

Documents also need to be accessible. These include PDFs, Google docs, spreadsheets, etc. The University Digital Accessibility Badging Program courses have a course specifically about accessible documents.

Documents posted before April 2024 that are for archival purposes (e.g. publications) do not need to be fixed, providing that a notice is posted on pages linking to the documents. Language and instructions that can be used are forthcoming.

What do I need to do if I have a site behind authentication or for internal use?

This site still needs to be scanned and error free. Please contact the CSE accessibility team for assistance.

What if I have a web-based software application?

Web-based applications typically require additional review beyond scanning in PopeTech. We recommend reviewing your software and creating a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) to document its level of accessibility.

Contact the CSE accessibility team at [email protected] for help or if you have a completed VPAT.

Who is on the CSE Accessibility Team?

The CSE Accessibility Team is made up of existing staff from CSE-IT and CSE Communications and Marketing, with a team of undergraduate student workers who will be helping to migrate and remediate websites. We are working with partners at the University level and will rely on website editors throughout the college to successfully meet the accessibility requirements.