Colorado Mountain College’s Progress Report for Digital Accessibility Compliance

As of December 19, 2024

Colorado Mountain College (the “college” or “CMC”) is committed to creating and maintaining a fully accessible digital environment for anyone who accesses its digital content. Core values of the college are equity and inclusion. CMC is making good-faith efforts to meet the technical standards established by the Governor’s Office of Information Technology (OIT) as provided by:

This digital accessibility progress report summarizes the college’s concrete efforts and progress towards compliance with OIT rules and requirements of HB21-1110 and HB24-1454.

Summary of CMC’s Efforts

Colorado Mountain College has made good-faith efforts towards full digital accessibility compliance to the new rules and requirements of HB21-1110 (“Digital Accessibility Law”), including hiring additional personnel and reallocation of existing resources and staff time.

In 2023, the college created a Digital Accessibility Committee consisting of college team members from a variety of departments, including academic affairs, student affairs, IT development and training, procurement, legal, and marketing and media relations. This committee meets regularly to ensure the college’s understanding and application of the digital accessibility law’s requirements to the college’s ICT environment, and to address specific issues, prioritizations, and challenges affecting compliance with the law.

Throughout 2024, the college engaged evaluate its webpages and remedied accessibility issues. These efforts included utilizing vendors to audit the college’s webpages and procuring and utilizing third-party software designed to evaluate the college’s webpages for digital accessibility purposes. Identifying and addressing obstacles for individuals with or without disabilities in accessing the college’s ICT is a key component of the college’s commitment to fostering an on-line and digital environment that is accessible by everyone.

In addition, the college has established a process for providing alternative and reasonable accommodation if an individual has difficulty accessing, reviewing, or utilizing the college’s webpages or any of its ICT. The college has also remediated and eliminated identified barriers in webpages by adding digital accessibility content and providing contact information for anyone needing assistance with accessing any of the college’s ICT.

The college has begun and is committed to continuing college-wide training and re-tooling the manner in which it utilizes and produces information and communication technology (“ICT”). To that end, the college is committed to prioritizing, evaluating, remediating and continuously improving its ICT within our services, programs, and activities.

Key Organizational Measures

  • Key digital technologies, such as the main website and application and registration forms, have been updated to meet accessibility standards. They are regularly audited through automated and manual testers to assess accessibility.
  • New policies and procedures governing digital accessibility compliance and implementation have been adopted.
  • Work continues on Basecamp/SharePoint, engaging site content editors and ensuring their sites and pages are accessible. This includes alt text, color, font, and links.
  • Training for all faculty and staff has been developed and shared.
    • Training in providing accessible services and technology is required of all CMC employees as of 12/01/2024. Exceptions are made for instructors who offer no content using technology, and instructors who are employees of local school districts who require similar training in digitally accessible content. 
    • Specific training is in place and required for web content designers and contributors of ICT. 
    • Instructional designers are trained to assist instructors in developing course materials that comply with accessibility standards. 
    • On-site training is developed for all CMC campuses to raise awareness, support implementation, and address specific user challenges directly.  
    • Developed a rubric or checklist for individuals to check their progress towards compliance. 
  • Instructional materials in CMC’s digital course platform are being revised and continually updated to ensure digital accessibility compliance. This is an on-going process as new classes are created and designed, and new instructors are hired at the college. 
    • Instructional materials compliance ratings have increased to 84% for Fall 2024 sections.
  • Use multiple methods to assess the college’s progress. 
    • Employ the W3C Accessibility Maturity Model. 
    • Develop a user survey to assess individual compliance and institutional culture shift. Spring distribution planned. 
    • Use Canvas platform assessment tool Ally to measure changes in digital accessibility of instructional content. 
  • Digital accessibility is a required element in the college’s procurement process. 
  • A single point of contact has been designated to receive accessibility feedback and accommodations requests and coordinate responses across the college. 
  • Incorporated accessibility requirements into our technology development stages including design, development, user experience, and quality assurance.
  • A roadmap has been created for digital accessibility that includes timelines and responsibilities of key stakeholders and contributors.
    • Near-term objectives for the next quarter:
      • Determining and addressing the training needs for PDF remediation across all sectors of the college. 
      • Decisions on web-hosting platform for increased control over content in a multiuser environment. 
      • Solving digital accessibility issues with third-party platform, Docusign. 
      • Highlighting stories from students and staff that illustrate the benefits of accessibility for academic success. 
  • This progress report will be updated quarterly to communicate CMC’s efforts toward compliance with state statutes referenced above.