Monarchs ADAPT

Scaling Accessible Design: The Monarchs ADAPT Framework

This section details the development and implementation of the Monarchs Accessibility Design and Practice Training (ADAPT): Building Accessible Digital Content series, a multi-tiered training ecosystem designed to transform institutional culture and technical proficiency. These workshops move beyond traditional how-to sessions, offering a data-driven curriculum that equips educators with the frameworks to build natively accessible, universally designed learning environments. Review the architectural breakdown of the series, the impact data derived from institutional audits, and the strategic alignment of these programs with the 2027 federal compliance mandates.

• Accessibility Impacts (Genially Assets in Cloud Storage)

• Accessible Fonts (Genially Assets in Cloud Storage)

• Alt Text Practice (Genially Assets in Cloud Storage)

• Alternative Formats Menu (Genially Assets in Cloud Storage)

• Color Blindness Example (Genially Assets in Cloud Storage)

Vision & Advocacy

The ADAPT series was born from a multi-year advocacy initiative to address systemic accessibility gaps. As early as 2020, I identified that our digital ecosystem required a more robust framework to meet emerging standards. To move beyond anecdotal concerns, I conducted a comprehensive institutional audit of our Canvas environment, culminating in an executive-level report that quantified our compliance risks. By presenting these data-driven findings alongside the 2026 federal mandate requirements, I successfully advocated for the creation of a dedicated, proactive training ecosystem that would protect the institution and, more importantly, ensure equitable access for every student.

Architecting this series required navigating complex institutional layers to shift the conversation from reactive remediation to proactive design. I worked closely with key stakeholders to demonstrate that accessibility is not a niche technical requirement, but a fundamental pillar of instructional quality. The resulting ADAPT framework serves as the bridge between legal necessity and pedagogical excellence, empowering faculty to build digital content that is compliant by design. This initiative represents a shift in institutional culture, moving from a "fix it later" mindset to a sustainable, "born-accessible" model of curriculum development.

• Project Roadmap: Phase 0: Proposal & Implementation Strategy (Google Doc)

• Architectural Blueprint: Monarchs ADAPT: Workshop Syllabus & Outline (Google Doc)

• Alignment Matrix: Course and Module Level Objectives (Google Doc)

Architecting Compliance (The Impact)

The ADAPT ecosystem was engineered not only as a training resource but as a direct response to the 2027 Federal Compliance Mandates. By shifting the institutional focus from retroactive fixing to proactive design, this initiative provides a scalable solution to the challenges of digital accessibility.

• Data-Informed Curriculum (Audit Integration): To ensure the training addressed the most critical institutional risks, the curriculum was mapped directly to findings from an extensive audit of the Canvas environment. This data-driven approach allowed me to prioritize high-impact areas (e.g., untagged PDF remediation and non-compliant media), ensuring that faculty efforts were focused on the most significant barriers to student success.

• The Born Accessible Economic Model (Sustainability): Remediation is a resource-heavy, reactive process that often results in "ghost work" for instructional designers and faculty. The ADAPT framework promotes a born accessible mindset, where accessibility is integrated into the initial creation of every document, video, and table. This proactive strategy significantly reduces the long-term institutional costs of remediation and ensures that instructional materials are equitable and compliant from launch.

• Strategic Risk Mitigation: Beyond technical proficiency, this series serves as documented evidence of the institution's good-faith effort. By providing a tiered, auditable training pathway, the ADAPT series establishes a sustainable infrastructure for meeting WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards, protecting the institution’s federal standing while fostering a culture of inclusive excellence.

Impact & Metrics