1. Purpose

Ensure that archived digital course content is accurately classified and clearly identified as being archived, in conformance with the rule on digital accessibility under Americans with Disability Act (ADA).

2. Scope

This procedure applies to:

• All digital courses, whether hosted on learning management systems, web pages, or other digital platforms.
• All university personnel involved in the creation or maintenance of digital course content.
• Vendors or contractors involved in the creation or maintenance of digital course content on behalf of UW units.

3. References

• APS 9.0 Digital Accessibility
• Minimum Digital Accessibility Standards
• DOJ Final Rule on Web Accessibility under Title II (2024)

4. Definitions

Web Content

Web content means the information and sensory experience to be communicated to the user by means of a user agent, including code or markup that defines the content's structure, presentation, and interactions. Examples of web content include text, images, sounds, videos, controls, animations, and conventional electronic documents. ( ADA Title II Rule)

Web content may be published on a variety of platforms such as websites, learning management systems, or other applications.

Digital Course Content

Web content that is used for instructional purposes in courses offered to students by the university.

Archived Digital Course Content

Archived digital course content means digital course content that—

1. Was created before April 24, 2026 or reproduces the contents of other physical media created before that date;
2. Is retained exclusively for reference, research, or recordkeeping;
3. Is not altered or updated after the date of archiving; and
4. Is organized and stored in a dedicated area or areas clearly identified as being archived.

5. Roles and Responsibilities

Role	Responsibility
Compliance and Risk Services, Civil Rights Compliance (CRC)	Publishes guidance on ADA Title II requirements for Archived Digital Course Content
Instructors	Ensure that archived digital course content is not required to participate in an active course, activity, program, or service If digital content from a course in Canvas offered before April 24, 2026 is required for continued use by students after that date, instructors will remove the "Archived:" tag from the course.
IT, Student & Educational Technology Services (UWIT SETS)	Applies “Archived:” label to course titles in Canvas for digital courses offered Winter 2026 and earlier Publishes guidance for how Archiving is implemented and used in Canvas

6. Procedure Steps

Timeline for archiving courses

• Before the start of Spring 2026 quarter, courses from the Winter 2026 quarter and earlier will be considered archived.

Identifying archived courses

• In Canvas, UWIT Student & Educational Technology Services (UWIT SETS) will:
  • Add “Archived:” to the title of archived courses
  • Make archived courses read-only for students
• Outside of Canvas, Instructors must:
  • Add an “Archived:” label to the titles of archived courses

Using digital course content in archived courses

• Students and Instructors may view digital course content in an archived course for research or reference
• To use archived digital course content in an active course, instructors must:
  • Copy content from the archived course to the new course
  • Ensure content meets digital accessibility guidelines before publishing
• Instructors must not alter or update digital course content in an archived course
• Instructors must not assign digital course content from an archived course
• For students completing an incomplete course:
  • Instructors must not assign digital course content from an archived course in Canvas
  • Instructors may provide assigned content directly to a student outside of Canvas (e.g., share materials to an individual via email)
  • Instructors may choose to remove their course from archived status

Removing a course from Archived status

• Digital course content is no longer archived if an Instructor:
  • Removes the “Archived:” label from a course
  • Alters or updates the content
  • Assigns or otherwise requires the content for a class, program, or service
• Digital course content that is not archived must conform with the Minimum Digital Accessibility Standard

7. Exceptions

Limited exceptions may apply. Exceptions are granted through the Exception Procedure.

8. Compliance and Enforcement

Compliance will be monitored and enforced according to the Compliance Monitoring procedure.

9. Revision History

Version	Date	Author	Description
1.0	02/11/2026	Marcus Hirsch, Beth Somerfield	Initial release