University committee to move board policies from PDFs to web pages to meet DOJ ADA guidance

The University of Minnesota Governance and Policy Committee on Monday reviewed a plan to change how Board of Regents policy is published, moving policy content off static PDFs and onto accessible web pages to comply with Department of Justice guidance under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"We will be making changes to the template and the page design format," Jason Langworthy, Associate Secretary in the Office of the Board of Regents, told the committee, saying the shift is intended to make Board policy "easy to use and understandable" and to align with federal accessibility regulations.

Langworthy said the Office of the Board of Regents (OBR) will update the policy template, work with policy implementers to reduce legalese where appropriate, and bring any change back to the Board for review if it affects policy substance. The presentation described replacing PDFs currently on the Board policy webpage with dedicated HTML pages and establishing a consistent page design and format.

The committee asked several practical questions about printability and legibility. Krista Ibelby, Communications and Engagement Manager, said the new template will include a print button that formats pages for 8.5-by-11-inch output and that the university’s web development team will align fonts and design with accessibility best practices and university web standards.

Members raised concerns about implementation burden. Committee discussion noted the work is part of a broader, systemwide federal mandate affecting many university websites; committee members and staff said the effort will mostly be absorbed by current employees. Executive Director Steves and President Cunningham observed that while the work does not necessarily require hiring large new teams, it will increase staff workload and administrative expense in schools and units across the system.

Langworthy said OBR has been updating policy pages when substantive amendments require it and will now accelerate bringing existing policies into the new template. He asked committee members for feedback on the template and emphasized that anything that would change policy substance would be returned to the Board for formal action.

The committee did not take a vote on policy substance at this meeting; members and staff framed the change as an administrative implementation step intended to improve accessibility and maintain donor and policy intent where relevant. The committee’s review will be reflected in the committee report to the full Board and future meetings will include progress updates and any items requiring formal amendment.