2026 WA GIS Conference: Full Schedule

10:30am PDT

Teaching GIS After April 24, 2026: A University Perspective on Title II WGAC 2.1 Accessibility Standards

Wednesday May 20, 2026 10:30am - 11:00am PDT

This presentation is co-authored by four Eastern Washington University faculty, Brian Buchanan, Robert Sauders, Lauren Stachowiak, and the speaker. In this presentation, we share our experiences with efforts to comply with current federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations in a university setting. The university offers a range of GIS-related courses within the curriculum and a stand-alone GIS certificate, reaching both in-person and online audiences. Much course content is digital, including online lecture, virtual labs, and more. In addition, we host a variety of public-facing GIS products via ESRI apps such as Story Maps and Experience Builder. Federal WGAC 2.1 Accessibility Standards impact both curriculum delivery and our mapping products. A work in progress, we offer insight into our approaches -- and some dead ends -- tackling adaptations for GIS curriculum and end products in the university setting. You’ll hear about our struggles to improve map readability (color contrast, font legibility), navigation, keyboard control, focus order, and more while meeting student and client needs. We conclude with thoughts about the broader negotiations underway as both the university and GIS communities try to figure out how the new regulations should be interpreted in a GIS context.

Speakers

Stacy Warren

Professor, Eastern Washington University

Stacy Warren is a professor of Geosciences at Eastern Washington University. She teaches a range of GIS classes at EWU, supervises student work, and adds to her gallery of GIS creations as time allows including maps for the Ice Age Floods Institute, the Palos Verdes Library District... Read More →

Wednesday May 20, 2026 10:30am - 11:00am PDT
407-408

Accessibility, Teaching

2026 WA GIS Conference

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2026 WA GIS Conference

10:30am PDT

Stacy Warren

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