A version of this story appears in the UC’s Digital Impact Engine report, published in February 2026.
New federal accessibility rules under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Title II went into effect in April 2026, requiring public higher education institutions to meet WCAG 2.1 AA standards across their digital environments.
For UC, this means ensuring accessibility not only for public websites but also for the internal systems employees rely on daily for HR, payroll, and benefits information. Responding to these requirements takes preparation and thoughtful collaboration across product teams, vendors, designers, developers, and campus partners.
When these systems aren’t accessible, they create real barriers for the nearly 1 in 5 people who have a disability that affects how they use technology. Since more than 230,000 employees depend on systems like UCPath to complete essential employment tasks, even small usability issues can create disproportionate challenges for tens of thousands of users across UC’s campuses, medical centers, and beyond.
With this context in mind, UCPath provides a timely and practical example of proactive accessibility work. In July 2025, the portal underwent a major redesign that embedded accessibility from the earliest design phases through testing and launch, illustrating what forward-looking compliance and user-centered design can look like in practice.
What the New Federal Accessibility Rules Require
The updated ADA Title II regulations will require public higher education institutions to meet WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards. At UC, this applies to:
- Public-facing websites
- Mobile and responsive experiences
- PDFs, training, and video content
- Authenticated systems, including payroll, HR, and benefits platforms
- And more
Meeting these standards is both a compliance requirement and an opportunity to improve the user experience. Accessible design reduces user frustration for all people, increases efficiency, and supports a more equitable experience for everyone who depends on UC’s digital tools.
Accessibility as a Systemwide Responsibility
Meeting modern accessibility standards requires coordinated effort across teams—product owners, developers, designers, content creators, vendors, and campus partners. Accessibility touches not only content and user experiences but also the portal and application structure and mobile interface design.
Early planning and cross-functional collaboration ensure that accessibility is built into the design, and not added as a patch later, resulting in clearer interfaces, fewer user errors, and better outcomes for everyone.
UCPath as an Example of Accessible Transformation
In anticipation of accessibility expectations, the UCPath Project Team incorporated accessibility changes to its product roadmap. UCPath is the University of California’s centralized service center for payroll, benefits, and other human resources transactions. It supports more than 230,000 employees across all UC campuses and medical centers. The main way users access UCPath is through a portal, where they can review their benefits, view paychecks and leave balances, access the Performance Workcenter, and more.
The UCPath update serves as a practical example of what accessible transformation can look like in a complex, systemwide environment. It demonstrates how thoughtful planning, cross-functional collaboration, and early accessibility involvement can lead to better outcomes for all users. The following sections walk through how the redesign came together, what changed, and what UC teams can take away as they prepare for upcoming federal requirements and future UC-wide improvements.
Accessibility Improvements
The UCPath Project Team rolled out the first major phase of improvements to the portal in July 2025, delivering the most substantial UCPath portal update since its systemwide launch in 2020. The first phase included requirements from multiple resources, including federal accessibility requirements, ongoing feedback from location HR leaders, and longer-term roadmap priorities. Updates included:
- A redesigned portal experience based on feedback from UC locations, the UCPath Center, and the Centers of Excellence team.
- Simplified navigation with reduced scrolling and more consolidated content.
- Updated layouts for employee, manager, and transactor pages to create a more personalized experience for users with elevated access.
- Improved help content, refined terminology, and clearer pathways to external resources.
- A mobile-first structure for all redesigned pages, meaning the user experience works smoothly on phones and tablets.
- A framework that sets the foundation for future capabilities.
This update modernized the interface, improved usability, and aligned the experience with UC brand and accessibility standards. It also established the structural base that future phases will continue to build upon.
The Role of the Accessibility Team
Accessibility was a core priority in the redesign. The Technology Delivery Services Accessibility Team, including Nicholas Law, Ken Lumnaokrut, and Brian McNeilly, was closely involved with the project, from wireframe reviews through design validation and user acceptance testing (UAT). The team helped to ensure that:
- All new layouts were aligned with WCAG 2.1 AA.
- Programmatic labels, structural headings, and focus order were implemented correctly.
- Keyboard navigation and focus order followed predictable patterns.
- Designs used UC brand colors & met color contrast requirements.
- Vendor components met accessibility expectations before development moved forward.
- The accessibility-related defects were identified and remediated during UAT.
Their early and ongoing participation supported a more consistent and accessible design framework across the updated portal.
Key Takeaways
The UCPath July 2025 Project team had several key takeaways related to accessibility:
- Involve accessibility early on in the process. Accessibility must be embedded early in the design process, not treated as a final compliance check.
- Manual accessibility testing is necessary because it validates that a website or app works for real people in real‑world scenarios, whereas automation testing typically detects only about 30% of issues.
- Creating accessible experiences is widespread. It serves a broader audience and involves diverse roles such as developers, marketers, and even content creators. It impacts everything from emails and websites to media and help support. It’s a shared responsibility that often, unintentionally, goes unnoticed. It’s all part of one uniform experience, affecting all users and developers.
- Accessibility is not just a cosmetic or a mere surface-level modification—it’s a fundamental, structural approach to design and functionality.
Learn More About Accessibility
UC teams play an essential role in ensuring that digital services meet the needs of all users. To support that work, UC offers ongoing guidance, tools, and training to help teams understand accessibility requirements and integrate best practices into their design and development processes. Here are some accessibility resources where you can learn more:
- UCOP Digital Accessibility website
- WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards
- UC Information Technology Accessibility Policy
- UC Tech News Accessibility Matters blog: Community: One of Our Most Effective Accessibility Tools
Read the Digital Impact Engine Report
A version of this story appears in the 2026 UC’s Digital Impact Engine report. Read the report in its entirety here: UC’s Digital Impact Engine report.
