Affiliated Institution/Organization(s): Southern Illinois University Edwardsville/Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Session Format: Presentation
Session Tracks: AEA – Accessibility, Equity & Access
OP – Online Pedagogy & Instructional Strategies
LS – Leadership & Strategy
Session Description
Why does digital accessibility compliance so often feel like a frustrating game of “hot potato” passed between IT, Academic Affairs, Faculty, and Disability Services? When institutional silos isolate compliance efforts, progress stalls, faculty feel unsupported, and institutions face systemic risk. True digital equity requires moving past reactive, ad-hoc remediation and establishing a proactive, shared governance model. This session delivers a pragmatic blueprint for breaking down campus silos, assembling a unified cross-functional task force, and drawing clear lines of accountability. Learn how to leverage enterprise analytics platforms to run hard numbers, build transparent benchmarks, and support faculty autonomy without lowering design standards. If you are tired of herding cats and ready to build a data-driven framework where everyone owns a piece of the accessibility ecosystem, this straight-talking session is your roadmap.
Learning Objectives
- Dismantle the silo game by pinpointing communication gaps among Academic Affairs, IT, and Disability Services that cause accessibility efforts to stall, then establish a unified cross-functional task force.
- Deploy a responsibility matrix that establishes clear ownership and distributes practical accessibility expectations across administrators, instructional designers, and faculty.
- Drive accountability with real data by using enterprise platforms to establish campus-wide benchmarks and track digital remediation progress.
- Deliver high-standard faculty support through direct, clear, and supportive communication loops that preserve faculty autonomy and firm design standards.
- Build an executive business case that positions centralized accessibility governance as a driver of student persistence, retention, and enrollment stability.
Session Facilitator(s)
- Pamela Williams
Bio(s)
Dr. Pamela D. Williams (affectionately known by her students as “Dr. Pam”) is an Assistant Professor of Practice at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, an Instructional Designer at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and the founder of Empowered Enrollment. A trusted digital accessibility maven and institutional strategist, she specializes in breaking down academic silos to build data-driven, campus-wide compliance frameworks. Dr. Pam brings a unique blend of pragmatic firmness and high professional standards to higher education leadership, leveraging data, artificial intelligence, and strategic workflows to drive systemic accountability. Passionate about student success, persistence, and meaningful online design, she focuses on transforming scattered compliance efforts into unified institutional machines that support faculty autonomy while fiercely upholding digital equity across the entire student pipeline. Dr. Pam serves on the SIUE digital accessibility and remediation team and is a member of the Board of Directors for the American Association of University Administrators.