Key Takeaways from this Update

• Deadline Extension: The federal digital accessibility mandate is now April 26, 2027.

• No Slowdown: Our project timeline and phase goals remain unchanged.

• Phase 2 Kickoff: We begin reaching out to Phase 2 site admins next week.

• The "90 Score" Myth: A Silktide score of 90 is a great start, but it only covers about 40.8% of total WCAG AA barriers.

The federal mandate deadline

If you haven’t yet heard, the federal government has extended the digital accessibility mandate deadline by 1 year to April 26, 2027.

While this is a relief of the pressure valve for many of us, it does not change the charge of the Sites digital accessibility project team, nor does it change our projected phase timeline. We are doing this work not just because it is required of us, but because it is the right thing to do. We sincerely appreciate all the hard work that has been done and is ongoing with our Phase 1 site admins and websites, and we look forward to beginning to reach out to Phase 2 site admins starting next week!

We also wanted to address an ongoing conversation we’ve been having a little more directly, which is:

“If my site is at a Silktide score of 90, does that mean I’m done?”

The short answer: It means you are making really great progress towards accessibility and probably have no huge accessibility red flags, but likely there is still further work to be done. Silktide can’t check for all of the accessibility barriers that the Sites digital accessibility project team is evaluating for.

The much longer answer….

To help you understand what the Silktide score actually means, here’s a breakdown of what it includes and what it does not include.

The Silktide Accessibility Score includes:

• All automated checks (the first tab of checks when you open the accessibility checks panel)

The Silktide Accessibility Score DOES NOT include:

• All assisted checks (the second tab of checks when you open the accessibility checks panel)

• Most PDFs (each Site has been allocated 1 PDF in Silktide)

• Any embedded or linked google files (docs, sheets, slides, etc), Microsoft files (docs, excel, powerpoint, etc)

• Any embedded or linked media (videos, audio files, etc)

• Any evaluation of the function of your site’s navigation

• Any evaluation of the cognitive or mental load of your website: Can people find what they are looking for easily? How many clicks does it take to find something? Is information organized in a way that is straightforward?

• A full evaluation of screenreader function: Silktide can evaluate most of the technical aspects (Can a screen reader read this to someone?) but it can’t evaluate if it is being done well, or makes logical or cognitive sense.

Per Silktide’s help articles:

• Silktide can only guarantee that your Silktide Accessibility score covers 40.8% of all possible accessibility barriers identified in the WCAG AA guidelines.

• 75% of WCAG AA guidelines are covered in Automated OR Assisted checks, meaning an unknown quantity of those aren’t counted in the Accessibility module score. 

• 24.5% of all WCAG AA guidelines Silktide cannot evaluate at all.

(source)

Silktide is an excellent tool that we are thrilled to be using, it is a huge improvement and a leg-up on the digital accessibility process! Without it, it would take us many more manual hours of repetitive checking for the many fixes, both big and small, that it can tell us are needed. At the end of the day, however, it is just a tool, and the digital accessibility process requires the human touch to do well, and the project team is here to help provide that!

If you are working ahead of the project team and you have gotten your site up to a Silktide Accessibility score of 90, you have done fantastic work, and we are excited to help you polish up the remainder. 

Proactive Steps You Can Take

If you are working ahead of the project team and you have gotten your site up to a Silktide Accessibility score of 90, you have done fantastic work, and we are excited to help you polish up the remainder.

If you want to keep going, here are some options for you:

1. Start working through your Silktide accessibility assisted checks, found in the second tab of the accessibility checks panel

2. Don’t forget about the content review!

3. Review your Site’s media storage and start deleting anything not currently in use

If you have any questions about your score, this process, or anything about digital accessibility, head to one of our upcoming drop-in clinics or put in a Sites RT, we’re happy to help!

Campers! We are so excited to welcome you all to Camp Pride, from April 27th to May 1st!

Hello RC Members! Come join us TODAY Wednesday 04/22/26 in FA215 from 12pm-1pm to practice some vital skills in Bandage Wrapping! Bring a Friend so that you can practice on each other!

Hi Officers!

The Student Orgnization Support Team would like to take inventory of the struggles of Student Org Officers. Please fill out the survey so we can get to know your experience here.

The form closes on Friday, May 1st at 11:59 pm. Submitting to the form will enter you into a raffle for an Owala, Lego Set, or Speaker! There will be three winners.

Any concern contact me at nicolab2@umbc.edu 

Retrievers! Today is our Commuter Pizza Party! We're excited to spend time with our wonderful commuters and enjoy a delicious lunch together! Stop by, 12-2pm, in The Pride Center, UC room 101!

Good morning everyone,

Today is Earth Day, a day when we celebrate this beautiful planet and all it does for us. The Office of Sustainability is running events all week, so go check them out!

We will not be having our regular cleanup this week, but we encourage you all to do your part to keep our planet clean! Every little bit helps, whether it be recycling, composting, or picking up trash in the woods like we do.

Here's to the Earth, and here's to all of us working to keep it healthy!

-The Eboard

Today marks 30 Years (!!!) of Grit, Grunge, and Groundbreaking Research! Plan on dropping by this annual, cornerstone event that proves why UMBC is an university dedicated to research and creative acheivements. Events are taking place right now in the RAC and the full schedule of events can be found HERE. 

See over 400 student presentations- posters, performances, exhibitions, oral talks, films, and more!
Keynote speaker, Karena Ingram '16, Music Composition, will talk from 12-1pm on the RAC stage.

First time hearing about URCAD? It stands for Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day. It's a day for sharing everything that we work so hard on throughout the year! There are hundreds of research posters, oral presentations, dance performances, films, interactive games, and much more, all presented by YOU -- undergraduates at UMBC! This event brings together students in both research and artistic fields from all disciplines to showcase the amazing projects you've all been working on. Bring your friends! Family! Mentors! Come and be inspired!

**Please note that CNMS Advising is not holding our regular Wendesday Success Workshops today in order to support this important event. If interested, however, we will have URCAD scavenger hunt guides available in the TLC (UC 115) and/or you can download one here. There are important things to pay attention to while you are at URCAD today such as -- what faculty are supporting research, what topics are interesting to you, how did the current presenters get started in their research, etc. You also may catch two of your BIOL faculty members rocking out as well!  : ) 

The time has come, vote for your e board! Vote here.

Interested in becoming more involved with STEM PhD Society? We are now accepting applications for two roles: Event Coordinator and Secretary.

Applications are due by April 27, 2026.

Submit your application here: STEM PhD Society E-Board Application

Please join us for our next BAM meeting on Tuesday, May 19 from 8:30 - 11 am in UC 312!  Doors open at 8:30 and presentations will start just before 9.  Spend time with your colleagues while receiving important A&F updates.

We hope you can join us.  If you prefer to attend virtually, we'll be sad, but a Webex link will be provided.  Agenda to follow.