Training email and links (for all employees)

9/24/2025

Dear Team,

Following up from my e-mail back in June. As part of our commitment to making Augusta County’s digital content accessible for everyone, we are rolling out required training on digital accessibility and WCAG 2.1 compliance. This training will help ensure that all employees understand how to create accessible documents, spreadsheets, presentations, emails, and PDFs—so that our work is inclusive and compliant with federal law. Our goal is to make Augusta accessible for all.

The training is online and we are using SiteImprove, an online tool the County already employs to enhance website performance and digital accessibility. The training is broken into short, easy-to-digest segments, totaling approximately 3.5 hours (though many of you will likely complete it faster). You may start and stop at your convenience. The instructions for logging in to SiteImprove are provided at the end of this email.

Training Modules to Complete
□ Introduction to Accessibility ([video on M: drive](\acgcfile01\acgc\data\Microsoft\ADA\Introduction Videos\Introduction to accessibility.mp4), 4 minutes) – Watch the video on YouTube (for those without access to M: drive)
□ Accessibility for Word (SiteImprove, 30 minutes)
□ Accessibility for PowerPoint (SiteImprove, 30 minutes)
□ Accessibility for Excel (SiteImprove, 30 min)
□ Accessibility for PDFs (SiteImprove, 1 hour)
□ WTAF is WCAG? ([watch video on M](\acgcfile01\acgc\data\Microsoft\ADA\Introduction Videos\WTAF is WCAG.mp4): drive, 3 min, introduction to text alternatives) – watch the video on YouTube.
□ Fundamentals of Alt Text (SiteImprove, 30 min)

Deadline: All training must be completed by December 31, 2025.

Reporting: Once you have finished all modules, please submit this certification form to confirm that you have completed all of the training modules.

This is important work. By making our digital content more accessible, we are not only complying with federal requirements—we are ensuring that everyone in our community, the public as well as our fellow staff members, can access and benefit from the information and services we provide. In light of this training, we will suspend our internal cyber-security training for the remainder of this year.

Thank you for your commitment to accessibility.

Thanks,
Timothy K. Fitzgerald ICMA-CM
County Administrator
Augusta County