Hi, Drupalites!
As the fall semester progresses and campus is buzzing with activity, it's a great time to review your web content to ensure information remains accurate and up to date for students, parents and colleagues. To support your efforts, we're sharing the latest Drupal updates and helpful reminders.
New Federal Guidelines – Limit Use of PDFs on Your Website
On April 24, 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice published a new rule on digital accessibility under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This rule requires universities to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA.
As part of our compliance efforts, please limit the use of PDFs on the university website. PDFs can create accessibility barriers for people who rely on assistive technology and are often harder to view on mobile devices. Whenever possible, provide content as an accessible web page rather than a PDF. If a PDF is necessary, ensure it meets accessibility standards before posting.
Use to find PDFs linked on your site to see if you are ready to meet the new accessibility standards. Thank you for supporting an inclusive and user-friendly website.
Equal Access Support and Fall Offerings
Equal Access is here to help you comply with the new ADA digital accessibility requirements. This fall, you can take advantage of:
- – Tuesday, Nov. 4
- New Learning Hub with updated documentation
- Expanded Equal Access Academy offerings with 22 trainings this academic year
All Equal Access trainings count toward Beyond Compliance credits. Explore these resources to ensure your website content is accessible and inclusive for all users. Learn more about Equal Access.
Note: please watch for future emails with updated requirements and steps necessary for compliance with this new ruling.
New Drupal Training Dates Posted
Mark your calendars! We've posted all our scheduled Drupal training dates through spring semester 2026.
Even if you've taken both trainings before, we encourage refresher sessions. Please be sure to share this information with any student webmasters!
February
Thursday, Feb. 24 – Afternoon
- Drupal Basics: 1:30–3 p.m.
- Drupal Advanced: 3:30–5 p.m.
March
Monday, March 23 – Morning
- Drupal Basics: 8:30–10 a.m.
- Drupal Advanced: 10:30 a.m.–noon
April
Monday, April 6 – Morning
- Drupal Basics: 8:30–10 a.m.
- Drupal Advanced: 10:30 a.m.–noon
Wednesday, April 29 – Afternoon
- Drupal Basics: 1:30–3 p.m.
- Drupal Advanced: 3:30–5 p.m.
May
Wednesday, May 20 – Morning
- Drupal Basics: 8:30–10 a.m.
- Drupal Advanced: 10:30 a.m.–noon
Your Help Is Needed to Improve Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Results
As AI-powered search tools and generative engines become more prevalent, they're increasingly pulling content from our sites to answer questions about our institution. When that content is outdated, it can misrepresent your department and the university as a whole. We need your help to ensure AI tools surface accurate, current information.
Why This Matters
These systems may cite discontinued programs, obsolete policies or outdated contact information. Keeping your digital footprint tight protects your department's reputation and ensures users get the right information.
Example: Even the Web Team Isn't Immune
This AI response incorrectly states we have two full-time web content coordinators, which is outdated information from our own site. We currently have one. This demonstrates how quickly accurate content can become misleading when pages aren't regularly reviewed.
What We're Asking
Please submit a ticket requesting a content export and Google Analytics report for your site. This will allow you to:
- Identify outdated, redundant, or low-value pages
- Analyze which content is (and isn't) serving your users well
- Take preliminary steps to reduce your site's digital footprint
The Benefits
This is a win-win exercise:
- Simplified site management – Less content to maintain means more time for what matters
- Better user experience – Visitors find relevant, current information more easily
- Accurate AI representation – Reduce the risk of AI tools citing outdated policies, discontinued programs or obsolete contact information
Get Started
Submit a ticket requesting a content export and GA report of your site. If needed, we can help walk you through the process and help identify opportunities to streamline and strengthen your web presence.
Webmaster Reminder: Required Tuition and Cost of Attendance Copy Updates Due Thursday, Nov. 6
Webmasters who have been notified to update copy around tuition and cost of attendance language must have those changes in place by Thursday, Nov. 6.
Effective with the 2023-24 award year, states, "Each institution shall make publicly available on the institution's website a list of all the elements of cost of attendance described in paragraphs (1) through (14) of subsection (a), and shall disclose such elements on any portion of the website describing tuition and fees of the institution."
Steps to take by Thursday, Nov. 6
- Reference the google sheet to find pages for which you are responsible.
- Per our separate, original email, any page that lists tuition must have a link to the full cost of attendance page on our website directly from that page to be in compliance with this requirement. Please link to our cost of attendance web page.
- Please update your website to include a similar paragraph that is on the Kent State tuition page with a link to the cost of attendance website on our page.
Please be aware that your full cost of attendance consists of tuition and fees, as well as food and housing (if living on the Kent Campus), books, course materials, supplies and equipment, transportation and personal expenses for the terms in which you plan to be enrolled.
The expenses directly owed to ºÚÁÏÍø include tuition and fees. For students living on the Kent Campus, this also includes housing and meal costs. For commuter students who purchase a meal plan, it includes the cost of that plan. Other expenses not included in the tuition and fees totals can be found on our cost of attendance webpage.
- Email Sylvia Bustard, Director, Financial Aid Programs & Administration, Student Financial Aid Office at sbustard@kent.edu and Lin Danes, Executive Director, Digital Communications, UCM Operations at ldanes@kent.edu upon completion.
Pause / Play Button on Hero Video Paragraph
To improve accessibility compliance, the Hero Video paragraph now includes a pause/play control by default. This ensures users can easily manage video playback, creating a more inclusive experience for all visitors.
Please continue to submit issues you need help resolving to FreshService via the Submit a Ticket button on our support and training webpage.
Happy editing!
Web Team
Jared Boehm, Senior Manager, Digital Enterprise Solutions
Lin Danes, Executive Director of Digital Communications (Web Services)
Eddie Lampert, Web Designer
Paul McKinney, Web Designer
James Parsons, Web Content Coordinator
Tim Priester, Web Designer & Services Lead
Todd Randolph, Senior Applications Developer