Digital Accessibility - Determining Inventory, Risk, and Priority

Inventory, Risk, & Priority

Before remediation or compliance efforts can succeed, we must first understand what materials exist, who owns them, and which carry the highest risk. An inventory without prioritization can overwhelm; prioritization without an inventory creates blind spots.

The accessibility framework provides a structured approach to:

• Inventory: Individual responsibility for identifying and cataloguing all materials, systems, and content.
• Risk: Determining which items could create the most legal, or operational exposure if inaccessible
• Priority: Sequencing remediation work against compliance deadlines and resource capacity.
• Disposition: Deciding which materials to remediate, archive, or delete (“offload”).

By applying this stepwise model, VCCS can ensure that high-risk, high-priority items are addressed first, while also managing workload efficiently across faculty, staff, and administrative units.

Applying the Risk Scoring Model (High/Med/Low) 

The scoring model translates qualitative judgments into consistent, trackable numbers.

Establishing Criteria for Archiving vs Deletion ('offloading')

Remediate

• Actively used in instruction or operations.
• Public-facing or student-facing.
• Required by compliance (e.g., syllabi, catalogue, forms).

Archive

• Not actively used but must be retained for records (e.g., accreditation evidence, compliance history, faculty senate minutes).
• Clearly labelled “Archived – Not in Use” and stored in a way that avoids confusion with live content.
• Accessibility remediation may be deferred, unless specifically requested (e.g., FOIA)

Delete (Offload)

• Redundant, outdated, or trivial materials.
• Drafts superseded by newer versions.
• Content that has no instructional, operational, or compliance value.
• Must follow College records retention schedules and legal counsel guidance.