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From the Director

October Announcements

  • October 30, 2025

Making PDF's Accessible for Everyone

The new federal rules require that all online PDFs meet ADA accessibility standards by April 2026. ADA accessibility refers to making places, services, and digital content usable and accessible to people with different abilities - in this case, we are focusing on digital content.  Our goal is to ensure that all materials uploaded to Cascade (Purdue Extension's web content management system) are accessible to all of our audiences by April 2026. 

Although enforcement of these rules will begin in April 2026, Purdue already expects all PDFs to meet ADA accessibility standards. Any PDF available online, regardless of when it was created, will be subject to the accessibility requirements once enforcement begins.

If a noncompliant PDF is uploaded, Siteimprove (Purdue Extension's web optimization system) will alert us, and the file will need to be removed from the live site until it’s corrected. PDFs intended for archival or historical purposes can still be made available upon request, but should not appear publicly on our websites.

Lily Thill, Purdue Extension's Digital Communications Coordinator, shared guidance on how to remove unnecessary or unlinked PDFs in Cascade to help streamline your workload in emails sent on October 13th and October 21st. 

Avoid Uploading Event Fliers

Another helpful step is to avoid uploading event fliers. The information from a flier should already be included in the event fields when adding an event in Cascade. Uploading a flier duplicates that content and can create extra work later, since fliers, especially those saved as images or PDFs, often require additional accessibility adjustments.

For assistance with adding events in Cascade, please reach out to:

Education Store Publication

Effective immediately, all publications that are submitted for the Ed Store website are required to meet the same ADA compliance standards. Ag Communication can assist with ensuring that documents adhere to these regulations.

For assistance with adding publications in the Ed Store, please reach out to: 

Creating Accessible Documents

Accessible PDFs are key to ensuring equal access to Extension’s information and resources. To make sure your materials meet standards from the start, contact Eric Imboden (eimboden@purdue.edu) for guidance on creating or converting ADA-compliant documents.

For strategy or communication questions related to PDFs or document accessibility, Lily Thill and Olivia De Young (odeyoung@purdue.edu)  can help determine what’s most useful for your audience. Olivia can also provide additional content creation tips and resources.

Helpful Resources

Youth Protection

Please note that the Non-Purdue Guest Presenter and Partner Agreement has been updated to include a statement that a registry check will be performed. This revised form is available on the Purdue Extension Youth Protection page on the Hub. Note that the Spanish translated version has been updated as well. Please use these versions moving forward. 

https://app.box.com/s/p6b2mts5xyoxtczhu2ws6j3zon31tluc

Spanish: https://app.box.com/s/lxz3ahiljx5r727s0fuzo74j066bxxr8

As we enter November and the holiday season starts to kick in in full force, please take a moment to look at your January and February programming calendars. Please get any youth events registered into POMP-X sooner than later to avoid tracking down volunteers during the holidays.

If you need assistance with entering a program or have a question regarding youth protection, please reach out. I'm here to help! Puextyouthprotection@purdue.edu 

Purdue Extension Professional Development Conference (PDC) 

By: Steve McKinley, Staff Development Specialist

The 2025 Purdue Extension Professional Development Conference will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 3, and Friday, Dec. 5. The Wednesday programming will be held via the Microsoft Teams platform. Friday’s programming will be a combination of in-person watch parties and virtual presentations via Teams. You will find the most current schedule for PDC on the PDC Website.

PDC Registration
Registration for the 2025 PDC is open now through Friday, Nov. 14.

When you register for PDC, you will be asked to choose one session to attend from each of the three concurrent session time slots on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 3. There are many excellent options to choose from! Good news: Those you are unable to attend “live” will be recorded and posted to the PDC website so that you can view them at a later time.

A description of each session is posted on the PDC website under the Conference Proceedings heading. Eventually, this will also be the location of the Teams URLs you will need to join the sessions of your choice on Wednesday, Dec, 3.

You will also be asked to register your attendance at one of the Watch Parties, which will be held on Friday, Dec. 5.

Program Showcase

The Program Showcase will be offered via Teams on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 3. This will be an opportunity to learn about programs and resources offered by a variety of campus-based departments. The Showcase will allow you to learn how you can partner with campus-based specialists to provide additional opportunities to your local communities. Please plan to join the Showcase via Teams from 1-2:30 on Dec. 3!

Watch Parties

Each Extension area will host a Watch Party for field-based Extension professionals to attend. During the Watch Party, there will be opportunities for you to interact with other Extension colleagues in your administrative area. Awards will be presented during Friday’s PDC programming from IEEA, PUCESA, ESP, and the director’s office. You will register for the Watch Party you will attend in your administrative area as a part of the PDC registration.

Campus-based Extension professionals will gather in the Dean’s Auditorium (Pfendler Hall, Room 241), to view the Friday program. Campus-based award recipients will be recognized during the Friday program. You will register to attend the campus Watch Party as a part of your PDC registration.

PDC Shout-Outs

Who do you work with who has had a positive impact in Purdue Extension? What Purdue Extension teams are working well together? What programs or resources have been developed that are providing outstanding support to audiences in your communities?

You have a great opportunity to recognize these colleagues, teams, and/or programs and resources during PDC! “Shout-Outs” will be shown prior to the start of the program each morning and during lunch breaks each day.

Please submit a nomination for these individuals/teams and programs/resources! There is no limit to the number of nominations each person can submit. Nominations are due by Friday, November 14. Each nomination will include the name, short description/quote, and a photo/logo. Instructions are available on the PDC Website – Find Information On ... – PDC Shout-Outs!

The PDC Committee is looking forward to joining you for an excellent two days of professional development, networking, and recognition! Please remember to register for PDC by Friday, Nov. 14.

Sincerely,

Steve McKinley, mckinles@purdue.edu, staff development specialist, Purdue Extension

 

Prepare for ADA Compliance: Clean Up Documents in Cascade

This message was originally shared in an email on Oct. 13.

As part of our ongoing effort to maintain effective, accessible, and user-friendly websites, we’re asking all Cascade users to take time to review and clean up their site documents. Removing outdated or unused files will not only improve website performance but also prepare us for upcoming ADA compliance requirements, effective April 2026.

As a first step in this initiative, Cascade users are encouraged to proactively remove any documents that are no longer linked or used on their site.

To identify and remove unlinked documents:

  1. Navigate to your _docs folder.
  2. Click on a document (do not check the box next to it).
  3. Select …More in the top right corner, then choose Relationships.
    1. If the document does not have any relationships, it is not linked to your live website and should be removed from Cascade.

     

    For best practice, if you need to retain a document for archival purposes, store it in Box.com or within a shared local folder. Do not link these archived documents, even if they are stored in Box.com, on your website. Instead, list a contact person who can provide the document upon request. This approach supports accessibility compliance and keeps your site organized and efficient.

    Taking this step will help streamline your site and reduce future workload as you prepare to make all uploaded documents ADA compliant.

    For help determining if a document(s) should be removed from Cascade, please reach out Lily Thill (morrislc@purdue.edu) or Gina Price (gprice@purdue.edu).

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