Aims Named Finalist for 2027 Bellwether Award
Aims Community College in Greeley is one of 10 finalists in the planning, governance and finance category for its digital accessibility work.
Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Financial Aid
Aims Community College in Greeley has been named one of 10 finalists in the planning, governance and finance category of the 2027 Bellwether Awards. The recognition is for its Aims All In on Accessibility initiative, which makes digital materials usable for people with disabilities.
Why it matters
The finalist recognition highlights efforts to make digital course materials accessible to students and staff with disabilities in Greeley and across Colorado. The initiative shows how a college can build accessibility into its planning and governance structures.
Ten finalists were named in the planning, governance and finance category, and one winner will be selected from that group. The college added a temporary full-time accessibility position in academic affairs to support the work.
The players
Aims Community College
A public community college in Greeley, Colorado, serving students in northern Colorado through associate degrees and certificate programs.
Bellwether Awards
An annual national awards program that recognizes innovative practices at community colleges across the United States.
The details
The Aims All In on Accessibility initiative trains faculty and staff to make documents readable with assistive technology, adds text descriptions to images and organizes online materials for easier navigation. The effort began with a digital accessibility task force formed in 2024, which developed a college-wide plan and an online hub with guidance, checklists and resources. Workshops and consultations were offered, and in 2026 a standing oversight committee took over the task force's work.
Timeline
2024: Aims formed its digital accessibility task force.
2026: A standing oversight committee took over the task force's work.
Feb. 21 to 23, 2027: Aims presents the initiative to judges at the Community College Futures Assembly in San Antonio.
Planning Ahead
Federal disability civil rights law, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, requires public institutions to make digital content accessible. Aims' initiative reflects a shift from meeting those requirements case by case toward ongoing institutional oversight.
Students and staff who rely on screen readers or other assistive technology can expect more accessible course documents and image descriptions at Aims. The college's oversight structure suggests these accommodations will continue beyond the initial task force phase.
The takeaway
Accessibility in digital learning depends on sustained institutional oversight rather than one-time fixes. Students and faculty who encounter inaccessible materials can ask their institution whether a standing accessibility process exists.
What happens next
Aims will present its accessibility initiative to judges at the Community College Futures Assembly in San Antonio from Feb. 21 to 23, 2027, where one winner will be selected in the category.
Further reading
Explore more on Financial Aid to see how colleges fund and support student access services.
More information
Learn more about the Aims All In on Accessibility initiative on the college's website.
Source note: This article includes information reported by ColoradoBiz.
