Study of Web Accessibility in Higher Education
Introduction
Web accessibility can be defined as the verification that there are no hindrances that prevent interaction with, or access to, the World Wide Web and websites by individuals with disabilities. When websites are appropriately planned, executed and monitored, typically all users will have appropriate access to data and functionality. Web accessibility is very important to people with disabilities, providing independence along with the tools to access accessibility features. Some sites do not have accessibility features that allow people with a disability to access their site and content efficiently, or at all. In some cases that may be due to the coding of the site or it could simply be neglect on the part of the institution. Internet accessibility can be broken down to a few categories.
People who have disabilities are guaranteed access to all postsecondary services and program under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The topic investigated is on the accessibility of higher education websites by individuals with disabilities. We are investigating schools of higher education and whether or not they are able to accommodate learners with disabilities, if websites are considered tools to be used for student success.
Research Questions
● What is the state of web accessibility in higher education with regard to errors, alerts, contrast violations?
● Do university websites in NC follow the guidelines set forth in WCAG?
METHOD
Participants
The participants chosen for this this study represent a variety of colleges and universities throughout the state of North Carolina. These participants were also chosen to include both public and private colleges covering the three regions of North Carolina to provide a variety of subjects. The colleges chosen for this study are as follows: Appalachian State University, Belmont Abbey College, Duke University, East Carolina University, North Carolina A&T University, and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
Instruments
Besides human observation, the primary instrument used to evaluate web accessibility in higher education was the Web Accessibility Evaluator tool (WAVE), created as a no-cost community service by a company called WebAIM (Web Accessibility In Mind). WAVE is an online evaluator that provides visual feedback and looks for accessibility features or lack thereof. The WAVE tool (http://wave.webaim.org/) evaluates web materials for accessibility by individuals with disabilities. The web accessibility evaluator tool has been used to assess the accessibility of a number of web pages contained within a cross section of universities, private and public, all located in North Carolina, U.S. Compliance issues are identified via color-coded icons, provided in a report that summarizes all icons, but also provides details as per each icon. Also included in the report are suggestions on how to fix errors, though editing a page according to WAVE suggestions does not guarantee the page is necessarily accessible or compliant. The icons evaluated in this study are errors, alerts, and contrast violations.
Design, Analysis, Procedure
Given that a growing number of college degrees are earned remotely via distance education versus those earned in a traditional classroom on campus, it is imperative to ensure that universities and their websites are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and other federal laws and that such institutions follow guidelines for web accessibility as presented by the World Wide Web Consortium, or W3C. As more universities address the concept of universal design, increased accessibility is likely to occur naturally, however, for students with disabilities, it is imperative that the current lack of accessibility is addressed immediately. Researchers viewed this study primarily as an evaluation and needs assessment, as well as an advocacy for students with disabilities. The goal was to be able to share findings with colleges throughout the state, focusing on study results as well as suggestions for improvement, featuring statistics and results presented in clear, understandable text and visuals.
A sample of six North Carolina universities, representing public and private institutions as well as every major region of the state, were chosen by researchers to test four specific web pages within those college websites. Pages tested are representative of those most visited by prospective students, such as each college’s homepage and three other critical web pages. The evaluation was conducted utilizing the WAVE tool for collection of data, as well as a specially designed spreadsheet to record data. Researchers analyzed each page using WAVE (Web Accessibility Versatile Evaluator) provided through WebAIM, which reports accessibility violations by disclosing breaches with ADA, as per Section 508 and Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Results were noted by each researcher, summarized and separated according to error, and are contained in tables within this report. An additional summary at the end of this report will provide a few suggestions to university personnel on how to begin to address various means of meeting current web accessibility standards.
RESULTS
The data obtained in this study shows the cumulative number of errors found in institutional web pages across the state of North Carolina. The WAVE Tool was used to collect data on the number of errors, alerts, and contrast violations flagged for each school as well as to identify those errors. The total number of errors, alerts, and contrast violations from the six schools were significant or worth paying attention to. This section will discuss errors in detail, including the most common errors, described as “empty button” and “empty link”. Alerts, which are not addressed in detail and most likely refer to an end user issue, numbered 490 and most often featured redundant text in images. Contrast violations, which were also excessive at 245, were commonly noted due to very low contrast, which decreases readability for students with visual disabilities.
After obtaining the initial data from the WAVE Tool, the errors identified for each school were addressed. This data is represented in Table 2. When considering the types of errors found most frequently across the six schools the largest total dealt with was an empty link error, which is defined as a link on the web page that contains no text. If a link contains no text, the function or purpose of the link will not be presented to the user, which can introduce confusion for keyboard and screen reader users. The next most prominent type of error was an empty button, defined as a button on the web page that is empty or has no value text. When a user navigates to a button, descriptive text must be presented to screen reader users to indicate the function of the button, much like alternative text added to images.
Based on the data collected from these six universities, Duke provided the least number of errors in web accessibility, followed closely by the University of North Carolina @ Wilmington. Belmont Abbey College and East Carolina University web pages contained the most web accessibility errors. It is interesting to note that the two private schools selected for the study, Duke and Belmont Abbey College, are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to web accessibility. Considering the large numbers of errors contained within our test pages, it is clear that a majority of the universities included in this study have much work to do to ensure accessibility and compliance.
Alerts, while not as critical as reported errors, serve as indicators for possible violations and require close scrutiny. Examples of alerts include redundant or lengthy alternative text in images, or structural issues that may modify the navigational order of the page, causing confusion for those utilizing screen readers to access content.
Contrast violations most often indicated low contrast, which also decreases readability for students with visual disabilities. All information in the foreground of the page, such as text or images, should be of sufficient contrast to the background. In addition, websites should be designed so they can be viewed with the color and font sizes set in users’ web browsers and operating systems. Users with low vision must be able to specify text and background colors as well as the font sizes needed to see webpage content (Americans with Disabilities Act, 2007). Color contrast can be checked easily with a tool such as that provided at: https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/.
Again, given the high occurrence of alerts and contrast violations within our twenty-four test pages, it is clear that the majority of the university webpages we tested for this study are in need of immediate and ongoing evaluation and revision, to provide accessibility to all students, no matter their ability. It would be wise to remember of course, that there are several laws in place that are intended to enforce compliance; however, in the end, providing accessible web content is not just the law, it is the right thing to do.
DISCUSSION
The goal of this study was to examine a sampling of university web pages across the state of North Carolina as part of an attempt to heighten awareness of web accessibility standards. Researchers chose to focus primarily on “errors”, with general references and their importance. When this project began, researchers suggested variables for which data would be collected. As work on this study progressed, it was obvious that the scope of the intended research was far too ambitious and that due to the fact that the project had been designated as a “mini-research”, some variables would need to be removed to reflect the modified scale of this study. Mimicking other similar studies, and after identifying “errors, alerts, and contrasts”, researchers chose to focus primarily on “errors”, with general references made to “alerts” and “contrasts” via tables contained in this document.
Although researchers understand the importance of including captions on all video material utilized in course materials and webpages, details regarding this particular issue are not addressed in this study. However, it is important to create a presentation that makes all visual elements available and accessible to users with disabilities. Add text equivalents to images, limit animations and transitions, and add text transcripts for all video and audio. Keeping screen reader accessibility in mind, it is crucial that a web page maintain the ability to support third party software applications that allow for persons with disabilities to access or navigate a computer screen.
Alternate text, defined as a textual description of an image, photo, or graph, is also important for those with visual disabilities. All images should have simple but accurate descriptions, with possible exceptions such as images used strictly for decoration. If alt text is not provided for images, the descriptive information is inaccessible to people whose vision is limited and who may choose to use a screen reader that reads aloud the information on a page, including the alt text for visual images. The implications of the findings for practice indicates that despite the fact that federal laws have been put in place and standards for best practice exist, many institutions of higher learning are still not compliant with laws enacted to provide web accessibility. Universities must make an effort to bring their websites up to date regarding accessibility for all students, especially those with disabilities that may prevent them from accessing materials efficiently and completely.
This research can be viewed as a report regarding web accessibility that all schools of Higher Education should provide for students with disabilities. Other related research gives findings that can be used in classrooms. This research can be referenced to provide guidelines for web accessibility for students with disabilities in Higher Education. It is important to remember that there are various laws dealing with disability rights that have impacted the demand for designing and maintaining accessible websites. Legislation includes the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the Assistive Technology Act of 2004, and Section 508 (Forgione-Barkas, 2012). Section 508 became the most recent law enacted that pertains directly to the need for consideration of equal access to the world wide web. Section 508 was rapidly followed by international regulations that were laid out in Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) (Forgione-Barkas, 2012). Acknowledging the need to provide an equitable education and experience for individuals with cognitive and other disabilities and providing increased flexibility for assessing evolving technologies improves web content accessibility for all. Future researchers may consider developing a standardized webpage format for schools of Higher Education to follow. Adopting this method will allow institutions to ensure their site is fully accessible to individuals with disabilities.