Web accessibility policies at land-grant universities David A. Bradbard a, ⁎ ,1 , Cara Peters a,1 , Yoana Caneva b,2 a Management and Marketing, College of Business Administration, Winthrop University, United States b Winthrop University, United States abstract article info Article history: Accepted 19 May 2010 Keywords: Web design Accessibility Web accessibility University policies The Web has become an integral part of postsecondary education within the United States. There are specific laws that legally mandate postsecondary institutions to have Web sites that are accessible for students with disabilities (e.g., the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)). Web accessibility policies are a way for universities to provide a general guide to action for faculty and staff that serve as Website developers for the organization. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent and effectiveness of Web accessibility policies at land-grant universities in the United States. To that end, this paper presents a conceptual foundation for the study, ranging from an overview of Web accessibility studies, to legal mandates, to literature on organizational policies. Data collection consists of a content analysis of the Web accessibility policies of land-grant universities. Results show that while most universities have a Web accessibility policy, most policies have serious deficiencies. The deficiencies are of sufficient magnitude that many schools are likely in violation of the ADA and at risk for a law suit from a disabled person unless these policies are strengthened. © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction For universities within the United States, the Web has become an important tool for communicating with the various constituencies of the institution. With respect to their primary audience, students, universities extensively utilize the Web to communicate on both academic and non-academic endeavors. With respect to the latter, it is common for universities to provide Web sites for students to register for classes, pay bills, order transcripts, access grades, check class schedules, purchase books, and even buy event tickets. On the academic side, the Web has become a significant part of student experiences within and outside of the classroom (Clarke III, Flaghtery, & Mottner, 2001). Faculty utilize the Web to support both face-to-face instruction as well as distance learning (Benbunan-Fich, Lozada, Pirog, Priluc, & Wisenblit, 2001; Eastman & Swift, 2001; Osika, Johnson & Buteau, 2009; Wood, Solomon, & Allan, 2008). Lincoln (2001) found more than 81% of university marketing faculty reported creating and maintaining individual faculty Web sites. Furthermore, Lincoln's data showed that the amount of material being placed on academic Web sites had increased significantly over time. Since Lincoln's (2001) study, the amount of instructional material being placed on the Web has continued to swell, as two thirds of universities now offer online courses. In offering both online and traditional classroom based courses, faculty are increasingly reliant on technol- ogy as part of their instruction (Osika, Johnson & Buteau, 2009; Smart, Kelley, & Conant 2003). As part of their course work, students are being asked to access Web sites to download course syllabi, Power- Point slides, and assignments, among other materials (Clarke III et al., 2001; Osika et al., 2009; Wood et al., 2008). Since the role of the Web in the education of college students has clearly increased over time, one might wonder how the use of the Web for postsecondary education impacts students with disabilities. Web accessibility is the practice of making Web sites accessible to people who require more than just traditional Web browsers to access the Internet. For example, a visually impaired student may use a screen reader to translate text and graphics on the computer screen to an audio format so he/she hears the Web site content via a speech synthesizer. In an instructional setting an accessible Web site is designed to accommodate a wider set of ways all students (disabled included) can access a Web site's content. As explained below, accommodating students with disabilities (including Web accessibility efforts) is legally mandated for postsec- ondary institutions. There are specific laws (e.g., Section 508) that require federally funded institutions to have accessible Web sites. Federally funded institutions include universities. Arguably, Sec- tion 508 could be interpreted as applying at the level of individual faculty Web sites that are created and utilized to support classroom instruction. Thus, university faculty could be held responsible for complying with the legal mandates of Web accessibility law for the Internet and Higher Education 13 (2010) 258–266 ⁎ Corresponding author. Department of Management and Marketing, College of Business Administration, Thurmond Hall, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, SC 29733, United States. Tel.: +1 803 323 4801; fax: +1 803 323 3960. E-mail address: bradbardd@winthrop.edu (D.A. Bradbard). 1 Both authors made equal contributions to the paper. 2 Now at KPMG, Greenville, SC, United States. 1096-7516/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2010.05.007 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Internet and Higher Education