A Web Accessibility Report Card for Top International University Web Sites Shaun K. Kane, Jessie A. Shulman, Timothy J. Shockley The Information School University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195 USA 001-(206)-616-5442 {skane, jazzbebe, timshock}@u.washington.edu Richard E. Ladner Department of Computer Science and Engineering University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195 USA 001-(206)-543-9347 ladner@cs.washington.edu ABSTRACT University web pages play a central role in the activities of current and prospective postsecondary students. University sites that are not accessible may exclude people with disabilities from participation in educational, social and professional activities. In order to assess the current state of university web site accessibility, we performed a multi-method analysis of the home pages of 100 top international universities. Each site was analyzed for compliance with accessibility standards, image accessibility, alternate-language and text-only content, and quality of web accessibility statements. Results showed that many top universities continue to have accessibility problems. University web site accessibility also varies greatly across different countries and geographic regions. Remaining obstacles to universal accessibility for universities include low accessibility in non- English-speaking countries and absent or low-quality accessibility policies. Categories and Subject Descriptors H.1.2 [Models and Principles]: User/Machine Systems – human factors. K.3.1 [Computers and Education]: Computers Uses in Education – distance learning. K.4.2 [Computers and Society]: Social Issues – assistive technologies for persons with disabilities. General Terms Design, Human Factors, Legal Aspects, Verification. Keywords Web, Accessibility, Evaluation, Education, WCAG, Section 508 1. INTRODUCTION University web sites play a crucial role in the day-to-day lives of postsecondary students. Use of the Web is quickly becoming a required part of university life. University web pages often contain important information about academic resources, campus events, and administrative policies. These pages may also provide access to university services such as the library, campus bookstore, and course registration system. A 2002 survey from the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that 48% of university students had participated in courses that required use of the Internet [17]. In addition to serving current students, university web pages may also provide information for prospective students and their families. A 2005 survey of American teenagers and their parents found that 42% of prospective university students used the Internet as a primary resource when choosing a university program [14]. As university web sites take on an increasingly role, it is important that these sites be accessible to users with disabilities. Web sites that are not accessible may prevent users with disabilities from accessing the information that they contain, and may prevent those users from participating in university activities. Inaccessible university web pages may also promote an educational divide in which people with disabilities are denied equal access to public education and other aspects of society. Web developers who wish to create accessible web pages may draw from a wide variety of helpful online resources such as technical documentation and software tools. Many of these resources are available online for free. Despite the availability of these resources, many web developers continue to produce web sites that are inaccessible [19]. Recent studies suggest that many existing web sites are even becoming less accessible over time [13,20]. In order to improve the accessibility of university web sites worldwide, we must identify those areas in which accessibility issues are most severe. To this end, we executed a multi-method accessibility evaluation of 100 top international university web pages. This evaluation was designed to identify ongoing accessibility issues affecting university pages, and to isolate groups of web sites that suffer from serious accessibility problems. Our evaluation considered how factors such as geographic location, language, university ranking, and public funding status might impact a university’s level of web accessibility. We found that while many worldwide university web pages contain accessibility errors, there were significant geographical variations in web site accessibility. We also found that many sites lack accessibility policies or other documentation, which may prevent users with disabilities from effectively using those sites. 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