Web accessibility polices of higher education institutions

Abstract

This article describes a study on the assessment process of web accessibility policies adopted by 51 university websites across the world, which are ranked by Webometrics. The web accessibility assessment was aimed at validating compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0; these guidelines are defined and published by the World Wide Web Consortium. The primary goal of this study is to identify a group of universities with academic prestige and determine their level of commitment to providing accessible information about university facts and activities through their main websites, as well as making it available to everyone including people with disabilities. Awareness about the scope of web accessibility policies is a topic of interest for organizations that are operating a website. Some policies can be applied to address internet issues such as privacy of personal data and web accessibility for people with disabilities. Policies of web accessibility are dynamic in nature due to the evolution of technology; therefore, any gaps in web accessibility should be addressed immediately and applied at different levels within an organization. From a legal perspective, in some websites, policies are depicted in the legal terms posted in the website, and in the functionality and features that the website offers to its users. In the evaluation phase various parameters were tested such as the implementation of web accessibility policies, version, level, availability of contact information for complaints, conformance logo, educational information, and help and support tools.