JSET

JSET Articles Index

Volume 22 Number 4

Snapshot–Ten Years After the Law: A Survey of the Current Status of University Web Accessibility
S. Kathleen Krach

Abstract

The changing interpretation of laws regarding individuals with disabilities requires Web sites to be accessible by assistive technology devices. This study examined the current accessibility of university and departmental home pages. The first research hypothesis theorized that some improvement in Web accessibility for home pages of colleges in 2007 would be found when compared to data from a 2001 accessibility study by Zaphiris and Ellis. In 2001, 29.4% of colleges evaluated were accessible, and in 2007 58.8% of colleges evaluated were accessible. The second research hypothesis theorized that there would be more accessible pages for departments that focus on disability studies, such as special education and educational psychology, than would be found on general, university-wide homepages. Findings indicated that approximately half of the university-wide and special education home pages evaluated were accessible; however, only about 30% of the educational psychology home pages evaluated were accessible. These data show that university and departmental home pages still have some way to go to meet the legal requirement that 100% of all Web sites be accessible.

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