Web Accessibility in Higher Education Sector
Standing
Undergraduate
Type of Proposal
Oral Research Presentation
Challenges Theme
Open Challenge
Faculty Sponsor
Bharat Maheshwari
Proposal
90% of websites are inaccessible to people with disabilities who rely on assistive technology (Cahalane, 2018). People who are color-blind, legally blind, and visually and physically impaired are facing issues accessing higher education institution websites. One in five Canadians aged 15 years and over had a disability. (Morris et al., 2018) More than 1.5 million people have hearing difficulties, 375,000 are deaf, and more than 800,000 are blind or partially sighted. This research study examines accessibility and inclusivity in higher education websites during the 21st century. (Lepore & Kearnan, 2022) This research is conducted from a tech-user point of view. Incorporating evidence from literature reviews and studying 7+ universities in Canada through point-based criteria (1-5) and different evaluation software to conclude whether a website is accessible, the level of accessibility present, and potential areas for improvement by implementing some Artificial Intelligence (AI) features.
Grand Challenges
Viable, Healthy and Safe Communities
Web Accessibility in Higher Education Sector
90% of websites are inaccessible to people with disabilities who rely on assistive technology (Cahalane, 2018). People who are color-blind, legally blind, and visually and physically impaired are facing issues accessing higher education institution websites. One in five Canadians aged 15 years and over had a disability. (Morris et al., 2018) More than 1.5 million people have hearing difficulties, 375,000 are deaf, and more than 800,000 are blind or partially sighted. This research study examines accessibility and inclusivity in higher education websites during the 21st century. (Lepore & Kearnan, 2022) This research is conducted from a tech-user point of view. Incorporating evidence from literature reviews and studying 7+ universities in Canada through point-based criteria (1-5) and different evaluation software to conclude whether a website is accessible, the level of accessibility present, and potential areas for improvement by implementing some Artificial Intelligence (AI) features.