Not Overly Accessible: Accessibility Services at Universities Across Canada
Keywords:
Accessibility; Canadian universities; websitesAbstract
People with disabilities face accessibility challenges in higher education. Consequently, universities generally provide accessibility services that provide support and information to those who need it. However, it is not clear what services and information Canadian universities provide, and whether their accessibility websites are themselves accessible. Whether information about accessibility services and resources (e.g., note taking, funding) was present on accessibility websites was assessed among 86 Canadian universities. In addition, the accessibility services websites themselves were assessed for meeting international standards of accessibility. Results suggest that larger universities generally provide more information about services and resources, but there is variability and a lack of consistency, with some services rarely mentioned. The websites themselves have more errors that would impact users with accessibility issues and less elements designed specifically for accessibility than the websites of common large companies and the Canadian Government. The accessibility websites of Canadian universities are generally not as accessible as they could be for those who are likely to need them most.
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