A Quest for website accessibility in higher education institutions

Researchers increasingly suggest that accessibility remains a prominent issue across the World Wide Web (www). This study raises awareness about issues of access in higher education. This qualitative research design utilized a listserv that invited university based webmasters to use freeware to evaluate the overall accessibility of their institutions' homepage website. Participation was voluntary and evaluations were gathered electronically. Our sample indicated that most universities' homepages were non-compliant with the www.WorldWideWeb Consortium guidelines. One particular institution, however, satisfied all W3C guidelines earning a perfect Triple A. Simply stated, this exemplary website serves people of all exceptionalities. Studying this institution's implementation process, we propose that other institutions might emulate this exemplary model to achieve greater website accessibility for all constituents.