Accessibility Hazards on the Road to College | Data Bytes - EDUCAUSE Review

Although some colleges and universities have made great strides in accessibility, progress is uneven across higher education. Our survey of college students shows the gaps and points toward solutions that institutions can pursue to enable equitable opportunities for all students.

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The year 2020 marks the thirtieth anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), yet despite the law's age, many colleges and universities have been slow to implement changes that maximize opportunities for students, faculty, and staff with disabilities, according to Dana C. Gierdowski, Researcher for the EDUCAUSE Center for Analysis & Research (ECAR).

Photo: Naci Yavuz / Shutterstock.com © 2020

Even as some institutions have embraced a culture of accessibility and are making strides, others have a long way to go. Individuals with disabilities have filed and continue to file discrimination lawsuits and accessibility complaints against colleges and universities, most recently in relation to their struggles with inaccessible web content and technologies that pose barriers to their learning.¹

In an effort to better understand students' experiences with technology services and support on their campuses, EDUCAUSE expanded the accessibility section of the 2020 student study. The majority of students with disabilities reported good or excellent ratings for their institution's approach to supporting their need for accessible content and/or technology accommodations. However, we found that about one in three respondents did not rate their experiences positively (figure 1). In their open responses, students cited various reasons to explain their poor or fair ratings, and several common patterns emerged that demonstrate the kinds of barriers students with disabilities encounter. Given the examples below of common institutional obstacles, we offer actionable measures that can be taken to pave the way for all students on their road to a college credential...

Colleges and universities must treat accessibility as a social justice issue and work across units to educate faculty and staff about learning variability. Designing inclusion-education workshops and instructional support programs on the challenges that students with disabilities face in obtaining support services in higher education, the purpose of accommodations, and maintaining student privacy can help build understanding, empathy, and more equitable experiences for students.  

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Source: EDUCAUSE Review