Auditing accessibility of UK Higher Education web sites

Given the increasingly important role the World Wide Web plays as an information source, and yet with the continuing problems that certain individuals, particularly those with disabilities and those using ‘non-standard’ Web browsing technology, it is vital that web resource providers be aware of design features which introduce barriers affecting the accessibility of on-line information. The role of the accessibility audit is seen as an important one in uncovering, describing, and explaining potential accessibility barriers present in a web site. It furthermore acts as an educational tool by raising awareness in accessible design amongst web designers and content providers in providing them with a recovery plan for improving the accessiblility of the audited resource, and potentially other resources. In 1999, the authors were commissioned to carry out accessibility audits of 11 web sites in the UK Higher Education sector. This paper discusses the development of the methodology used to carry out the audits, the findings of the audits in terms of accessibility levels of the subject sites, and feedback as a result of the auditing process. It concludes by looking at ways in which the methodology adopted may be tailored to suit specific types of web resource evaluation.