Does the design of your website discourage prospective students?

By William Erickson, Research Specialist; and Sara VanLooy, Project Assistant, Employment and Disability Institute, Cornell University

The Employment and Disability Institute (EDI) at Cornell University has completed a three-year research project on community college Web accessibility and online student services, and developed an online Web access toolkit to improve the usability of college websites.

Community colleges play a vital role in educating students with disabilities and are a crucial link to better employment. A survey of 700 community colleges found that the majority use the Internet to provide admissions and financial aid applications, course catalogs, class schedules, course registration, and billing online. Some colleges have made some of these services available only on the Web, with serious implications for students with disabilities who will encounter potentially insurmountable barriers if Web pages are not well designed.

Technology can open doors to education for students with disabilities, but inaccessible websites can pose significant barriers to people who are visually impaired, deaf, or have learning disabilities.  EDI was funded by the U.S. Department of Education to study Internet-based student services at community colleges. The Institute for Community College Development at Cornell collaborated with EDI on the study.

Accessibility and usability testing of a sample of community college Web pages found many problems. Both disabled and non-disabled users were frustrated by inaccessible pages, unclear instructions, confusing navigation, and unfamiliar terminology. Many required assistance to complete the application form, and the majority reported confusion with the entire process.

Virtually all of the websites examined performed poorly on both the accessibility evaluations and the usability testing. Barriers existed on many college websites that could prevent users from being able to complete an admissions application.

User testing in Web design is critical for all users of community college websites, not just users with disabilities.

This study led to the development of a tool to help college administrators who wish to address the broader issues of Web accessibility improve the accessibility and usability of their websites.

The Web Access Toolkit (www.webaccesstoolkit.org) provides resources and a process for achieving long-term Web accessibility and enhanced usability for all users, disabled and nondisabled alike.

Download the research brief.

For more information on this project, email Bill Erickson, Research Specialist, Employment and Disability Institute.

Link to ICCD's other Winter 2008 Gravitas newsletter articles

Download the Winter 2008 edition of ICCD's newsletter Gravitas  (pdf)