Accessibility for Higher Education
Achieve ADA compliance. Empower every student.
For many colleges and universities, digital accessibility is a legal requirement under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)—and it’s essential for providing equitable learning experiences to students with disabilities. But achieving, and maintaining, accessibility in higher education can feel complex, particularly for institutions managing a diverse array of digital assets across multiple teams.
Level Access equips colleges and universities with technology and expertise needed to swiftly bring digital experiences into alignment with the ADA’s requirements, along with the training and support needed to maintain long-term compliance.
Level Access is helping make our accessibility program more sustainable, providing a centralized solution for consistency, education, and self-service.
– Amanda Calvert, IT Accessibility Program Director, University of Cincinnati
ADA compliance in higher education: Understanding the law
Digital accessibility is an ADA Title II compliance mandate.
Does your organization receive public funding? You likely need to comply with digital accessibility requirements under Title II of the ADA. In 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published a new Title II rule mandating that state and local government organizations, including public colleges and universities, meet specific digital accessibility standards. With deadlines approaching, compliance is essential to avoid private litigation.
Unsure where to start? Explore our ADA Title II resource hub for more information, along with practical guidance.
Title III litigation impacts private higher education institutions.
Private educational institutions may face accessibility-related legal action under Title III of the ADA. And Title III litigation remains widespread, with more than 16,000 lawsuits filed between 2017 and 2023. Level Access’s market-leading solution empowers private colleges and universities to reduce legal and reputational risks by adhering to Title III compliance best practices.
Don’t just find compliance issues—fix them.
ADA compliance in higher education often starts with automated scanning—but to meet the law’s requirements, institutions need a holistic approach.
Level Access’s comprehensive solution empowers organizations to identify and resolve accessibility barriers efficiently, mitigating legal risks and providing equal opportunities in education for students with disabilities.
Actionable audits
Gain comprehensive insight into digital accessibility barriers through manual evaluations by accessibility experts, plus rapid automated testing.
On-demand accessibility training
Spread awareness about accessibility in higher education and build practical skills with live and on-demand accessibility training through the Level Access Academy.
Support from subject matter experts
Leverage the market’s deepest bench of subject matter expertise for technical and strategic guidance to implement fixes and sustain your progress.
The complete solution for inclusive, ADA-compliant education
Decode document accessibility.
For educational institutions, ADA compliance typically extends beyond web accessibility. From presentations and Word documents to PDFs, a wide variety of digital assets may need to meet accessibility standards. Count on Level Access’s document remediation service to swiftly address accessibility barriers in PDFs and other digital documents, and leverage document-specific training courses in our Academy to implement document accessibility best practices across your organization.
Understand and benchmark accessibility maturity.
Digital accessibility in higher education often starts with a grassroots approach. But long-term compliance requires a sustainable program. Level Access’s Digital Accessibility Maturity Model (DAMM) provides organizations with a clear, proven framework for benchmarking the effectiveness of their current approach to accessibility and identifying key opportunities for improvement. Obtain a comprehensive DAMM assessment from our team to ensure you’re on the right path to success.
Your roadmap to ADA Title II compliance in higher education
Watch the on-demand webinar to gain clarity on how recent ADA Title II rulemaking impacts higher education institutions—and the key actions organizations must take to comply. In this session, Jon Avila, Chief Accessibility Officer at Level Access, and Julianna Goldring, Director of Marketing at Concept3D, will unpack the new Title II requirements for public colleges and universities and outline a step-by-step roadmap to meeting them.Achieve compliance and advance equity in higher education.
Every student has a right to equal opportunities in education. Colleges and universities must respect this right, or risk legal action under the ADA. With over 25 years of experience, Level Access offers a trusted, comprehensive solution for sustainable ADA compliance in higher education. Contact our team today to start meeting your organizations’ legal obligations and upholding your commitment to inclusion.
FAQs
What does accessibility mean in higher education?
Accessibility in higher education refers to the practice of removing barriers that prevent students with disabilities from receiving equitable learning experiences.
What are the barriers to accessibility in higher education?
Barriers to accessibility in higher education may be physical or digital. Examples of physical accessibility barriers include classrooms or dormitories that cannot be accessed by users of wheelchairs and mobility devices, and lack of braille signage on buildings. Digital accessibility barriers may include learning content that is incompatible with screen readers, learning management systems (LMS) that cannot be navigated via the keyboard, or educational videos that lack captions or transcripts.
Are universities required to be ADA compliant?
Both public and private universities must comply with the ADA. Public universities are covered by Title II of the ADA, while private universities are covered by Title III.