Accessibility analysis of some Indian educational web portals

TL;DR

This paper critically analyzes the accessibility of thirty Indian university web portals based on WCAG 2.0 guidelines, highlighting common deficiencies to improve their usability for diverse students.

Contribution

It provides a detailed assessment of Indian university web portals' accessibility, identifying common issues and offering guidance for enhancement based on established standards.

Findings

Many portals lack sufficient assistive features

Significant non-compliance with WCAG 2.0 guidelines

Recommendations for improving portal accessibility

Abstract

Web portals are being considered as excellent means for conducting teaching and learning activities electronically. The number of online services such as course enrollment, tutoring through online course materials, evaluation and even certification through web portals is increasing day by day. However, the effectiveness of an educational web portal depends on its accessibility to a wide range of students irrespective of their age, and physical abilities. Accessibility of web portals largely depends on their userfriendliness in terms of design, contents, assistive features, and online support. In this paper, we have critically analyzed the web portals of thirty Indian Universities of different categories based on the WCAG 2.0 guidelines. The purpose of this study is to point out the deficiencies that are commonly observed in web portals and help web designers to remove such deficiencies from the academic web portals with a view to enhance their accessibility.