KENNESAW, Ga. | Apr 28, 2026

Recent reports from Inside Higher Ed and NPR explain the importance and challenges of accessibility.

If you’ve taught online courses at KSU or you manage web content on the KSU website, you’re probably very familiar with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, commonly called “WCAG.”  In partnerships across campus with staff and faculty, the Academic Web Accessibility unit and instructional designers in Digital Learning Innovations and many of the wonderful creators in Strategic Communications and Marketing work to make KSU’s digital content accessible for all users every day.

But while KSU is a leader in digital accessibility, for many people in our community, WCAG still feels very new and overwhelming. Especially in light of DOJ’s ADA regulation from 2024 and the recent update to it in April of this year, it sometimes still feels like a huge cultural shift that we are embarking on alone! 

For this reason, we’d like to point you to a couple of recent articles that demonstrate that WCAG is getting a lot more attention than we may realize: 

A recent Inside Higher Ed article, Higher Ed Prepares for a New Era of Accessibility, introduced many readers to the value of digital accessibility, challenges in higher education, and recent regulation. That article includes this wonderful quote from Jonathan Thurston from the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies: 

“Title II is about growth and opportunity. And when you implement accessibility and disability for people with disabilities, it improves everyone’s lives,” Thurston said. “And if colleges implement it, they’ll also make more money, because [strong accessibility standards] often lead to higher enrollment and retention.” 

A second report from National Public Radio, dated April 22, 2026, These blind students say their college blocked their education. A new rule could help, tells the stories of Miranda Lacy and Harold Rogers, both graduate students at West Virginia University. By explaining the struggles they had in their courses, readers or listeners of the story are introduced to the problems people with disabilities often face when trying to access inaccessible digital content.  A powerful quote from Ella Callow at the University of California, Berkely, illustrates the significance of the task: 

Callow, who has disabilities, says digital accessibility is a civil rights issue. Despite her campus having a rich history of disability rights activism, she says this rule is still a "sea change." 

It’s important to remember that the expectation for WCAG compliance is not unique to KSU or even to public education—it is applicable to all municipalities as well!  We are all in this together to work to make sure that no one is left out of the important work we do.  And as we all move forward, we will see public services and education become more effective because of these efforts.