Accessibility in higher education isn’t just important—it’s about to become mandatory. By April 2026, colleges must comply with the new WCAG 2.2 standards or risk falling behind. The clock is ticking.
Schools must ensure their document management platform and other applications are accessible to all users. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are published by the Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an internationally recognized organization that creates universal internet standards.
The first version – WCAG 1.0 – was published in May 1999 to provide greater access to web-based content for users with disabilities. The next major update – WCAG 2.0 – was issued by W3C in December 2008.
When W3C released its WCAG 2.1 revision in June 2018, they stated that “following these guidelines will make content more accessible to a wider range of people with disabilities, including accommodations for blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, limited movement, speech disabilities, photosensitivity, and combinations of these, and some accommodation for learning disabilities and cognitive limitations.”
What’s New in WCAG 2.2?
In October 2023, W3C released its recommendations for WCAG 2.2. While the main provisions are the same as previous versions, 2.2 introduced nine new standards for education and government institutions to comply with across three levels (A, AA, AAA). These define key interactive improvements for those with vision, mobility, and cognitive impairments.
Why WCAG 2.2 Compliance Matters
As with previous success criteria, WCAG 2.2 aims to make software applications and websites more usable, accessible, and understandable to all. In education and government, this holds the promise of enabling every colleague with the same opportunity to serve their constituents. For example, in higher education, students are at a disadvantage if staff cannot use services because of inaccessible applications.
Risks of Non-Compliance
While W3C is a non-regulatory entity, its framework has been adopted as part of global ISO standards. Courts and government agencies, such as the Department of Justice (DOJ), have referenced WCAG as the standard for ensuring websites and digital content are accessible. Two examples are:
- Title II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) states that public colleges and universities (Title II) and private institutions open to the public (Title III) must ensure their websites and digital resources are accessible.
- Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act require institutions receiving federal funding to provide equal access to students with disabilities.
Failure to comply with guidelines like WCAG 2.2 makes colleges and universities more susceptible to fines and penalties from the DOJ or the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), potential loss of funding for public and federally funded schools, and lawsuits from affected students or advocacy groups, which Accessibility Works states are increasing.
A More Accessible Document Management Approach
In addition to ensuring the accessibility of their own content, websites, and mobile applications, education and government institutions need WCAG 2.2-compliant software from their providers.
For example, document management is a major application type that affects staff, students, citizens, and other constituents.
In higher education, this might mean a prospective student submitting admissions and financial aid applications or an existing enrollee choosing and changing classes via the registrar’s office. Additional departments such as finance or HR have workflows like invoice processing, payment processing, and employee onboarding.
Accessibility cannot be retrofitted into purchased software. To meet WCAG 2.2 requirements, schools must start with document management software that was designed to be maximally accessible from day one. Vendors must take this seriously. An accessible document management system must empower all students and staff—including those with cognitive, motor, and visual impairments—to submit, view, and edit content easily.
Usability by Design at Softdocs
To provide education and government customers peace of mind, Softdocs bakes WCAG 2.2 compliance into our platform starting at the very first design stages. Usability is paramount. Every student or staff member can use document management, workflow, and eForms functionality without barriers. The user experience team reviews every new or updated feature for accessibility.
Softdocs conducts self-audits on our platform with Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPATs) and publishes the results. VPATs show:
- Compliance with WCAG standards.
- Support for ADA Title II and III, Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and other legal accessibility requirements is crucial for ensuring that websites and digital resources are accessible to all users, including those with disabilities.
- Areas of improvement that need to be addressed in future software updates.
Softdocs is also TX-RAMP Level 2 certified, supports StateRAMP, and satisfies FERPA data protection requirements.
Softdocs conducts a VPAT twice a year, invests in SOC 2 Type II, SOC 3, and NIST 800-53 audits, and validates code using tools like Lighthouse and Accessibility Insights. When a document management vendor is transparent about its accessibility, schools and agencies can worry about one less thing.
Preparing for New Accessibility Deadlines
Any college or university seeking to further its WCAG 2.2 compliance before the April 2026 deadline for the ADA Title II update needs to act now. This starts with rigorously assessing homegrown and third-party software and deciding which systems can be updated and which need replacing.
A school that is serious about accessibility would do well to choose a proven platform like Softdocs to provide every student and staff member with ready access to usable content and ensure compliance with accessibility, data security, and privacy mandates.
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