This case study evaluates the performance of a university website in Canada and another university website in China regarding digital accessibility and usability. The website subjects went through automatic accessibility audit tool and manual evaluation.

1. This case study evaluates the performance of
a university website in Canada and another
university website in China regarding digital
accessibility and usability. The website
subjects went through automatic accessibility
audit tool and manual evaluation.
Introduction
The first case is a university website from
China which is The University of Hong Kong.
The second case is York University Website
from Canada. Both are the equivalent level
of counterparts in the two different
countries. The case study is to examine the
accessibility and usability of university
websites in China and Canada through two
types of evaluation technique, which are
automatically audit tool created by IDRC,
manual check conducted by the author
whose profession is accessibility specialist.
Overview of the Cases
AChecker is an open source online tool for evaluating
accessibility issues in HTML content. It can review the
accessibility of a web page according to WCAG 2.0
guidelines. After entering the URL of the webpage, it will
automatically generate a testing report which provides
reviews of “Known Problems”, “Likely Problems” and
“Potential Problems” for users.
Manual Assessment
Principles of Accessibility in WCAG 2.0
Perceivable. Web-based websites and applications should
present the content in ways that allow all users can perceive.
Operable. Barrier-free websites must allow all users to quickly and
precisely navigate the interface and operate the components. In
other words, the website should be keyboard friendly.
Understandable. Interface elements and contents are in intuitive
and consistent well-organised patterns.
Robust. Based on the foundation of well-functioning semantic
HTML, people can access robust websites across platforms by
various devices, browsers and assistive technologies.
Understanding the above four primary
principles of accessibility in WCAG2.0 is
essential to assess whether or not they
met the accessibility standards of WCAG.
Automated Accessibility Evaluation
A Comparative Analysis of Tertiary Educational Websites
Digital Accessibility And Usability Evaluation Amelia Wang
LAB 3, OCAD UNIVERSITY

2. Case A-The Website of HKU Case B-The Website of York U
A Comparative Analysis of Tertiary Educational Websites
Digital Accessibility And Usability Evaluation Amelia Wang
LAB 3, OCAD UNIVERSITY
The test result of the homepage of the University
of Hong Kong shows that the page does not
contain any known or likely accessibility issues.
The York University webpage testing result in
AChecker shows the website contains some 20
known problems (require to fix) and 4 likely
problems (may need to fix based on human
decisions). There are two categories of known
problems against the assessment criteria, one is
“Colour Contrast” and the other one is “Italic
Element Used”.
The Result of Automated Evaluation The Result of Automated Evaluation
The Result of Manual Assessment
The Result of Manual Assessment
“Quick links” navigation menu that provides users
with easy access to services.
Users can offer feedback about their visit experience
so that the design team can keep improving the
accessibility of the site on a regular basis.
The overall webpage is keyboard accessible and
compliant with WCAG 2.0 AA.
Providing multiple language options can help to
accommodate the large and diverse community at
York University.

provides people with “High Contrast” option to
change the colour
Provides more than one language option.
Avoid opening new windows or content when
opening an existing web page.
Avoid contents that are semi-transparent, and
the presented images overlap with the
background image


For automated evaluation, the HKU demonstrates
a better accessibility guideline conformances than
York U. However, York University website offers a
better usability when it comes to a more profound
diving experience.
Conclusion