Аналіз вебдоступності сайтів українських закладів вищої освіти
In today’s digital world, website content accessibility for all users, including people with disabilities, is crucial. This paper examines the accessibility of web content on the websites of Ukrainian higher education institutions to assess their compliance with modern standards and requirements. Th...
Gespeichert in:
| Datum: | 2025 |
|---|---|
| Hauptverfasser: | , , |
| Format: | Artikel |
| Sprache: | Englisch |
| Veröffentlicht: |
The National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute"
2025
|
| Schlagworte: | |
| Online Zugang: | https://journal.iasa.kpi.ua/article/view/336175 |
| Tags: |
Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
|
| Назва журналу: | System research and information technologies |
| Завантажити файл: |  |
Institution
System research and information technologies| _version_ | 1866303043145826304 |
|---|---|
| author | Kuzikov, Borys Tytov, Pavlo Shovkoplias, Oksana |
| author_facet | Kuzikov, Borys Tytov, Pavlo Shovkoplias, Oksana |
| author_sort | Kuzikov, Borys |
| baseUrl_str | http://journal.iasa.kpi.ua/oai |
| collection | OJS |
| datestamp_date | 2025-07-25T15:56:08Z |
| description | In today’s digital world, website content accessibility for all users, including people with disabilities, is crucial. This paper examines the accessibility of web content on the websites of Ukrainian higher education institutions to assess their compliance with modern standards and requirements. The goal is to identify problematic aspects and develop strategies for improving the accessibility of educational web resources. The study covered data from the main pages of 372 higher education institution websites, whose addresses were obtained from the Unified State Electronic Database on Education (“USEDE”). The built-in accessibility enhancement tools used on these pages were analyzed. The paper also summarizes global experience in regulating web accessibility requirements. The analyzed regulatory documents include Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 in their rules. Automated analysis tools WAVE and Axe were used to assess website compliance with the Guidelines. Results showed that the most common problems were insufficient highlighting of hyperlinks (characteristic of 84.8% of sites, Success criteria (SC) 2.4.4, 4.1.2), insufficient element contrast (84.6%, SC 1.4.3), lack of alternative text for images (42.9%; SC 1.1.1), and non-compliance with markup and semantics requirements. The conclusions present an analysis of the problems identified during the study, along with the authors’ recommendations for addressing them. The analysis results were systematized and published on a specially created web resource. The authors plan to conduct similar studies on an ongoing basis. It is also necessary to pay attention to problems identified when using automatic analysis tools. The Axe tool identified 11.875 cases of element contrast issues, accounting for 24% of the total number of detected problems. However, this figure is not final, as it does not account for the full range of possible color perception violations and overlooks the contrast of elements against backgrounds with non-uniform colors. |
| doi_str_mv | 10.20535/SRIT.2308-8893.2025.2.10 |
| first_indexed | 2025-07-27T04:04:10Z |
| format | Article |
| fulltext |
Publisher IASA at the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, 2025
Системні дослідження та інформаційні технології, 2025, № 2 139
UDC 004.51
DOI: 10.20535/SRIT.2308-8893.2025.2.10
ANALYSIS OF WEB ACCESSIBILITY OF UKRAINIAN
HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS’ WEBSITES
B.O. KUZIKOV, P.O. TYTOV, O.A. SHOVKOPLIAS
Abstract. In today’s digital world, website content accessibility for all users, includ-
ing people with disabilities, is crucial. This paper examines the accessibility of web
content on the websites of Ukrainian higher education institutions to assess their
compliance with modern standards and requirements. The goal is to identify prob-
lematic aspects and develop strategies for improving the accessibility of educational
web resources. The study covered data from the main pages of 372 higher education
institution websites, whose addresses were obtained from the Unified State Elec-
tronic Database on Education (“USEDE”). The built-in accessibility enhancement
tools used on these pages were analyzed. The paper also summarizes global experi-
ence in regulating web accessibility requirements. The analyzed regulatory docu-
ments include Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 in their rules.
Automated analysis tools WAVE and Axe were used to assess website compliance
with the Guidelines. Results showed that the most common problems were insuffi-
cient highlighting of hyperlinks (characteristic of 84.8% of sites, Success criteria
(SC) 2.4.4, 4.1.2), insufficient element contrast (84.6%, SC 1.4.3), lack of alterna-
tive text for images (42.9%; SC 1.1.1), and non-compliance with markup and se-
mantics requirements. The conclusions present an analysis of the problems identi-
fied during the study, along with the authors’ recommendations for addressing them.
The analysis results were systematized and published on a specially created web re-
source. The authors plan to conduct similar studies on an ongoing basis. It is also
necessary to pay attention to problems identified when using automatic analysis
tools. The Axe tool identified 11.875 cases of element contrast issues, accounting
for 24% of the total number of detected problems. However, this figure is not final,
as it does not account for the full range of possible color perception violations and
overlooks the contrast of elements against backgrounds with non-uniform colors.
Keywords: web accessibility, WCAG, accessible education, inclusiveness, webpage.
INTRODUCTION
The shift of a significant portion of daily activities online has become one of the
defining trends of modern times. Digitalization has encompassed almost all as-
pects of human life, including using electronic services to obtain certificates
through the Diia app, scheduling doctor appointments through the Helsi informa-
tion system, submitting gas, water, and electricity meter readings, purchasing
tickets, online banking, etc. These are just some examples that illustrate the depth
of electronic services’ integration into our lives. Parallel to this, the importance of
these services’ accessibility to the broadest possible range of users is increasing.
World Health Organization statistics show that at least 2.2 billion people have
vision impairments [1]. According to the European Union’s official website, 100
million people in the EU live with various forms of disability [2], making them a
significant portion of potential users of digital products and services. Ensuring the
accessibility of these products and services not only complies with ethical stan-
dards of equality and inclusiveness but can also bring economic benefits to com-
B.O. Kuzikov, P.O. Tytov, O.A. Shovkoplias
ISSN 1681–6048 System Research & Information Technologies, 2025, № 2 140
panies by expanding their customer base. In Ukraine, where the number of people
with special needs is increasing due to military actions, the relevance of digital
accessibility is growing even more.
The author’s research focuses on analyzing information services provided by
higher education institutions through their web platforms, emphasizing the acces-
sibility of these services. In the context of ensuring equal access to education, web
accessibility of educational resources becomes particularly important, as inclu-
siveness ensures that every student, regardless of their special needs, will have
comfortable learning conditions. According to the definition provided in the digi-
tal accessibility manual [3], web accessibility means designing and developing
websites, web tools, and technologies in a way that makes them usable by people
with disabilities. Web accessibility is a specific case of the broader concept of
“digital accessibility”, although sometimes both terms are used synonymously.
Thus, studying barriers in accessing educational institution websites is key to
identifying and overcoming obstacles to digital inclusion. This work aims to ana-
lyze the web accessibility of Ukrainian higher education institutions’ websites
based on data obtained from the Register of Educational Activity Entities of the
Unified State Electronic Database on Education [4].
In the context of educational resources, attention to web accessibility is driv-
en by both general humanistic factors, such as guaranteeing accessible educa-
tion — equal access to information for all who desire it, promoting an inclusive
environment, and purely practical considerations — enhancing reputation and
expanding the circle of potential students. It’s also worth considering “staying
ahead of the curve”. Several countries, including the USA, Great Britain, and Eu-
ropean Union states, have already implemented legislation requiring compliance
with minimum web accessibility standards for specific categories of websites.
Given Ukraine’s ambitions for European integration, the need to harmonize na-
tional legislation with international experience in this field is anticipated.
In parallel with progress in the field of information and communication
technologies, regulatory acts supporting the inclusion of people with disabilities
are emerging in the legislative field. This encompasses both framework docu-
ments, exemplified by Article 9 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights
of Persons with Disabilities [5], Article 26 of the EU Charter of Fundamental
Rights [6], and more specific legislative implementation. It’s worth noting the
experience of the USA Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act [7], the EU Web
Accessibility Directive (2016/2102) [8], Great Britain Equality Act 2010 [9],
international standard ISO/IEC 40500:2012 “Information technology W3C Web
Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0” [10], Ukraine state standard for
digital accessibility National Standard of Ukraine (DSTU) EN 301 549:2022 “In-
formation Technologies. Accessibility requirements for ICT products and ser-
vices” [11], which duplicated the European standard of the same name that in-
cludes Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1, which European
legislation has been using for several years. Overall, all these documents include
WCAG [12] in their list of rules. Therefore, when analyzing website accessibility,
we will use the WCAG standard and tools to verify compliance.
CURRENT STATE
Web accessibility testing is a method for verifying the accessibility of digital con-
tent for all users, including those with physical limitations or cognitive impair-
Analysis of web accessibility of Ukrainian higher education institutions’ websites
Системні дослідження та інформаційні технології, 2025, № 2 141
ments. Such testing aims to ensure content accessibility through alternative inter-
action methods, not limited to traditional methods such as using a mouse or
touchpad. The main principles of web accessibility include [13]:
perception: the interface and information should be presented in a way
that is accessible to the user. For example, text to background on the page or in
images should have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1, and images should include a
text description (alt-text);
operability: navigation must be accessible and controllable through the
user interface. For example, the ability to navigate to any element using a key-
board;
understandability: control elements must be understandable and standard-
ized within the resource;
robustness: the user interface must ensure content accessibility for all us-
ers. This can usually be achieved with syntactically and semantically correct
HTML markup and compliance with other related web specifications.
Within the framework of this study, the primary attention was paid to check-
ing websites for compliance with perception criteria, as ensuring interface acces-
sibility for different user groups is a key requirement of web development. Creat-
ing high-contrast content, proper use of alternative text for images, and other
measures allow for making websites more accessible to people with various levels
of vision and those who use assistive technologies. This creates an inclusive in-
ternet space where users can access information and interact with web resources
comfortably and effectively.
To evaluate accessibility, different strategies are required: automated acces-
sibility validators, manual verification, and expert evaluation. Website or applica-
tion accessibility can be automatically assessed using several online tools. These
tools can complete assessments of various WCAG versions at certain compliance
levels and check specific aspects of accessibility, such as color contrast or the
presence of necessary element attributes. Most criteria can be checked automati-
cally. For example, “All non-text content that is presented to the user has a text
alternative that serves the equivalent purpose” (Success criterion (SC) 1.1.1).
However, certain aspects require manual verification beyond automated tests, as
they concern the completeness of WCAG guidelines compliance. The most com-
mon web accessibility evaluation tools include WAVE, Axe, TAW, and Web Ac-
cessibility Inspector [14].
Most accessibility testing tools perform various types of checks. For exam-
ple, WAVE [15], developed by WebAIM, is a browser toolbar that allows analyz-
ing accessibility without storing data on a server. This tool identifies the need for
manual checks of ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) elements, con-
sidering descriptive and precise values, adequate use of states, roles, properties, as
well as correct use of tab indices and active regions. The Axe tool [16], created by
Deque Systems, is also designed to help website developers identify and resolve
accessibility issues on their sites according to WCAG recommendations. TAW
[17], developed by CTIC Centro Tecnologico, is an automated accessibility test-
ing tool that meets WCAG 1.0 and 2.0 criteria. It identifies accessibility issues
and provides targeted recommendations for resolving them. Accessibility Inspec-
tor [18] tests desktop application accessibility, pointing out elements with issues
after entering a URL or file path. It is compatible with Windows and Mac OS X.
B.O. Kuzikov, P.O. Tytov, O.A. Shovkoplias
ISSN 1681–6048 System Research & Information Technologies, 2025, № 2 142
REVIEW OF GLOBAL EXPERIENCE IN WEB ACCESSIBILITY
The article’s authors [19] analyzed web accessibility in higher education in Great
Britain. Considering WCAG 2.0 requirements, they examined the accessibility of
the home pages of 66 research universities included in the SCImago international
ranking. Three automated web accessibility tools were used for this purpose:
TAW, WAVE, and EIII Page Checker. In total, the study examined 120 research
universities. It was found that the most common violations were related to the
lack of text alternatives for non-text content, contrast errors, and the need to opti-
mize web pages using modern technologies and tools. In particular, color contrast
errors between text and background were detected on 74.2% of the examined uni-
versity home pages.
In the work [20], the authors conducted a comparative analysis of Turkish
university websites regarding accessibility, usability, performance, and readabil-
ity. The URL data of websites for verification were collected from the Turkish
Higher Education Council (THEC) website. The sample covered 186 universities,
among which five were vocational schools and seven were inactive or offline.
Thus, 179 Turkish universities were evaluated using AChecker for compliance
with WCAG 2.0 criteria. The biggest problems were at conformance level A. Pri-
vate university sites showed worse conformance results at AA and AAA levels
than public universities. Of 110 public university sites, only 10 complied with all
three conformance levels. Only four of 69 private university sites met levels A,
AA, and AAA. The most common problem on the sites was the lack of appropri-
ate alternative text: this error was found on 69% of public university sites and
55% of private university sites.
Several studies in Ukraine have examined website accessibility using various
methods and tools. For instance, in the work [21], documentary analysis and web-
page verification methods using the WAVE tool were employed. The authors in-
vestigated library web content accessibility and established that most web pages
do not comply with WCAG 2.0 and WCAG 2.1 standards. It was found that no
large-scale study of library content accessibility had been conducted in Ukraine.
A review of 22 regional universal scientific library sites showed that none meets
WCAG 2.0 requirements, and the lack of attention to optimizing domestic library
web content has effectively resulted in information inaccessibility. Additionally,
177 national library sites were checked, revealing that most use tools to engage
people with special needs.
The article [22] presents the results of a study on the accessibility of Ukrain-
ian higher education institutions’ websites according to WCAG 2.1 guidelines,
using the WAVE tool to identify and systematize accessibility issues. The study
analyzed 299 home pages of higher education institution sites. The author pro-
poses dividing all errors into six types, considering the criticality of the problem
as a coefficient of a generalized metric for ranking resources. The metric is based
on the ratio of problematic elements to the total number of elements in the cate-
gory. However, more detailed information is not provided. The study emphasizes
that the level of compliance of the studied sites with accessibility standards, even
at the basic level, is low.
DATA COLLECTION FOR ANALYSIS
This work aims to analyze and evaluate the accessibility level of Ukrainian higher
education institutions’ websites to determine their compliance with modern stan-
Analysis of web accessibility of Ukrainian higher education institutions’ websites
Системні дослідження та інформаційні технології, 2025, № 2 143
dards and web accessibility requirements. The main tasks include identifying fac-
tors affecting web resource accessibility for different target audiences, including
people with disabilities, and analyzing the implementation of adaptive design and
other technologies that facilitate website access.
The list of higher education institutions was exported from the in-
fo.edbo.gov.ua website [4]. As of January 24, 2024, the list contained 571 entries,
from which 134 entries of institutions that did not have website addresses speci-
fied or were categorized as revoked were removed. The address list was verified
at the next stage using the regular expression ^((http|https)://)?[A‐z0‐
9./]+$ revealed eight entries with errors such as typos, substituting Latin letters
with Cyrillic ones, and others. The identified errors were corrected. After this, a
crafted script checked the site availability via HTTP/HTTPS protocols with and
without the www prefix. Preference was given to the version that responded with
HTTP code 200 “OK”. The new address was saved for sites that responded with
codes 301/302/308 (temporary and permanent redirects). Such processing is nec-
essary since not all sites in the registry have a specified protocol, and some sites
are inaccessible via the protocol/prefix specified in the database or their combina-
tion. Inaccessible sites (domain name not found — 16 cases, timeout exceeded —
3 cases) or duplicated were filtered out. In 8 cases, sites were specified with
HTTPS protocol and “www” prefix, but SSL certificates for these domain names
were not created; these errors were corrected. After processing, 385 addresses
remained on the list. However, even after processing, the data quality remains
insufficient because some sites displayed server configuration error pages, were
empty, showed hosting pages, or informed about domain registration expiration.
Content analysis also revealed that some sites listed in the Registry function as e-
shops and online casinos.
For sites that were accessible during the period from February 1, 2024, to
February 2, 2024, a full-page screenshot was automatically taken in Firefox
browser, the page’s HTML code was saved for further analysis, and a list of text
blocks was preserved, extended with coordinates on the page and HTML attrib-
utes. The Firefox browser was chosen due to its capability to take screenshots of
the entire page. For all sites, the window width was 1349 pixels.
CHECKING FOR TOOLS FOR PEOPLE WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS
Through visual analysis of website screenshots, those that contained easily identi-
fiable adaptation tools for people with visual impairments in the visible part of the
full-screen browser mode were selected. Among those analyzed, only 25 sites had
such tools. For example, Fig. 1 shows 200200 pixel page fragments at 100%
scale containing special adaptation tools.
Among the examined tools for implementing webpage adaptation functional-
ity, four cases revealed the use of the POJO plugin [23], three used VBI technol-
ogy [24], and specialized extensions for WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. In four
cases, the sources and authorship of the script could not be established. In most
cases (20 from 25) the tool allows changing font size and switching the page to
black and white or high contrast mode; in 4 cases — only font size can be
changed, and in one case (West Ukrainian National University) — the page image
can only be converted to grayscale.
B.O. Kuzikov, P.O. Tytov, O.A. Shovkoplias
ISSN 1681–6048 System Research & Information Technologies, 2025, № 2 144
During the analysis, cases were also recorded where plugin use made the site
unreadable due to text block overlapping (Ivan Franko National University of
Lviv), an inactive button labeled “ДЛЯ ЛЮДЕЙ З ПОРУШЕННЯМ
ЗОРУ”(“FOR PEOPLE WITH VISUAL IMPAIRMENTS”, Ivano-Frankivsk Na-
tional Medical University), plugin configuration error (text “[bvi text = "Button
Fig. 1. Typical designations of adaptation tools on the example of sites of the Open
International University of Human Development “Ukraine” (a); National University of
Civil Defense of Ukraine (b); West Donbas Institute of Interregional Academy of Personnel
Management (c); Dnipropetrovsk State University of Internal Affairs (d); Mariupol State
University (e); Kherson State University (f)
c d
a b
e f
Analysis of web accessibility of Ukrainian higher education institutions’ websites
Системні дослідження та інформаційні технології, 2025, № 2 145
visually impaired"]” at Zhytomyr Institute of Economics and Humanities —
a separate structural unit of the Open International University of Human Devel-
opment “Ukraine”).
We positively evaluate cases of application or inclusion in the technical re-
quirements for university website development of specialized tools, although their
implementation was not correct in all cases. The capabilities provided by such
extensions, such as font enlargement and contrast schemes, can be implemented
using standard tools or browser extensions, allowing people to adapt them to their
own needs. Using plugins is appropriate when access to the site repeatedly occurs
from unprepared devices, such as computers in classrooms or public places. This
scenario is more characteristic of the university’s internal resources, such as dis-
tance learning systems, electronic cabinets, schedules, etc., which are not objects
of this study. Considering the above, adapting the entire site to WCAG recom-
mendations is more appropriate than applying separate extensions. Such verifica-
tion was performed at the next stage.
DISCUSSION AND FURTHER RESEARCH DIRECTIONS
In today’s digital world, websites must be accessible to all users, including people
with disabilities. To assess the state of web accessibility of Ukrainian higher edu-
cation institutions’ main pages, WAVE and Axe were used as automated tools for
checking WCAG compliance.
WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool
For web accessibility analysis, 377 home pages of Ukrainian higher education
institutions were selected. Each page underwent verification using WAVE, and
the obtained results were recorded in a table containing information about the educa-
tional institution’s name, verification status, number of WCAG violations, num-
ber of contrast errors, and number of ARIA elements on the page. This analysis
method provided a high degree of automation and objectivity in determining the
web accessibility level of university pages, providing objective data for further scien-
tific study and development of web accessibility improvement strategies.
When analyzing the results, we would like to draw special attention to three
indicators: the total number of violations, the most common violation (insufficient
element contrast), and the use of ARIA elements. The number of WCAG viola-
tions indicates the level of failure of basic web accessibility principles. The study
found that the following higher education institutions’ websites had the most
WCAG failures: International European University — 322 violations, Sumy Ap-
plied College of Construction and Architecture — 286, Odesa National Economic
University — 277. The number of contrast failures helps determine how conven-
ient it is for people with various visual impairments to use the website. The fol-
lowing educational institutions had the most contrast failures: Chortkiv Educa-
tional and Scientific Institute of Entrepreneurship and Business WUNU — 212
violations, National Forestry University of Ukraine — 197, Mykolaiv National
Agrarian University — 190. Assessment of the number of ARIA elements shows
how effectively technologies are used to facilitate website perception for users
B.O. Kuzikov, P.O. Tytov, O.A. Shovkoplias
ISSN 1681–6048 System Research & Information Technologies, 2025, № 2 146
with disabilities. The following websites had the most ARIA elements: Bila
Tserkva Institute of Continuous Professional Education — 925, Lviv State Uni-
versity of Physical Culture named after Ivan Boberskyi — 864, Vasyl Stus Do-
netsk National University — 835.
Generalized data on the number of violations found on websites using
WAVE are shown in Fig. 2. The graph is limited to 130 failures because larger
values are isolated cases. The absolute number of failures in the indicator itself is
not very informative because it does not consider their criticality and the total
number of elements on the page. Moreover, the absolute number may be inaccu-
rate since the tool can analyze specific categories of problems and may include
false positive and false negative results in the report. However, any value greater
than 0 indicates the presence of problematic elements on the site that need to be
fixed. Many problems may suggest that web accessibility principles were not con-
sidered during site design. The distinction between “minor” and “significant”
numbers of errors is subjective and depends on the nature of the errors and the
site’s content.
Axe Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool
Using Axe allows automatic analysis of 15 out of 32 WCAG 2.1 criteria at com-
patibility level A and 4 out of 24 at level AA, reducing the response for each cri-
terion to the categories “Passed,” “Violation,” and “Cannot be Applied” (for ex-
ample, if the site does not contain elements of a specific category). The list of
errors and remarks is generated as a separate report. Generalized statistics on
typical problems and their prevalence on the studied sites are shown in Table,
Fig. 3. The relative value (%) is the percentage of errors in the category based on
the total number of errors or sites from the total number of sites in study. The
analysis also considered rules classified as “Best Practice”.
Fig. 2. Distribution of sites by number of accessibility errors (according to WAVE data)
Analysis of web accessibility of Ukrainian higher education institutions’ websites
Системні дослідження та інформаційні технології, 2025, № 2 147
Statistics of typical web accessibility problems on HEI website pages based on
Axe reports
Type of Violation Number of
Violations
Prevalence
(number of sites)
WCAG
Criterion
Links must be visually distinguished from
surrounding text through styling or contrast. 23977 48.81% 319 84.84% 2.4.4, 4.1.2
Elements must meet minimum contrast
ratio requirements 11875 24.17% 318 84.57% 1.4.3
Images must provide alternative text 7865 16.01% 159 42.29% 1.1.1
Buttons must have descriptive text 1295 2.64% 78 20.74% 4.1.2
Frames must have descriptive titles 528 1.07% 82 21.81% 4.1.2
Form elements must have associated labels 520 1.06% 39 10.37% 4.1.2
Links must be distinguishable
by means other than color 502 1.02% 92 24.47% 1.4.1
Elements must only use valid ARIA attributes 390 0.79% 76 20.21% 4.1.2
Hidden ARIA elements must not be
focusable nor contain focusable elements 311 0.63% 31 8.24% 4.1.2
List items (<li>) must be contained within
<ul> or <ol> parent elements 224 0.46% 24 6.38% 1.3.1
Based on the results of the analysis, further research directions were identified.
1. Standard promotion and raising awareness about web accessibility criteria
are essential. The Web Accessibility HUB website [25] created by us already con-
tains the results presented in the article and will be updated with future analytics.
2. Improvement of automatic website verification tools. Analysis of reports
revealed the following problems:
Contrast issues rank second in prevalence (24.17% of all detected prob-
lems found on 84.5% of sites). Existing tools have deficiencies in determining the
contrast ratio for text that is part of an image or placed on a non-uniform back-
ground. Also, automated tools do not investigate the relationship between color
perception and object contrast.
Reports obtained by automated verification tools contained Type I and
Type II errors, mainly when checking the semantics of ARIA labels and role at-
tribute settings [26]. Based on the collected information, we created a dataset on
Fig. 3. Distribution of sites by percentage of WCAG criteria compliance, Axe analysis
B.O. Kuzikov, P.O. Tytov, O.A. Shovkoplias
ISSN 1681–6048 System Research & Information Technologies, 2025, № 2 148
Kaggle [27], which will be used to develop tools based on artificial intelligence
and machine vision. This will improve the quality of automatic detection of such
problems.
3. Development of synthetic pages to identify deficiencies in automatic fail-
ures detection tools. As part of this research, specific test pages and additional
rules for axe-core have been developed. These findings will be published in the
paper “Detection and Prevention of Accessibility Cloaking Attacks”, which is
currently being prepared for publication.
CONCLUSION
Effective implementation of web resource accessibility in higher education insti-
tutions requires a comprehensive approach in the context of accessible education,
which includes technical aspects, legislative support, as well as educational activi-
ties. Along with improving the technical and legislative aspects of web accessibil-
ity, it is necessary to focus on increasing society’s awareness of this issue.
Spreading information about the importance of web accessibility and its signifi-
cance for different user groups can draw more attention to the problem and
strengthen support for necessary measures.
The study of web accessibility of Ukrainian higher education institutions’
websites revealed some significant problems concerning non-compliance with
basic WCAG standards and criteria. Analysis using WAVE and Axe tools showed
that the most common violations are contrast problems, lack of alternative texts
for images, and incorrect use of ARIA labels. Such identified violations indicate
the need to improve web resources to adapt them for users with various visual
impairments and ensure general information accessibility.
The analysis results were systematized and published on the authors’ spe-
cially created web resource.
REFERENCES
1. J.D. Steinmetz et al., “Causes of blindness and vision impairment in 2020 and trends
over 30 years, and prevalence of avoidable blindness in relation to VISION 2020:
the Right to Sight: an analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study,” Lancet
Glob. Health, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. e144-e160, Feb. 2021. doi: 10.1016/S2214-
109X(20)30489-7
2. “Web Accessibility,” European Commission. Shaping Europe’s digital future. Ac-
cessed on: Jan. 7, 2025. [Online]. Available: https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/
en/policies/web-accessibility
3. D. Popov, “Brief Digital Accessibility Manual,” Diia. Digital Education. Kyiv,
2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.undp.org/uk/ukraine/publications/brief-
guide-on-digital-accessibility
4. Higher Education Institutions | Register of Educational Activity Subjects. [Online].
Available: https://registry.edbo.gov.ua/
5. “Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - Manual for Human Rights
Education with Young people,” Council of Europe. [Online]. Available: https://
www.coe.int/en/web/compass/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities
6. K. Chupina, Youth and Disabilities EU and CoE policy framework. [Online]. Available:
https://pjp-eu.coe.int/documents/42128013/47261683/Youth_and_Disabilities_CoE-
EC_policy_framework_KC_final.pdf/1ae78341-b755-4b73-9c0a-eda22cc7f08f
7. “Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,” U.S. Congress. [Online]. Available:
https://www.section508.gov/manage/laws-and-policies/
Analysis of web accessibility of Ukrainian higher education institutions’ websites
Системні дослідження та інформаційні технології, 2025, № 2 149
8. “Directive (EU) 2016/2102 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applica-
tions of public sector bodies,” The European Parliament and the Council of the Eu-
ropean Union, Oct. 26, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32016L2102
9. “Equality Act 2010,” legislation.gov.uk. [Online]. Available: https://www.legislation.
gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents
10. “Information technology — W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.”
ISO/IEC 40500:2012. [Online]. Available: https://www.iso.org/standard/ 58625.html
11. “Ukrainian developers will be able to create more online resources accessible for
people with visual or hearing impairments. International WCAG 2.1 guidelines
translated into Ukrainian for the first time,” Ministry of Digital Transformation of
Ukraine. [Online]. Available: https://thedigital.gov.ua/news/ukrainski-rozrobniki-
zmozhut-stvoryuvati-bilshe-onlayn-resursiv-dostupnikh-dlya-lyudey-z-
porushennyam-zoru-chi-slukhu
12. “Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1.” W3C. [Online]. Available:
https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/
13. “Accessibility Principles,” State Websites Design System. [Online]. Available:
https://design.gov.ua/ua/principy-dostupnosti
14. “11 Best Website Accessibility Testing Tools for 2022,” UI-licious. [Online]. Avail-
able: https://uilicious.com/blog/best-website-accessibility-testing-tools/
15. “Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools – WAVE,” WebAIM [Online]. Available:
https://wave.webaim.org/
16. “axe: Accessibility Testing Tools and Software,” Deque Systems. [Online]. Avail-
able: https://www.deque.com/axe/
17. “Web accessibility and W3C standardization services,” TAW. [Online]. Available:
https://www.tawdis.net/
18. “Accessibility Inspector,” Mozilla Firefox Source Docs documentation. [Online].
Available: https://firefox-source-docs.mozilla.org/devtools-user/accessibility_inspector/
19. S. Alim, “Web accessibility of the top research-intensive universities in the UK,”
SAGE Open, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 1–9, Oct. 2021. doi: 10.1177/21582440211056614
20. Y. Akgül, “Accessibility, usability, quality performance, and readability evaluation
of university websites of Turkey: A comparative study of state and private universi-
ties,” Universal Access Inf. Soc., Apr. 2020. doi: 10.1007/s10209-020-00715-w
21. O.Y. Marina, S.O. Marin, “Versions of WCAG and accessibility of library web-
content,” Visnyk of Kharkiv State Academy of Culture, no. 56, Dec. 2019. doi:
10.31516/2410-5333.056.08
22. R.S. Savitskyi, “Accessibility of web portals of educational institutions of Ukraine,”
Tech. Engineering, no. 1(91), pp. 172–177, Jul. 2023. http://doi:10.26642/ten-2023-
1(91)-172-177
23. “One click accessibility,” Pojo.me. Accessed on: Jan. 7, 2025. [Online]. Available:
https://pojo.me/plugins/accessibility
24. “Veks/buttonButton visually impaired,” GitHub. Accessed on: Jan. 7, 2025.
[Online]. Available: https://github.com/veks/button-visually-impaired-javascript
25. B. Kuzikov, Web Accessibility HUB. Accessed: Jan. 7, 2025. [Online]. Available:
https://web-accessibility.sumdu.edu.ua
26. P. Tytov, B. Kuzikov, “Formation of the training sample of the information system
for assessing the compliance of sites with web accessibility requirements,” in Proc.
Informatics, Mathematics, Automation (IMA-2024), Sumy, Ukraine, Apr. 26, 2024,
pp. 172–173.
27. P. Tytov, “Aria elements,” Kaggle. [Online]. Available: https://www.kaggle.com/
datasets/tytovpavel/aria-elements
Received 12.04.2024
B.O. Kuzikov, P.O. Tytov, O.A. Shovkoplias
ISSN 1681–6048 System Research & Information Technologies, 2025, № 2 150
INFORMATION ON THE ARTICLE
Borys O. Kuzikov, ORCID: 0000-0002-9511-5665 , Sumy State University, Ukraine,
email: b.kuzikov@dl.sumdu.edu.ua
Pavlo O. Tytov, ORCID: 0009-0003-6911-5463, Sumy State University, Ukraine, email:
stegaspasha@gmail.com
Oksana A. Shovkoplias, ORCID: 0000-0002-4596-2524, Sumy State University,
Ukraine, email: o.shovkoplyas@mss.sumdu.edu.ua
АНАЛІЗ ВЕБДОСТУПНОСТІ САЙТІВ УКРАЇНСЬКИХ ЗАКЛАДІВ ВИЩОЇ
ОСВІТИ / Б.О. Кузіков, П.О. Титов, О.А. Шовкопляс
Анотація. У сучасному цифровому світі доступність контенту веб-сайтів для
всіх користувачів, у тому числі людей з обмеженими можливостями, є надзви-
чайно важливою. У роботі досліджується доступність вебконтенту на сайтах
закладів вищої освіти України з метою оцінки їх відповідності сучасним стан-
дартам та вимогам. Кінцевою метою є виявлення проблемних аспектів та роз-
роблення стратегій для покращення доступності освітніх вебресурсів. Дослі-
дження охопило дані щодо головних сторінок 372 сайтів закладів вищої
освіти, адреси яких отримано із Єдиної державної електронної бази з питань
освіти. Проаналізовано вбудовані засоби підвищення доступності, використані
на цих сторінках. Узагальнено світовий досвід регулювання вимог до вебдоступ-
ності. Проаналізовано нормативні документи, які включають у перелік своїх
правил Настанови з доступності вебвмісту версії 2.1. Для оцінювання відпові-
дності вебсайтів Настановам використано автоматизовані інструменти аналізу
WAVE та Axe. Результати показали, що найбільш поширеними проблемами
були: недостатнє виділення гіперпосилань (характерно для 84,8% сайтів, кри-
терій 2.4.4, 4.1.2 Настанов), недостатній контраст елементів (84,6%, критерій
1.4.3 Настанов), відсутність альтернативного тексту для зображень (42,9%;
критерій 1.1.1 Настанов), недотримання вимог до розмітки та семантики. Ви-
сновки містять аналіз проблем, виявлених у ході дослідження, та рекомендації
авторів щодо методів їх вирішення. Результати аналізу систематизовано й
опубліковано на спеціально створеному вебресурсі. Автори планують здійс-
нювати подібні дослідження на постійній основі. Необхідно звернути увагу на
проблеми, виявлені при використанні інструментів автоматичного аналізу. Ін-
струмент Axe ідентифікував 11875 випадків проблем із контрастністю елемен-
тів, що становить 24% від загальної кількості виявлених проблем. Проте ця
цифра не є остаточною, оскільки не враховується повне коло можливих
порушень кольоросприняття та ігнорується контрастність елементів на фоні
з нерівномірним кольором.
Ключові слова: вебдоступність, WCAG, доступна освіта, інклюзивність,
вебсторінка.
|
| id | journaliasakpiua-article-336175 |
| institution | System research and information technologies |
| keywords_txt_mv | keywords |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-09-17T09:26:03Z |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publisher | The National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute" |
| record_format | ojs |
| resource_txt_mv | journaliasakpiua/de/b7a21abdaacee0716894cf7b0ddd7dde.pdf |
| spelling | journaliasakpiua-article-3361752025-07-25T15:56:08Z Analysis of web accessibility of Ukrainian higher education institutions’ websites Аналіз вебдоступності сайтів українських закладів вищої освіти Kuzikov, Borys Tytov, Pavlo Shovkoplias, Oksana web accessibility WCAG accessible education inclusiveness webpage вебдоступність WCAG доступна освіта інклюзивність вебсторінка In today’s digital world, website content accessibility for all users, including people with disabilities, is crucial. This paper examines the accessibility of web content on the websites of Ukrainian higher education institutions to assess their compliance with modern standards and requirements. The goal is to identify problematic aspects and develop strategies for improving the accessibility of educational web resources. The study covered data from the main pages of 372 higher education institution websites, whose addresses were obtained from the Unified State Electronic Database on Education (“USEDE”). The built-in accessibility enhancement tools used on these pages were analyzed. The paper also summarizes global experience in regulating web accessibility requirements. The analyzed regulatory documents include Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 in their rules. Automated analysis tools WAVE and Axe were used to assess website compliance with the Guidelines. Results showed that the most common problems were insufficient highlighting of hyperlinks (characteristic of 84.8% of sites, Success criteria (SC) 2.4.4, 4.1.2), insufficient element contrast (84.6%, SC 1.4.3), lack of alternative text for images (42.9%; SC 1.1.1), and non-compliance with markup and semantics requirements. The conclusions present an analysis of the problems identified during the study, along with the authors’ recommendations for addressing them. The analysis results were systematized and published on a specially created web resource. The authors plan to conduct similar studies on an ongoing basis. It is also necessary to pay attention to problems identified when using automatic analysis tools. The Axe tool identified 11.875 cases of element contrast issues, accounting for 24% of the total number of detected problems. However, this figure is not final, as it does not account for the full range of possible color perception violations and overlooks the contrast of elements against backgrounds with non-uniform colors. У сучасному цифровому світі доступність контенту веб-сайтів для всіх користувачів, у тому числі людей з обмеженими можливостями, є надзвичайно важливою. У роботі досліджується доступність вебконтенту на сайтах закладів вищої освіти України з метою оцінки їх відповідності сучасним стандартам та вимогам. Кінцевою метою є виявлення проблемних аспектів та розроблення стратегій для покращення доступності освітніх вебресурсів. Дослідження охопило дані щодо головних сторінок 372 сайтів закладів вищої освіти, адреси яких отримано із Єдиної державної електронної бази з питань освіти. Проаналізовано вбудовані засоби підвищення доступності, використані на цих сторінках. Узагальнено світовий досвід регулювання вимог до вебдоступності. Проаналізовано нормативні документи, які включають у перелік своїх правил Настанови з доступності вебвмісту версії 2.1. Для оцінювання відповідності вебсайтів Настановам використано автоматизовані інструменти аналізу WAVE та Axe. Результати показали, що найбільш поширеними проблемами були: недостатнє виділення гіперпосилань (характерно для 84,8% сайтів, критерій 2.4.4, 4.1.2 Настанов), недостатній контраст елементів (84,6%, критерій 1.4.3 Настанов), відсутність альтернативного тексту для зображень (42,9%; критерій 1.1.1 Настанов), недотримання вимог до розмітки та семантики. Висновки містять аналіз проблем, виявлених у ході дослідження, та рекомендації авторів щодо методів їх вирішення. Результати аналізу систематизовано й опубліковано на спеціально створеному вебресурсі. Автори планують здійснювати подібні дослідження на постійній основі. Необхідно звернути увагу на проблеми, виявлені при використанні інструментів автоматичного аналізу. Інструмент Axe ідентифікував 11875 випадків проблем із контрастністю елементів, що становить 24% від загальної кількості виявлених проблем. Проте ця цифра не є остаточною, оскільки не враховується повне коло можливих порушень кольоросприняття та ігнорується контрастність елементів на фоні з нерівномірним кольором. The National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute" 2025-06-28 Article Article application/pdf https://journal.iasa.kpi.ua/article/view/336175 10.20535/SRIT.2308-8893.2025.2.10 System research and information technologies; No. 2 (2025); 139-150 Системные исследования и информационные технологии; № 2 (2025); 139-150 Системні дослідження та інформаційні технології; № 2 (2025); 139-150 2308-8893 1681-6048 en https://journal.iasa.kpi.ua/article/view/336175/324905 |
| spellingShingle | вебдоступність WCAG доступна освіта інклюзивність вебсторінка Kuzikov, Borys Tytov, Pavlo Shovkoplias, Oksana Аналіз вебдоступності сайтів українських закладів вищої освіти |
| title | Аналіз вебдоступності сайтів українських закладів вищої освіти |
| title_alt | Analysis of web accessibility of Ukrainian higher education institutions’ websites |
| title_full | Аналіз вебдоступності сайтів українських закладів вищої освіти |
| title_fullStr | Аналіз вебдоступності сайтів українських закладів вищої освіти |
| title_full_unstemmed | Аналіз вебдоступності сайтів українських закладів вищої освіти |
| title_short | Аналіз вебдоступності сайтів українських закладів вищої освіти |
| title_sort | аналіз вебдоступності сайтів українських закладів вищої освіти |
| topic | вебдоступність WCAG доступна освіта інклюзивність вебсторінка |
| topic_facet | web accessibility WCAG accessible education inclusiveness webpage вебдоступність WCAG доступна освіта інклюзивність вебсторінка |
| url | https://journal.iasa.kpi.ua/article/view/336175 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kuzikovborys analysisofwebaccessibilityofukrainianhighereducationinstitutionswebsites AT tytovpavlo analysisofwebaccessibilityofukrainianhighereducationinstitutionswebsites AT shovkopliasoksana analysisofwebaccessibilityofukrainianhighereducationinstitutionswebsites AT kuzikovborys analízvebdostupnostísajtívukraínsʹkihzakladívviŝoíosvíti AT tytovpavlo analízvebdostupnostísajtívukraínsʹkihzakladívviŝoíosvíti AT shovkopliasoksana analízvebdostupnostísajtívukraínsʹkihzakladívviŝoíosvíti |