WCAG 2.2 accessibility audit of a university website

OpenDoor has been asked to give a fixed-price quote for auditing a university's public website. Before it quotes, the lead consultant wants a sample audit of 8 pages that shows what a full audit would find and how long fixes would take. Universities are a common client: their sites are large, built by many departments, and used by applicants who may be blind, have low vision, have dyslexia, use only a keyboard or rely on voice control. About 1 in 5 students reports a disability in many countries.

You will choose a real public university website in any country and audit a sample of 8 pages: the home page, a course listing, one course detail page, the application or "how to apply" page, a fees page, a contact form, a news article and the campus map or accessibility statement page. You will not log in or submit any forms. You will test only what any visitor can see.

The consultancy's method: - automated scans with at least two free tools, because each misses different issues; - manual keyboard testing of every page (tab order, visible focus, no traps); - screen-reader testing with NVDA, VoiceOver or TalkBack on at least 4 pages; - checks against a defined list of WCAG 2.2 AA success criteria, including the new ones for focus, target size and accessible authentication; - each issue recorded with the page, the element, the WCAG criterion, the impact on users, a severity and a suggested fix.

Done looks like an audit plan, a spreadsheet of issues (expect 40–120 for 8 pages), annotated screenshots, a report that leads with the five most serious problems, and an estimate of the effort to fix. The report should be polite and factual, as if the university will read it.