WCAG 2.1 AA and WCAG 2.2: A Practical University Guide

WCAG organizes accessibility requirements around content that is perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. Applying it to university teaching requires attention to both technical structure and the learning task.

WCAG and the US Title II rule

The DOJ's Title II web rule applies to state and local government entities, including public universities. The April 2026 Interim Final Rule extended compliance dates to April 26, 2027 for public entities with populations of 50,000 or more, and April 26, 2028 for smaller entities and special district governments. These are population cohorts under the rule, not student-enrollment thresholds. Federal funding alone does not make a private university a Title II public entity; other disability laws may apply.

The Title II rule specifies WCAG 2.1 Level AA for covered web content and mobile apps. It did not adopt WCAG 2.2 as the required standard. An institution can choose a newer standard for its own programme while separately confirming how it meets the applicable legal requirements.

What WCAG 2.2 adds

W3C's WCAG 2.2 overview identifies nine additional success criteria:

• Level A: 3.2.6 Consistent Help and 3.3.7 Redundant Entry.
• Level AA: 2.4.11 Focus Not Obscured (Minimum), 2.5.7 Dragging Movements, 2.5.8 Target Size (Minimum), and 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (Minimum).
• Level AAA: 2.4.12 Focus Not Obscured (Enhanced), 2.4.13 Focus Appearance, and 3.3.9 Accessible Authentication (Enhanced).

WCAG 2.2 removed 4.1.1 Parsing. Each criterion has its own scope and exceptions; a short checklist does not replace the normative text.

Check teaching content and student journeys

For documents, inspect headings, reading sequence, lists, table associations and descriptions. For mathematical material, check whether the exported representation preserves symbols and meaning and is usable with relevant assistive technologies.

For course websites and LMS tasks, test keyboard access, focus, labels, errors and instructions. Test the steps students need for readings, assessments and communication rather than evaluating a homepage alone.

For video, check required captions against the recording, including technical terms, speakers and meaningful sounds. Other media requirements can also apply. Generated captions and descriptions need review.

Use automation within its limits

Aelira Core v0.9.11 is beta. Supported workflows can detect issues, suggest changes and apply eligible partial fixes. Other findings need manual work, and some inputs may not produce a downloadable remediated artifact. Review the actual saved file, its recorded fixes and its unresolved findings. An automated score does not establish WCAG conformance.

Automated checks contribute useful findings, but a scan score is not an overall conformance percentage. A tool can detect an alt-text attribute without deciding whether its wording conveys the image's purpose. Review structural changes alongside generated language.

Plan from measured work

An illustrative institution might inventory ten departments and prioritize active courses. That is a planning exercise, not a reported rollout. Pilot representative material, document unsupported cases and allocate specialist capacity before extrapolating a timeline or budget.

The self-hosted software is free and open source. Paid services cover support or managed hosting. Operational allowances, provider charges and service commitments depend on the chosen deployment and written terms; free software does not mean unlimited processing or zero operating cost. Use current US pricing or current Australian pricing, and obtain a written pilot quote covering continuation terms.