Smith College

Leading with Inclusion — Starting with the Public Website

  • Compliance

    WCAG 2.1 AA

    Compliance Achieved

  • Public Website

    Full Site Audited & Remediated

  • Real Users

    Tested with Disabled Testers

The Challenge

Smith College, one of the most prestigious liberal arts colleges in the country and the largest women's college in the United States, has a deep institutional commitment to equity and inclusion.

Smith College, one of the most prestigious liberal arts colleges in the country and the largest women's college in the United States, has a deep institutional commitment to equity and inclusion. But when Smith's team evaluated their public-facing website against modern accessibility standards, it became clear that the digital experience didn't yet reflect those values — presenting real barriers for prospective students, families, faculty, and community members who rely on assistive technologies.



As a recipient of federal funding and subject to ADA Title II requirements, Smith had both a legal obligation and a mission-driven imperative to act. For a college that actively attracts students with a wide range of abilities and learning differences, an inaccessible public website sent the wrong signal — and created genuine barriers for the people Smith most wanted to welcome.



Smith needed a partner who could deliver a rigorous, human-led audit of the full public site, work with their team to ensure every issue was genuinely resolved, and validate the outcome with real users — not just a scan report.

The Inclusive Web Solution

Inclusive Web conducted a comprehensive human-led WCAG 2.1 AA audit of Smith College's public-facing website — evaluating all critical pages and user flows against the full range of accessibility criteria. Our team assessed the site the way a real visitor would experience it: navigating by keyboard, using a screen reader, and moving through the content paths most important to prospective students, current students, families, faculty, and donors.

Following the audit, Inclusive Web worked directly with Smith's web team to prioritize remediation by impact and compliance urgency, providing clear and actionable developer guidance throughout. Every reported fix was verified by our team before sign-off — we don't consider a job done until we've confirmed it works.

  • Human-led WCAG 2.1 AA audit of the full Smith College public website

  • Coverage of all primary user journeys — prospective students, current students, families, faculty, and donors

  • Homepage, program pages, admissions information, news, events, and key department pages all evaluated

  • Navigation, site architecture, and interactive components assessed for screen reader and keyboard-only usability

  • Prioritized remediation roadmap aligned to ADA compliance urgency and visitor impact

  • Developer-ready remediation guidance with specific, actionable detail

  • Fix verification — every resolved issue confirmed working before closure

  • Real-user testing with testers who identify as disabled, using screen readers (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver), keyboard-only navigation, and voice control

  • Ongoing monitoring program to maintain compliance as new content, campaigns, and pages are published

Real-User Accessibility Testing — Validated by Real Visitors

Inclusive Web tested the Smith College public website with testers who identify as disabled and use assistive technologies as part of their daily lives — including screen readers (JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver), keyboard-only navigation, and voice control. This ensures that prospective students, families, and community members with disabilities experience the site the way it was intended — not just the way it scores on an automated scan.

The Result

WCAG 2.1 AA compliance achieved across the Smith College public website

All critical user journeys — including prospective student and admissions paths — fully accessible to users relying on assistive technologies

Navigation and interactive components accessible to screen reader and keyboard-only users

ADA Title II obligations met across Smith's primary public digital presence

Real-user testing confirmed genuine usability improvements — validated by people who rely on assistive technologies every day, not just automated audit scores

Smith's public website now reflects the inclusive values the college is known for — for every visitor who arrives at it

Ongoing monitoring in place to protect compliance as Smith's web team publishes new content throughout the academic year

"At Smith College, inclusion is more than a value — it’s a responsibility. Our public website needed to reflect that commitment for every student and visitor. Inclusive Web ensured it truly does."

SMITH COLLEGE — PUBLIC WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY

Services Delivered

WCAG 2.1 AA Audit (Full Public Website)

Remediation Verification

Multi-Audience Journey Review

Real-User Usability Testing

Navigation & Interactive Component Audit

Ongoing Accessibility Monitoring

Compliance & Policy Drivers

Federal obligations and public expectations that made this work essential.

ADA Title II Compliance

Student & Community Accommodation

Federal Funding Obligations

WCAG 2.1 AA Standard

Institutional Equity & Inclusion Mission

Does your college's public website reflect your institution's values?

Inclusive Web helps colleges and universities make their public websites genuinely accessible — with human-led audits, verified remediation, and real-user testing that confirms the experience works for everyone.

Get Your Accessibility Assessment