The Use of ADKAR to Instil Change in the Accessibility of University Websites
Silvia Rodríguez Vázquez · 2022 · Proceedings of the 19th International Web for All Conference (W4A) · doi:10.1145/3493612.3520476
Summary
This short paper applies the ADKAR change management model — Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, and Reinforcement — to understand what interventions are needed to improve web accessibility at the University of Geneva (UNIGE) in Switzerland. The author argues that accessibility research has focused too heavily on technical audits and error reports while neglecting the organizational and human factors that determine whether accessibility improvements actually happen. Despite laws and standards promoting accessible web content in higher education, studies consistently show low WCAG conformance on university websites. The challenges are structural: universities produce diverse content across many departments, created by a wide array of authors with varying technical expertise and high degrees of autonomy. The ADKAR model, originally developed for business contexts but tested in over 500 organizations, provides a framework for diagnosing where individuals and groups are in the change process and what specific interventions they need. The study administered a questionnaire based on a validated ADKAR survey instrument to staff members at UNIGE who use web development platforms, manage university websites, or create web content. The survey ran from October to December 2020 via LimeSurvey in English and French, collecting 86 valid responses from administrative/technical personnel (GroupA, 57%) and academic staff (GroupB, 36%).
Key findings
Nearly 90% of respondents were fully aware of the importance of implementing an Accessibility Strategy, with Awareness scoring the highest of all five ADKAR elements (mean 4.46/5, median 5). However, the remaining elements revealed significant gaps. Reinforcement scored lowest (mean 3.22, median 3), with over 55% of respondents choosing the neutral response about external support, indicating deep uncertainty about whether the institution would sustain accessibility efforts long term. One respondent captured this sentiment: "Accessibility is not something new; there are a lot of available tools... However, there is absolutely no awareness of our management about this topic. I never heard, even once, the word accessibility used in a meeting." Desire also scored relatively low (mean 3.54, median 3), particularly on statements about understanding personal benefits and opportunities from the change. Knowledge (mean 3.48) and Ability (mean 3.58) fell in between. When comparing the two groups, academic staff showed similar awareness to technical staff but scored lower on all other change elements, suggesting they may need different interventions — particularly around demonstrating how accessibility relates to their teaching and research roles. The data reveals that the primary bottleneck is not awareness or even skills, but institutional commitment and sustained organizational support.
Relevance
This paper offers a valuable perspective that is underrepresented in accessibility research: the organizational change management dimension. Too often, accessibility initiatives focus on technical compliance while neglecting the human factors that determine adoption. The ADKAR framework provides a structured, evidence-based approach for identifying exactly where an organization is stuck and what kind of intervention is needed — whether that is training (Knowledge), tool support (Ability), or leadership commitment (Reinforcement). The finding that awareness is high but reinforcement is the weakest link is likely generalizable beyond this single university; many organizations talk about accessibility but fail to embed it in management practices, performance metrics, and long-term planning. The differentiation between technical staff and academic staff profiles is particularly useful for universities developing accessibility strategies. Limitations include a potentially low response rate (86 out of 4,500+ employees, though the true denominator of web contributors is unknown), the single-institution scope, and the absence of follow-up data to see whether the ADKAR diagnosis led to effective interventions.
Tags: organizational accessibility · change management · higher education · web accessibility · accessibility policy · WCAG compliance
Standards referenced: WCAG 2.1 · UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities