The Hidden Cost of Document Non-Compliance in Higher Ed
In recent years, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has significantly increased its focus on digital accessibility within Higher Education. While many institutions focus on website accessibility, the millions of documents—syllabi, research papers, and course readings—shared daily often represent a much larger, and more dangerous, legal blind spot.
The OCR Landscape
OCR complaints are no longer just about physical ramps; they are increasingly about the "digital ramp." When an institution receives a complaint, the investigation often expands far beyond the initial grievance. OCR frequently audits a broad sample of course materials, and a single inaccessible PDF can trigger a systemic review.
Resolution agreements with the OCR often require institutions to remediate thousands of documents within a matter of months—a task that is both physically and financially exhausting without automated tools.
Beyond Settlement Fees
The costs of non-compliance aren't just legal fees. They include:
- Administrative Drain: Staff hours diverted from innovation to emergency remediation.
- Reputational Risk: Publicly available resolution agreements can impact student recruitment and donor confidence.
- Third-Party Remediation: Outsourcing the fix for thousands of PDFs can cost between $5 and $50 per page.
Prevention as the Best Strategy
The most successful institutions are shifting from a reactive "fix it when we get caught" approach to a proactive "accessible by design" model. By empowering faculty with tools like **Inkable Docs**, universities ensure that documents are born accessible, eliminating the need for expensive post-hoc cleanup.
Protect Your Institution
Discover how Inkable Docs makes preventative compliance a seamless part of every faculty member's workflow.
Install Google Workspace Extension