Accessibility in education refers to the design of learning environments, materials, and experiences that enable all students—regardless of their backgrounds, abilities, or circumstances—to participate fully and equitably. In the context of open education, accessibility is not just a technical requirement; it is a moral and pedagogical commitment to inclusion.

Open education supports accessibility by removing financial, technological, and structural barriers that often prevent learners from engaging meaningfully with educational content. It invites educators to consider not only who has access to learning, but also how that access is experienced.

Why this matters for you

When you remove barriers for students, you create conditions where everyone can succeed from day one. This means fewer students falling behind due to circumstances beyond their control, more consistent engagement across your class, and the satisfaction of knowing your teaching reaches every learner you’re meant to serve.

Why this matters for your students

Accessible design benefits everyone, not just students with disclosed needs. When materials are available in multiple formats, when deadlines are flexible, and when content reflects diverse perspectives, all students can engage more fully with their learning.

Understanding Educational Barriers

Students may face a wide range of barriers that limit their ability to access and succeed in education. Understanding these barriers is the first step toward addressing them.

When we talk about accessibility in open education, we’re addressing two interconnected dimensions:

Accessibility as Access: Can students get to the learning? This includes removing barriers that prevent students from participating in education at all—such as cost, technology requirements, scheduling conflicts, or physical obstacles.

Accessibility as Readability: Can students meaningfully engage with the learning once they access it? This includes ensuring that materials and activities are understandable, relevant, and usable for diverse learners with different backgrounds, abilities, and learning preferences.

Both dimensions are essential for truly inclusive education. Students need to be able to both reach and engage with their learning experiences.

barriers students may face

Financial Barriers

High costs of textbooks, tuition, and course materials can prevent students from fully participating in their courses. Bay View Analytics’ 2024 National Course Materials Survey found that 57% of students take fewer courses due to material costs, 53% don’t register for specific courses, and 41% earn poor grades due to textbook expenses. Additionally, 25% work extra hours and 11% skip meals to afford books (Bay View Analytics, 2024). In BC, where tuition fees now represent 95% of what the province provides in operating grants (compared to just 34% in 2000-01), students are shouldering an increasing financial burden (BC Federation of Students, 2023). Government of Canada research shows that “recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, inflationary pressures, rising post-secondary education costs and higher prices for food, housing, and other necessities continue to make it challenging for many students to afford higher education” (Canada Gazette, 2024).

Technological Barriers

Limited access to reliable internet, devices, or assistive technologies can hinder engagement, especially in online or hybrid learning environments. “A lack of consistent access to hardware, software, the Internet, and cellular data was reported by a number of interviewees as a core barrier to developing and maintaining digital literacy. This lack of access is deeply intertwined with income/wealth, geography, and other socioeconomic factors” (Brookfield Institute, 2019). Device quality matters for academic success: among Canadian households with children under age 18, 24% of those in the lowest income quartile depend on mobile devices to access the Internet compared with 8% of those in the highest income quartile (Statistics Canada, 2021). The same report found that “just under one-in-four Canadians (24%) had either no engagement with the Internet or very limited engagement” (Statistics Canada, 2021). Racialised families were more than twice as likely to experience difficulty accessing a computer or affording internet while learning online, and Indigenous families were also more likely to report difficulty affording their internet connection (Environics Institute for Survey Research et al., 2021). The pandemic revealed and exacerbated these existing inequities.

Physical and Cognitive Barriers

Inaccessible classrooms, labs, or digital platforms can exclude students with disabilities. The Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO)’s 2024 report found that demand for accessibility services in Ontario colleges and universities has grown significantly, with “students increasingly present with multiple disabilities at once” and seeking support across “a wide range of learning environments” (HEQCO, 2024). Physical inaccessibility is one of the main barriers to educational services for students with disabilities (OHRC, n.d.), “obstacles for disabled students exist at different stages of the experience of post-secondary education”, including “attitudes, behaviours, perceptions and assumptions; awareness and training; digital learning; social realms and financial barriers.” Materials that aren’t compatible with screen readers, videos without captions, or content that doesn’t follow clear organisational principles create unnecessary obstacles.

Institutional and Structural Barriers

Rigid course structures, inflexible deadlines, and one-size-fits-all assessments disadvantage students with diverse needs, work schedules, or family responsibilities. Among workers aged 15 to 24, students (19.7%) were more likely to have regular evening hours than non-students (8.3%), with evening work being more than three times as common among part-time workers (11.3%) compared with full-time workers (3.3%) (Statistics Canada, 2023). These evening workers were less likely to have flexible scheduling arrangements, with only 54.8% able to easily take time off for personal reasons compared with 73.2% of daytime workers. Institutional barriers also include accommodation process delays. In Ontario universities and colleges, registrations through Offices for Students with Disabilities increased by nearly 80% between 2013-14 and 2020-21 (HEQCO, 2024), yet “information about services and supports is not always accessible, there are delays in accessing accommodations, and the right of students to confidentiality is not always respected” (OHRC, n.d.).

Cultural and Linguistic Barriers

Materials that are not available in multiple languages or that lack cultural relevance can alienate students from marginalised communities. Language barriers, as well as racism and discrimination, are additional barriers, since writing skills and relationships with faculty are often key factors for success (Howe et al., 2023), and “limited host-language proficiency inhibits communication with locals and academic integration” (Cao et al., 2016, as cited in Wilczewski & Alon, 2022, p.g. 1246) and “language barrier affects sociocultural adaptation by preventing students from establishing contacts with host nationals” (Wang and Hannes, 2014, as cited in Wilczewski & Alon, 2022, p.g. 1247). In Canada, “22.9% of people report a ‘mother tongue’ that is not English or French”, and “37.5% of all Canadian children have an immigrant background,” indicating significant linguistic diversity that extends into educational settings (Lam, 2019). When course content primarily reflects dominant cultural perspectives, some students may struggle to see themselves and their experiences valued in their education.

Digital Literacy Barriers

Assumptions about students’ comfort and familiarity with technology create hidden barriers in Canadian higher education. Those with a university degree were 22.7 percentage points more likely to be advanced internet users compared with those having only a high school diploma, and students enrolled in postsecondary education were positively correlated with being proficient or advanced internet users (Statistics Canada, 2021). This suggests significant variation in digital skills even among university students. While “consistent access to a computer from a young age and informal self-directed learning” are key ways to develop technology proficiency (Canada Learning Code, 2022), not all students have had equal exposure to educational technologies or digital collaboration tools, despite estimates that 84% of jobs in Canada require computer and basic technical skills (ABC Life Literacy Canada, 2024). These assumptions about universal digital fluency can disadvantage students from underresourced backgrounds who may lack foundational technical competencies expected in university learning environments.

How Open Education Supports Accessibility

Open education can help address these barriers in several comprehensive ways, and aligns well with frameworks like Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which emphasises multiple means of representation, engagement, and action/expression, because “UDL can improve student learning, especially in particular domains and when applied through professional development initiatives or classroom interventions” (Almeqdad et al., 2023), with “moderate efficacy of the UDL-based instruction” for learners from pre-kindergarten to adult levels (King-Sears et al., 2023). Open education supports these principles by providing the flexibility to adapt materials, create multiple formats, and design varied assessment approaches without licensing restrictions or additional costs.

Cost Reduction and Financial Access

• Free textbooks and materials: OER eliminate the cost barrier that prevents many students from accessing required resources from day one
• No additional software fees: Many open tools and platforms are freely available
• Reduced printing costs: Digital materials can be accessed on any device without requiring expensive printing

Adaptability and Customisation

• Format flexibility: Open licences allow instructors to convert content into different formats (audio, large print, simplified text) to meet diverse learning needs
• Cultural adaptation: Materials can be modified to include relevant examples, case studies, and perspectives that reflect student demographics
• Language accessibility: Content can be translated or supplemented with multilingual resources

Flexible Access and Timing

• Asynchronous availability: Open content can be accessed anytime, supporting students with varying schedules and time zones
• Device independence: Materials work across different devices and platforms
• Multiple download options: Students can access content even with limited internet connectivity

Inclusive Design from the Start

• Community input: Open pedagogy invites students to contribute their perspectives, making courses more inclusive by design
• Iterative improvement: Faculty can continuously adapt materials based on student feedback and changing needs
• Collaborative accessibility: Multiple educators can contribute to making resources more accessible

Common Concerns and Clarifications

After reading about accessibility principles, you might be thinking about all the ways this could add complexity to your already full workload. Faculty have both legitimate questions about implementation—time, technical skills, institutional support—and concerns based on common misconceptions about what accessibility actually requires. Let’s sort through both:

“Won’t making everything accessible take forever and require technical skills I don’t have?”
Many accessibility practices are simple and become routine once learned. Basic practices like adding alt text to images, using clear headings, and providing captions can be done quickly. Moreover, when you create accessible content once, it benefits all future students. Open education helps by allowing you to build on accessible materials others have created and share improvements with the community, reducing individual workload.

“Isn’t accessibility just for students with disabilities?”
Accessible design benefits all learners. The curb cut effect in learning shows that “what is beneficial to those with disabilities, is beneficial to all students,” and that “creating content that can be consumed by a diverse population with various needs only makes sense” (Huthmacher, 2022).  Many features originally designed to reduce barriers to people with disabilities have been utilised and enjoyed by people outside of the initial target population, such as closed captioning and text-to-speech. Captions help students in noisy environments, clear organisation helps everyone follow content better, and multiple format options support different learning preferences and circumstances. When you design for the margins, you improve the experience for everyone. Open practices naturally support this by encouraging multiple formats and collaborative input that reveal diverse needs.

“Open resources aren’t necessarily accessible.”
You’re right, not all OER are created with accessibility in mind. However, open licences give you the legal right to improve accessibility yourself or work with others to make improvements. With commercial resources, you’re often stuck with whatever level of accessibility the publisher provides. Open education empowers you to fix accessibility issues rather than just identifying them.

“My students will think I’m lowering standards if I provide accommodations.”
Accessibility is about removing barriers to demonstrate knowledge, not reducing expectations. When you provide multiple ways for students to show what they know, you’re often able to assess their learning more accurately. Students typically appreciate flexibility and see it as supportive rather than diminished rigour. Open pedagogy naturally incorporates choice and flexibility, making accommodations feel like part of the learning design rather than special exceptions.

Reflective Activity

Moving Forward

Accessibility is foundational to open education and effective teaching. By identifying and addressing barriers proactively, instructors create more inclusive, supportive, and empowering learning environments that benefit all students.

The strategies in this module aren’t just about compliance or accommodation, they’re about excellent teaching that recognises and responds to the diversity of learners in your classroom.

Next, we’ll explore how open education can also enhance the effectiveness of teaching and learning—ensuring that access leads to meaningful engagement and deep learning.

References

ABC Life Literacy Canada. (2024, October 23). What is digital literacy? ABC Life Literacy Canada. https://abclifeliteracy.ca/literacy/digital-literacy/

Almeqdad, Q. I., Alodat, A. M., Alquraan, M. F., Mohaidat, M. A., & Al-Makhzoomy, A. (2023). The effectiveness of universal design for learning: A systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis. Cogent Education, 10(1) https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2023.2218191

Bay View Analytics. (2024, August 26). College students avoid courses with high textbook costs. Inside Higher Ed. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/student-success/health-wellness/2024/08/26/college-students-avoid-courses-high-textbook-costs

BC Federation of Students. (2023, February 28). Budget 2023 leaves students disappointed: More investments in post-secondary funding needed. British Columbia Federation of Students. https://www.wearebcstudents.ca/budget_2023

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Environics Institute for Survey Research, The Future Skills Centre, & The Diversity Institute. (2021, September). Lessons learned: The pandemic and learning from home in Canada. Toronto Metropolitan University. https://www.torontomu.ca/diversity/reports/lessons-learned/

HEQCO. (2024). Accessibility Services at Ontario Colleges and Universities: Trends, Challenges and Recommendations for Government Funding Strategies. https://heqco.ca/pub/accessibility-services-at-ontario-colleges-and-universities-trends-challenges-and-recommendations-for-government-funding-strategies/

Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario. (2024). Accessibility services at Ontario colleges and universities: Trends, challenges and recommendations for government funding strategies. https://heqco.ca/pub/accessibility-services-at-ontario-colleges-and-universities-trends-challenges-and-recommendations-for-government-funding-strategies/

Howe, E. R., Ramirez, G., & Walton, P. (2023). Experiences of International Students at a Canadian University: Barriers and Supports. Journal of Comparative and International Higher Education, 15(2), 115–133. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1381323

Huthmacher, E. (2022, July 19). The Curb Cut Effect in Education. Open edX. https://openedx.org/blog/the-curb-cut-effect-in-education/

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Wilczewski, M., & Alon, I. (2023). Language and communication in international students’ adaptation: a bibliometric and content analysis review. Higher Education, 85(6), 1235-1256. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-022-00888-8