76. Ensure equitable access to technology for all students.

Campus Support Programs 09.6.24

Here’s what the federal government can do:

  • The U.S. Department of Education should collect, conduct, and disseminate research on access to technology for part-time students, students of color, first-generation students, students with lower incomes, and students with disabilities.
  • The U.S. Department of Education should ensure that higher education institutions have access to and an understanding of guidance on technology accessibility for students with disabilities.
  • The U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights should enforce the final rule under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to ensure the accessibility of web content and mobile applications for people with disabilities, including in postsecondary educational settings.

Here’s what state government can do:

  • State legislatures should invest in wireless broadband access for students and households with lower incomes across their state.
  • State legislatures should require higher education institutions to provide equitable access to technology, such as internet and connected devices, for part-time students, students of color, first-generation students, students with lower incomes, and students with disabilities.
  • State legislatures should provide permanent and substantial funding to ensure equitable access to technology in postsecondary institutions, including sufficient resources to institutions in order to remediate digital content to improve accessibility for students with disabilities.

Here’s what institutional leaders can do:

  • Higher education institutions should conduct a technology audit to assess the needs of their campus community.
  • Higher education institutions should provide equitable access to technology, such as high-speed internet and connected devices, for part-time students, students of color, first-generation students, students with lower incomes, and students with disabilities.
  • Higher education institutions should offer readily available and free access to loaner connected devices, such as laptops and hotspots for all students, including part-time students
  • Higher education institutions should provide free technology equipment, such as laptops, to students with lower incomes, including part-time students.
  • Higher education institutions should ensure that information about technology resources is shared in recruitment materials, catalogs, student handbooks, and on publicly available websites.
  • Higher education institutions should ensure eligible students with disabilities have access to assistive technologies that can remove barriers to learning and make other aspects of student life on campus more accessible.

It is crucial that higher education institutions consider these inequities highlighted during the pandemic and continue expanding upon the resources available to ensure all students on campus have the necessary tools to engage in their learning.

The COVID-19 pandemic shed light on the barriers to technology (e.g., inadequate computer hardware or internet connection) faced by college students, especially students with lower incomes, students of color, and rural students. In 2020, higher rates of technology barriers were reported by students with lower incomes (20 to 30 percent) compared to higher income students (10 to 12 percent), and Black (17 to 29 percent) and Latino (23 to 28 percent) students compared to white (12 to 17 percent) students.[i] Students living in rural areas (14 to 25 percent) also faced more technology barriers than those living in suburban or urban areas (16 to 20 percent). The final rule under Title II of the ADA ensures the accessibility of web content and mobile applications for people with disabilities, including in postsecondary educational settings.[ii] The U.S. Department of Education has shared relevant resources on the technology accessibility supports for students with disabilities in higher education.[iii]

[i]“The Digital Divide Among College Students: Lessons Learned From the COVID-19 Emergency Transition,” Midwestern Higher Education Compact, January 2021. https://www.mhec.org/sites/default/files/resources/2021The_Digital_Divide_among_College_Students_1.pdf.

[ii]“Disability Discrimination: Overview of the Laws,” U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/disabilityoverview.html.

[iii]“Digital Accessibility,” U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/frontpage/pro-students/issues/dis-issue06.html.