Acessibilidade Digital para Pessoas com Deficiência Visual em Universidades Estaduais Brasileiras: Análise com WAB e AccessMonitor

Abstract

This study investigates the digital accessibility of the institutional portals of the main state universities in each region of Brazil: UEA (North), UECE (Northeast), UNEMAT (Center-West), USP (Southeast), and UEM (South). The research is motivated by the persistence of barriers that hinder access for people with visual impairments, despite the existence of consolidated guidelines such as WCAG 2.1 and the Brazilian e-MAG. The objective is to verify the degree of compliance of these portals with essential inclusion and usability practices. The methodology relies on automated evaluation using the AccessMonitor tool and the Web Accessibility Barriers (WAB) metric. The results reveal strong heterogeneity among institutions and recurrent failures related to color contrast, semantic structure, and identification of interface elements. These findings indicate that accessibility is still not fully incorporated into the processes of development and maintenance of these digital environments, highlighting the need for systematic accessibility practices in Brazilian higher education institutions.