Institutions Around the World Improve Digital Accessibility for as many as 1.2 Million Learners in 24 hours

Changing mindsets and lives, one-day accessibility competition generated more than 89,000 files fixed

Anthology, a leading provider of education solutions that support the entire learner lifecycle, today announced the results from its fourth annual Fix Your Content Day challenge. More than 85 colleges and universities around the world participated, impacting as many as 1,289,495 students currently studying at those institutions with 89,937 fixes made to improve the accessibility of digital content.

“The 24-hour competition that began four years ago has grown into a global movement that is now led by institutional accessibility leaders who understand the imperative of making content more accessible,” said Anthology Chairman and CEO Jim Milton. “More inclusive learning environments empower all students to access material and learn in a way that works for them, ultimately driving student success.”

More than 1,500 institutions around the world use Anthology Ally to enhance digital content on their learning management systems (LMS). The result is better learning outcomes for students by improving the usability, readability, and quality of the digital materials in their courses.

Anthology Ally empowers learners with the flexibility of choosing the most effective way to interact with digital content. By dynamically enhancing learning materials for student preferences and needs, it automatically provides alternative formats for course content, like audio files, translations, PDFs better formatted for mobile devices and more, all without manual intervention from the institution or instructor. Anthology Ally also provides feedback and direction for instructors, streamlining the process to improve current content and helping to ensure future content decisions consider accessibility.  Institution-wide reporting built into Ally gives administrators a broad understanding of progress being made toward more inclusive learning environments and the ability to quickly identify areas for improvement.

By participating in the competition, higher ed institutions and instructors are doing their part to improve the accessibility of course materials and demonstrate their commitment to inclusivity. Winners were determined by the number of files fixed per number of students enrolled on campus, and by region. Each campus had 24 hours to fix as many files as possible. Fix Your Content Day is hosted in support of Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD).

Global Fix Your Content Day Winners:

• First: Coastal Pines Technical College – Waycross, GA – 9.5 fixes per student and 15,539 total fixes
• Second: Georgia Piedmont Technical College – Clarkston, GA – 4.1 fixes per student and 10,749 total fixes
• Third: Ogeechee Technical College – Statesboro, GA – 2.8 fixes per student and 1,953 total fixes

REGIONAL WINNERS

• North America: Lanier Technical College – Gainesville, GA–2.6 fixes per student and 6,084 total fixes
• Europe and the Middle East: North East Scotland College – Aberdeen, Scotland – 0.25 fixes per student and 2,492 total fixes
• Asia Pacific: Charles Darwin University – Darwin, Australia – 0.25 fixes per student and 2,752 total fixes
• First Time Participant Winner: Maryville University – Town and Country, MO – 0.39 fixes per student and 1,549 total fixes