Securing Budget for Your Institution’s Accessibility Program

If you’re leading a digital accessibility program in higher education, you already know the stakes are high. Institutions are under mounting pressure to prioritize accessibility—not only because of tightening regulations and rising legal action, but because students, funders, and the public are paying closer attention to social responsibility than ever before.

And yet, in many institutions, accessibility efforts are still under-resourced. Teams are expected to meet complex compliance obligations and support learners’ diverse needs—without a formal budget or coordinated support. It’s a setup that leads to burnout, piecemeal progress, and preventable risk.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. This blog is intended to help you build a clear, confident case for dedicated accessibility funding—one that aligns with what your stakeholders already care about and gets your program the investment it needs to scale.

Why tailoring your message matters

Getting buy-in for digital accessibility isn’t just about showing why this work is important—it’s about connecting accessibility to what matters most to the people holding the budget. Some decision makers care most about legal risk while others are focused on enrollment numbers, operational efficiency, or protecting your institution’s brand and reputation.

If you want your funding request to land, you need to speak decision makers’ language. That means aligning accessibility with their goals and their pain points. When you do that, budget owners are more likely to stop treating accessibility as a side effort and start recognizing that it’s a strategic, necessary investment.

Let’s explore how you might frame the value of accessibility for the four stakeholder groups most likely to influence your institution’s budget decisions.

Compliance-driven stakeholders: Budget for risk mitigation

Digital accessibility is one of the most visible compliance risks facing higher education institutions today. It only takes one student complaint to trigger a demand letter or a lawsuit under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Public colleges and universities must comply with Title II of the ADA, which mandates equal access to state and local government programs and services. In 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice published a new rule outlining specific digital accessibility requirements for Title II compliance.

Private institutions fall under Title III, which applies to businesses and public-facing organizations. Private colleges and universities are increasingly targeted under Title III of the ADA. In fact, several well-known institutions—including prominent research universities—have faced high-profile lawsuits related to digital accessibility.

Additionally, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act prohibits disability-based discrimination in any federally funded program and covers most higher education institutions.

Courts have made it clear that, if your websites, student portals, or LMS platforms are not accessible, you could be in violation of federal law. And legal action can have substantial consequences. Non-compliance may result in costly settlements, reputational damage, and mandated remediation.

Investing in accessibility now is far less expensive—and far less disruptive—than reacting after a legal issue arises. Many institutions are still relying on retroactive fixes, but this approach is both inefficient and risky. It leaves them wide open to ADA lawsuits, regulatory action, and the tight timelines for mandated remediation that follow.

A proactive investment puts you in control. It demonstrates diligence, reduces exposure, and helps your institution stay ahead of tightening regulations rather than scrambling to catch up under legal pressure.

Finance-driven stakeholders: Protect revenue, reduce cost

Accessibility gaps create more than compliance risks—they limit revenue and drain resources. Inaccessible digital experiences can compel students to pursue their education elsewhere, costing your institution hundreds of thousands in lost tuition.

Additionally, when accessibility is treated as an afterthought, the hidden costs add up fast: duplicated remediation work, increased support ticket volumes, and countless staff hours spent fixing problems that could have been avoided. Every fix becomes more expensive and more time-consuming.

Finance leaders play a pivotal role in setting their institutions up for long-term success. That starts with supporting teams to build accessibility in from the start—not layer it on after the fact. When your admissions portal, LMS, or student services platform is designed to be accessible from day one, you avoid the ballooning costs of retrofits and rework.

But for teams to operate this way, they need backing. They need tools, training, and resources to get accessibility right the first time.

By investing in a proactive approach, you can turn accessibility from a costly reaction into a cost-efficient practice. You’ll reduce technical debt, minimize duplicated work, and set your institution up for scalable, sustainable digital operations—saving money now and protecting future budgets.

Mission-focused stakeholders: Support all students

For mission-driven leaders, accessibility isn’t just about policy—it’s about purpose. If your institution truly values equity and student success, digital accessibility can’t remain a footnote in your mission statement. It has to show up in the digital experiences students interact with every day.

When a student is unable to access a registration form, navigate an LMS, or complete an assignment because the content wasn’t designed with accessibility in mind, it’s more than a technical oversight—it’s a barrier to participation. These are the everyday friction points that slowly erode trust, belonging, and academic success.

But mission without resourcing falls flat. Without dedicated funding, even the most well-meaning accessibility efforts stall. Supporting accessibility should be at the core of delivering on your institution’s promise to serve all students equitably.

Allocating budget for digital accessibility demonstrates that your institution is serious about inclusion, prepared to lead, and committed to delivering a high-quality experience for every student.

Reputation-conscious stakeholders: Stay competitive and credible

For many higher education leaders, mission and reputation go hand in hand. In today’s landscape, what your institution does around accessibility matters just as much as what it says. As expectations for inclusion and transparency increase, digital accessibility is becoming a visible indicator of credibility, leadership, and institutional values.

Students, parents, faculty, media, and funders are all paying closer attention. From public accessibility statements and campus policies to how your institution ranks in equity-related evaluations, accessibility has become part of how institutions are judged.

For reputation-conscious stakeholders, this is the moment to lead. Prioritizing accessibility signals that your institution is values-driven and student-focused—qualities that resonate in rankings, drive enrollment, and strengthen trust across your academic community. The most forward-thinking campuses aren’t just announcing their values—they’re acting on them.

Start with a quick win to strengthen your case

Now that you have a clearer sense of how to tailor the conversation to different stakeholders, the next step is putting your plan into action.

Securing budget for digital accessibility can be challenging—particularly when the needs span multiple platforms, systems, and departments. However, you don’t need to ask for everything at once.

Start by identifying your highest-traffic digital assets—critical touchpoints like your primary website, student services portal, admissions pages, and learning management system (LMS). These “front doors” are often the first (and most frequent) experiences students, faculty, and applicants have with your institution. They can be powerful starting points to prioritize in your budget request.

Framing your institution’s primary digital experiences as high-impact, high-visibility areas will help you to connect the need for accessibility investment to broader goals like enrollment, compliance, and user experience.

Addressing gaps here shows leadership measurable progress early. Automated remediation tools can help you quickly resolve many common accessibility barriers, making immediate improvements while you work toward long-term compliance with accessibility laws and standards. By starting smart and showing early wins, you can build the momentum and evidence needed to unlock broader investment over time.

Start small, prove value and scale with confidence

You don’t have to tackle accessibility alone. An experienced digital accessibility provider can help you prioritize, avoid common pitfalls, and build a sustainable roadmap. Level Access supports higher education institutions in launching pilot to large-scale efforts with tools, training, and expert guidance tailored to your institutions’ highest-risk areas. Our platform helps you identify and address accessibility gaps early, setting you up with the evidence and outcomes you need to secure additional funding for broader, long-term impact.

Our approach is built around the three core pillars of every effective digital accessibility program: Audit & Test, Build & Fix, and Governance & Reporting. This proven framework helps higher education institutions uncover accessibility gaps, mitigate legal risk, improve operational efficiency, and deliver a more inclusive experience for students.

Whether you’re advocating for your first budget or looking to mature an existing program, we’ll help you make a compelling case. From audits to implementation, we provide the structure and support to turn accessibility from an isolated effort into a sustainable, funded priority. Engage with our team today to get started.