Abstract
The aim of this study is to assess the web accessibility concerning the websites of Chilean universities which are listed in The World University Rankings.
 
 Web accessibility is a fundamental factor in achieving a true educational inclusion. It is especially important in the light of the current trend of expanding not only the online content, but also online learning. What makes this even more essential is the Chilean legislation which under Law 20422 establishes the regulations regarding equality of opportunity and social inclusion of people with disabilities. 
 
 The analysis has been conducted on the basis of the international standard set by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), version WCAG 2.0. Evaluation methodology called WCAG-EM created by the same entity, has been applied in the analysis. Various automatic web accessibility evaluation tools have also been used, apart from manual verifications. 
 
 The study reveals that the websites of Chilean universities have hardly complied with the regulation and that there are barriers and difficulties of access for the elderly and/or people with disabilities.
Highlights
In the last years, higher education in Chile has shown extraordinary progress
The data provided by the National Education Council shows that the number of students registered in post-secondary higher education has risen considerably in Chile in the last decade, in parallel with the rise of courses which are offered by educational institutions (Consejo Nacional de Educación, 2018)
The aim of this work has been to analyze the degree to which the websites of Chilean universities listed in The World University Rankings, meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 regulation
Summary
The university has been evolving alongside the new technologies, benefiting immensely in the last years from the expansion of the Internet and the proliferation of last-generation technological devices, so much so that it seems almost strange to encounter a course without a virtual component. This new online learning offers new opportunities to people who had difficulties accessing higher education, be it for geographical or temporal reasons. The cited study claims that 26.2% of the adult population uses assistive technologies aimed at improving their computer usage
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