INDUSTRY · EDUCATION & E-LEARNING · BFSG · BITV 2.0 · WCAG 2.2

Accessible Learning Platforms –
so that education is genuinely open to everyone.


A learning platform that cannot be operated via keyboard excludes people from learning. A video without captions, a PDF without structure, a quiz that a screen reader cannot read aloud—each of these barriers determines who is able to participate and who is not. For universities, e-learning providers, and educational institutions, digital accessibility is therefore not only a legal requirement under the BFSG and BITV 2.0, but also at the core of their mission. IFDB makes your digital educational programs demonstrably accessible—with real users of assistive technologies and a legally reliable certificate.

A student is focused on her laptop, taking notes on an accessible learning platform
A hand points to a laptop screen displaying learning content – accessible e-learning structures examined in detail
A student takes notes next to their laptop and uses an accessible digital learning resource
Trusted by leading companies across the DACH region

Logo ZDFLogo Bertelsmann BKKLogo SWN Stadtwerke NeumünsterLogo Nanu-NanaLogo Jeans FritzLogo GLS BankLogo National-BankLogo NFONLogo SocialHubLogo ASCLogo GIGA5

Four barriers that hardly anyone notices—until someone struggles with them

  • Educational programs are complex, and it is precisely this complexity that hides their weaknesses. Most barriers go unnoticed—except by the people who encounter them every day.
  • Interactive content that neglects the keyboard and screen readers.
    Drag-and-drop exercises, clickable graphics, quiz modules: often brilliant from a educational point of view, but often a technical dead end for anyone working without a mouse or a display screen.
  • Lectures and educational videos that are just for show.
    Recorded lectures serve as entire courses. Without captions, transcripts, or audio descriptions, this core content remains inaccessible to people with hearing or visual impairments.
  • Lecture notes as PDFs—quick to upload, rarely accessible.
    Worksheets, study materials, and lecture slides end up in the course room in mass quantities as PDF files. Without a tagged structure and a clear reading order, they are hardly more than an image to a screen reader.
  • Learning systems whose wide variety of functions becomes an obstacle.
    Moodle, ILIAS, Canvas are incredibly powerful tools. However, any feature—whether it involves navigation, forms, or status messages—that isn’t designed to be accessible becomes a barrier for some students.
A teacher supports students in their learning with tablets in the classroom – accessible learning platforms and e-learning content for higher education institutions and training providers in accordance with the BFSG and BITV 2.0
TWO SETS OF RULES, ONE RESPONSIBILITY

What the BFSG and BITV 2.0 really mean for education institutions

There are two sides to the legal situation in education – and it is precisely this difference that is often overlooked.

Porträtfoto von Lukas Maximilian Langer, Gründer und Leiter Audit & Zertifizierung der IFDB GmbH
Lukas Maximilian Langer

Founder | Head of Audit & Certification

Public schools, universities and state institutions have long been subject to this requirement: the BITV 2.0 and the underlying EU Directive for public bodies require websites, portals and learning platforms to be accessible – including the publication of an accessibility statement.

Private e-learning providers, commercial platforms and further training providers, on the other hand, have been subject to the Accessibility Strengthening Act since June 2025, as soon as they offer education as a service on the market. This refers to anyone who sells courses, offers subscriptions or generates income through knowledge.

Both sides are measured against the same standards: WCAG 2.2 and EN 301 549. And both face a real risk. In the case of public institutions, regulatory authorities raise issues about non-compliance; in the case of private providers, there is a risk of receiving formal warning letters from competitors or industry associations. As public awareness of digital inclusion grows, this risk is more likely to increase than to decrease.

OUR APPROACH FOR EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Four products that intertwine – matched to your needs

No two educational organisations are the same. A university with thousands of course materials has different concerns to a start-up with a streamlined course platform. That is why we customize the Access Suite to your exact needs – from the initial assessment to long-term, secure operation.

Book a Demo
Access Ready®

will thoroughly examine your learning platform as part of an in-depth audit – using real users of assistive technologies such as JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver. This human assessment is particularly crucial when it comes to interactive learning content and complex LMS structures: what a scanner might overlook is immediately apparent to a real user. The process results in the IFDB certificate as reliable proof.

Access Doc®

takes care of the stacks of materials that pile up in every classroom: lecture notes, study materials and assignment sheets. Access Doc® converts these documents to the PDF/UA standard – from individual files to large, established archives – using AI-assisted technology, with human review at the end of the process.

Access Guard®

keeps an eye on your platform whilst operations continue. Educational opportunities never slow down – new courses, new modules and new content are constantly being added. Access Guard® ensures that every new addition maintains the level of security that has been achieved, rather than undermining it without anyone noticing.

Access Academy®

takes knowledge to where it is created: within your organization. Anyone who designs educational content should comprehend how accessibility works – so that the next course is accessible right from the beginning. Access Academy® provides practical training for your authors, media educators and developers, thereby resolving the gap that a one-off audit alone cannot permanently address.

FROM THE INITIAL ASSESSMENT TO THE CERTIFICATE

Four steps to an accessible educational platform

  • Step 01 – The first look, free of charge
    Access Score® scans your platform automatically and requires no additional effort on your part. You’ll receive an initial assessment – where do your educational programmes stand today, and where is it necessary to take a closer look? There’s no strings attached, and it takes just a few minutes.
  • Step 02 – In-depth testing with real users
    Now it’s time to get into the details. Our audit team manually reviews your learning platform, supported by people who use assistive technologies on a daily basis. This reveals the barriers hidden within interactive content and complex navigation – where automation reaches its limitations.
  • Step 03 – Resolve, then certify
    You will receive a prioritised audit report containing detailed recommendations for improvement. Once all issues have been resolved, we will issue the IFDB certificate – your proof to students, authorities and partners that accessibility is not just a claim on your behalf.
  • Step 04 – Maintaining your position
    With Access Guard®, your compliance status remains consistent even as you continue to expand. If you want to go one step further, Access Protect® provides you with contractual protection, and Access Academy® helps you build the necessary expertise directly within your own team.

The Access Ready® Award – awarded to pioneers of genuine digital inclusion.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about
accessibility in education

That depends on your organisation. Public universities and state institutions are subject to the BITV 2.0. Since June 2025, private and commercial e-learning suppliers have been subject to the BFSG as soon as they offer education as a service. In most cases, there is a legal requirement.

Experience has shown that these are the toughest nut to crack. They must be fully operable through a keyboard and accessible to screen readers. That is precisely why we test them with real people – automated scanners simply cannot detect such barriers reliably.

Yes. Videos need subtitles, a transcript where possible, and, for purely visual content, an audio description. During the audit, we’ll clarify which of these requirements specifically apply to your content and show you exactly what you need to change.

Yes, it is independent of the supplier. In any case, it is not the system itself that matters, but how it has been set up, expanded and supplied with content. That is precisely what our audit identifies.

It is not uncommon for educational institutions to manage thousands of documents. Access Doc® converts them to the PDF/UA standard at scale – from a single script to an entire archive – using AI-assisted processing and human review.

With the IFDB certificate from the Access Ready® audit. It documents a fully compliant audit process in accordance with WCAG 2.2 and serves as reliable proof of your due diligence – both to regulatory authorities and to your students.

This depends on the scope, content volume and complexity of your platform. We always start with a free initial assessment and a non-binding consultation, during which we establish the appropriate scope together.

That’s what Access Guard® is for. Its continuous monitoring checks every extension automatically and reports any new barriers immediately – so that every new course upholds the standard that has been achieved, rather than undermining it.

Education means inclusion. Make sure nobody is excluded.

An accessible learning platform is not a concession, but rather the realisation of what you stand for already: knowledge that is open to everyone. Let’s work together to clarify how you can make your digital products lawfully compliant and reliably accessible.

Start your free analysis

Digital inclusion in education – what universities and e-learning providers should focus on

Accessibility in education is more than just a technical requirement – it determines who can take part in digital education in the first place. For public universities and state institutions, the BITV 2.0 sets out the requirements that accessible websites and learning platforms must meet, whilst private providers will be subject to the Accessibility Strengthening Act from June 2025. From a technical perspective, both sets of regulations refer to the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, which define when digital content is perceivable, operable and understandable.

The quickest way to find out where your own learning platform stands today is to carry out a free initial analysis; this is followed by an in-depth, certified audit. And if entire archives of documents have accumulated in your classrooms over the years, accessible PDF conversion will ensure these are brought up to an accessible standard – so that, ultimately, your commitment to education applies to everyone.