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The University of Cumbria- In Place is Partially Accessible when compared against the Web/ App Accessibility Regulations 2018

The University of Cumbria take accessibility very seriously and want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. We are actively working to make the website more accessible to all people and compliant with World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) WAI’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1.

View our accessibility tools page to find accessibility tools and plugins to help improve your online experience.

 

You should be able to:

  • understand the website text
  • colours and contrast levels can be changed using High Contrast Browser Extension
  • navigate all Menu headings using just a keyboard
  • be able to understand hyperlink destinations from the text description
  • navigate to all headings on the page using assistive technology
  • view the tab focus when using a Chrome browser. Tab Focus can be improved by changing the colour using the browser extension Focus Indicator
  • Zoom to 300% by enlarging the font size rather than the general browser zoom
  • use text to speech tools can interact with text that can be highlighted
  • listen to the website using a screen reader

 

How accessible your website is

  • you cannot skip to the main content
  • most older PDF documents aren’t fully accessible to screen reader software
  • When you zoom to 300% and 400% some text is lost on the header and buttons
  • you can’t modify the line height or spacing of text
  • Not all the default colours and contrasts pass the guidelines
  • navigation layout can be inconsistent
  • Not all menu items in the tabbed content can be selected using the keyboard alone.
  • some of our online forms are partially inaccessible using just a keyboard
  • some form elements have missing labels

 

What to do if you can’t access parts of this website

Self-help options

Alternative Formats

The University subscribes to an alternative formats service Sensus Access. This service will transfer most files into a chosen format e.g. an inaccessible PDF can be transferred to an accessible PDF, or a Word document can be transferred to sound. This service can be used directly by Students using their University email address. Alternative Formats

Assistive Technologies

You can access specialist assistive software on PCs and laptops throughout the university and also download free web-based tools to enable you to fully interact with content. To find out more visit the assistive software page or download the AT Bar for free.  

University of Cumbria Support

If you are unable to access content or interact with the interface and would like an alternative accessible format, please contact us to discuss the most suitable options, please contact:

We will review your request and communicate with you in 7 days.

 

Reporting Accessibility Problems with this Website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. You can help us by reporting any barriers you encounter and contribute to our Accessibility Improvement plan. however, if you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact itservicedesk@cumbria.ac.uk.

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about this web-based system’s accessibility levels

The University of Cumbria is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons…

1. Non-compliance with accessibility regulations

Colour Contrast falls below the required levels of contrast, this affects the

    • Log On Button located on the home page
    • Footer links at the bottom of the page located on all pages
    • To Do button when selecting outstanding tasks on the main page
    • Car Pool tab located on the main page

These contrast issues contravene this WCAG2.1 – 1.4.1, 1.4.3, 1.4.11. We are communicating with the 3rd party provider to change the contrast. An Accessibility Action plan has been created to monitor this improvement – to be reviewed Nov 2020

Zoom: When you zoom to 300% and 400% some text is lost on the header and buttons, this is improved by zooming using the Font zoom rather than the main Browser Zoom or a mixture between the two functions can maximise accessibility. This can take some time to get just right so not intuitive.

This contravenes the WCAG2.1 – 1.4.4, 1.4.5, 1.4.10. We are communicating with the 3rd party provider to improve the zoom facility or inform the functionality of a newer version. An Accessibility Action plan has been created to monitor this improvement – to be reviewed Nov 2020

Text Spacing: You cannot modify text spacing or line-height making it more difficult to personalise your experience when reading text. This is repeated throughout the site.

This contravenes the WCAG2.1 - 1.4.12. We are working towards making the site more accessible by communicating with the 3rd party supplier. An Action plan has been created to monitor this improvement – to be reviewed Nov 2020

Tab Focus: The Tab Focus cannot always be seen making the page inaccessible to keyboard-only users. The Chrome ‘Focus Indicator’ App works with the site and enables the user to choose a colour to highlight the tab location

    • The Student Placement Page - Student Log-In details menu – disappears when using the tab key.
    • The Student Placement Page – Car Pool Menu - buttons work as expected apart from tab focus box disappears so you do not know where the tab is.
    • Student Calendar Page - when using the Tab button it Tabs as expected through the top menu options, however, it becomes difficult to see where you are on the screen until you return to the top of the page
    • Help Page - when using the Tab button it is easy to miss the fact you have entered the "Search" box. You then can’t see where you are on the reading pane until the screen suddenly jumps up the page
    • Welcome Page - The "Tab Focus" is hard to see on the page; when you get to the Student Menu option the box disappears altogether

Not being able to see the ‘Tab Focus’ well or in some cases at all contravenes the WCAG2.1 - 2.4.7 We are working towards making the site more accessible by suggesting alternative ways of using the site and also communicating with the 3rd party supplier to correct the issues. An Action plan has been created to monitor this improvement – to be reviewed Nov 2020

Tab Access: The Tab key skips some Menus. This means that some navigation and interactions are inaccessible to keyboard-only users.

    • My Details Page - when using the Tab button it skips "University Info Section, contact details. This prevents the user from being able to add or edit their personal details using the keyboard only.
    • Confirmed Page - the Tab, Arrow & Enter buttons acts as expected on this page; the Space Bar does not activate a menu as with other options but skips you down the page.
    • Student Requirement Page - the Tab button works as expected through the top menu options to the "Placement Tab" but then skips to the bottom of the page with no way to access any of the placement records specifically or the "Academic Tab" menu option
    • Shared Documents Page - when using the Tab button it skips the "Filter" box and so you cannot apply any filters to the page when just using a keyboard. This makes it much more time consuming and difficult to find the information required

No being able to access all areas of the site using the keyboard contravenes WCAG2.1 – 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 2.4.3. We are working towards making the site more accessible by suggesting alternative ways using the site or requesting helpdesk support. We are communicating with the 3rd Party Supplier to correct the issues. An action plan has been created to monitor these improvements – to be reviewed Nov 2020

Form Elements: Some Form elements have missing labels

  • Car Pool Tab
  • Student Confirmed
  • Student Available page
  • Student Requirement page
  • My Details Page
  • Student help Page

Labels: There are orphaned labels that appear on most pages. A Lack of correct labelling makes it difficult for Screen Reader users or those creating alternative formats as the element becomes an unknown item. This contravenes WCAG2.1 – 1.3.1, 3.3.2. We are communicating with the 3rd party supplier on how best to correct these issues.   

2. Disproportionate Burden

We hope that the changes needed to achieve AA WCAG Guidelines and meet the Web Accessibility Regulations will be achieved through a planned accessibility improvement action plan, which is to be reviewed and updated a minimum of 12 monthly.

3. Content that’s not within the Scope of the Accessibility Regulations

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents don’t meet accessibility standards - for example, they may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2. New PDFs or Word documents we publish after 23rd September 2019 will meet accessibility standards.

How we tested this Website

We tested the most visited pages both manually and with the use of accessibility testing software such as Wave, a web accessibility evaluation tool WAVE and Accessibility Insights.

This system was last tested on July 2020 by University of Cumbria.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are continuously working to improve the accessibility levels of In Place. A Basic Accessibility Check is carried out each year followed by a more detailed accessibility check, both assessments highlight the areas needing improvement. Identified issues are added to the system improvement action plan with a timescale for improvement and 3rd party communications on improvement.

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