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Insight is Partially Accessible

The University of Cumbria takes 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.

The Insight system using Eprints software which is being developed to meet the WCAG AA standards.

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
  • change colours and contrast levels
  • main-content zooms up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
  • clear Tab Focus when accessing content
  • clear informative page titles
  • navigate all the content using just a keyboard
  • navigate to all headings on the page using assistive technology
  • use text to speech tools to access content
  • consistent navigation
  • listen to the website using a screen reader

How accessible is Insight?

  • most older PDF documents aren’t fully accessible to screen reader software
  • colours and contrasts fail guidelines
  • Tab focus on buttons is not clear and fails requirements
  • you cannot skip to the main content
  • some links are not meaningful out of context
  • some Form elements have missing labels - basic form checks you can try.

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

1. Non-compliance with accessibility regulations

  • when zooming to 300% on the dashboard the text is lost off the screen. Consider enlarging the text rather than the browser window. This means that not all information is available to those with a sight impairment. This contravenes the WCAG2.1 – 1.4.4, 1.4.5, 1.4.10. The issue is added to the Accessibility Improvement Action Plan and will be monitored and progress updated annually.
  • some links are not meaningful out of context these include:
    • Generic labels ‘This Guide’ repeated label
    • Full url address as the link text rather than a descriptive label

This makes the navigation for screen readers users difficult and the opportunity to create alternative formats more difficult. This contravenes WCAG2.1 - 2.4.4. We believe that this should be correctable and have added it to the Insight Accessibility Action Plan, which is monitored and updated annually. This will need to be correct by the 3rd party system developer and we are currently in communication about this issue.

  • There is no Skip Main Content option available when using the keyboard to improve the user experience. This means that more tab strokes are needed to navigate the page, which impacts on the user experience This contravenes WCAG2.1 -  2.4.1 and is a 3rd party issue. We are, however, communicating with the System Owners regarding this function and have added it to the Accessibility Action Plan, which is monitored and updated annually.
  • Colour and Contrast fail the WCAG Guidelines 1 – 1.4.1, 1.4.3, 1.4.11. The background colours fail against the foreground text. This may prevent users who have a sight impairment or colour blind to fully access the page. The Colour, Contrast browser extensions works well with the pages to improve accessibility. We have added this issue the system accessibility Action Plan and are in contact with the 3rd party system owner to rectify the issue. The action plan will monitor the changes needed and be updated annually.
  • Button Tab Focus on the Academic Request Form falls below the contrast requirements. This makes it difficult for the user to know where the tab focus is on the screen, making it really difficult to interact with the page. This affects none mouse users and contravenes WCAG2.1 - 2.4.7. The browser Focus Indicator Extension works well to mitigate the issue. This issue has been added to the Accessibility Improvement Action Plan and are communicating with the web designer to alter the design layout. The action plan is monitored and updated annually.
  • Some Forms and elements have missing labels - basic form checks you can try. This makes it difficult for Screen Reader users to navigate the page and interact with forms. This contravenes WCAG2.1 – 1.3.1, 3.2.4, 4.1.2 and affects the usability of the pages. We have added this issue the system accessibility Action Plan and are in contact with the 3rd party system owner to rectify the issue. The action plan will monitor the changes needed and be updated annually.

2. Disproportionate Burden

The changes needed to achieve AA WCAG Guidelines and meet the Web Accessibility Regulations will be achieved through a planned accessibility improvement action plan 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. A process is being implemented which checks new submissions against the accessibility requirements before uploading to the database. this has been added to the Accessibility Action Plan to monitor and implement the new practice.

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 August 2020 by University of Cumbria.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

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

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