Accessibility Statement - platform

We know some parts of this service aren’t fully accessible. We are working with the platform providers on these parts of the site and are committed to producing an accessible service for all users. Those parts with accessibility problems are as follows:
[ADD/DELETE FROM THIS LIST AS APPROPRIATE]

• Most older PDF and Word documents aren’t fully accessible to screen reader software
• Embedded YouTube videos aren’t fully accessible to screen reader software
• Some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard and lack focus
• The colour contrast on some page elements is insufficient to be easily discernible for all users
• ARIA tags are improperly labelled in some cases
• Alternative text is not always applied consistently throughout the site
• The line height or spacing of text cannot be modified by the user
• Our videos and live video streams do not have captions

If you need information on this platform in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please please contact the servicedesk via https://universityofbirmingham.service-now.com/itportal/.

We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 10 days.

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this service and are continuing to audit our content. If you find something that you are unable to access, or we have failed to identify a barrier, please let us know.

If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact the servicedesk via https://universityofbirmingham.service-now.com/itportal/.

If you are unhappy with the response you have received from the University about your accessibility-related issue, you can make a complaint to the University by emailing accessibility-complaint@contacts.bham.ac.uk.

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).

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

[ADD ONE OF THE FOLLOWING:

This website is fully compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard.

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to [insert one of the following: ‘the non-compliances’, ‘the exemptions’ or ‘the non-compliances and exemptions’] listed below.

This website is not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. The [insert one of the following: ‘non-compliances’, ‘exemptions’ or ‘non-compliances and exemptions’] are listed below.

]

[Note: In this subsection, list:
accessibility problemswhich of the WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria the problem fails onwhen you plan to fix the problemDo not include any problems where you’re claiming disproportionate burden, or where the problem is outside the scope of the accessibility regulations (those should go in the subsections below).]

[ADD/DELETE FROM THIS LIST AS APPROPRIATE]

1. Some images don’t have a suitable text alternative, so the information in them isn’t available to people using a screen reader.
   This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 ‘A’ success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).
   We plan to add text alternatives for all images by September 2020. When we publish new content, we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.
2. Some areas of the site continue to use text represented as images.
   This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 ‘AA’ success criterion 1.4.5 (images of text).
   We plan to recreate these images as accessible images/content by September 2020. When we publish new images, we will make sure we use accessible content.
3. Some pages use multiple H1 tags or skip heading levels within the page structure. 
   This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 ‘AA’ success criterion 2.4.6 (headings and labels).
   We plan to resolve all these issues by September 2020 and will ensure all new published content follows a consistent page content structure.
4. Keyboard navigation, including the ability to tab easily through content on some web pages is not logical and intuitive. We are currently auditing our website and will address these pages as we find them.
   This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 ‘A’ success criterion 2.1.1 (keyboard access).
   We will be addressing this issue during the Autumn term of 2019.
5. Colour palette: Colour contrast is insufficient on some elements across the site and colour use on some elements (e.g. links) were inconsistent.
   This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 ‘AA’ success criterion 1.4.3 (contrast (minimum)).
   We will be addressing this issue during the Autumn term of 2019.
6. Search tool: An empty submission using the global search does not present an appropriate error.
   This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 ‘A’ success criterion 3.3.1 (error identification).
   We are currently implementing a new search software/tool which is scheduled for release by 2020 and will ensure the implementation of the new search feature complies with WCAG 2.1, AA.
7. Some of our PDFs and Word documents published since September 2018 and older documents that are essential to providing our services, are not meeting the required accessibility standards.
   By September 2020, we plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages.

The site also contains a range of third party content and functionality. This may direct you to a related service, or partner we work with, where we are not responsible for the accessibility of this content. 

[Note: in this subsection list accessibility problems you’re claiming would be a disproportionate burden to fix
Bear in mind that something which is a disproportionate burden now will not necessarily be a disproportionate burden forever. If the circumstances change, your ability to claim disproportionate burden may change too.]

PDFs and other documents

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents published before 23 September 2018 do not 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.

Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our services, and forms published as Word documents. By September 2020, we plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages.

The accessibility regulations don’t require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

Live video

Live video streams don’t have captions. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.4 (captions - live).
We don’t plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

Online maps

We will try and ensure online maps are as accessible as possible, but online maps are currently exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations. 

[DESCRIBE ACTIVITIES RELATED TO ACCESSIBILITY TESTING INCLUDING DATES]

E.G. This service was last tested on [date]. The test was carried out by [add name of organisation that carried out test, or indicate that you did your own testing].
We used this approach to deciding on a sample of pages to test [add link to explanation of how you decided which pages to test].

[DESCRIBE THIS SERVICE'S ONGOING COMMITMENT TO RAISE/ASSURE ITS ACCESSIBILITY. FOR EXAMPLE:

This site is based on third-party platform software and has limited accessibility capabilities, so that while we will try and ensure that content is accassible, it may not always be possible.
To meet our accessibility goals and to improve the service, we are in the process of moving all the content on this site to a new online service [NAME of SERVICE] which will enable us to meet the required WCAG 2.1 AA standard.
More information on current accessibility conformance is available on the supplier's Conformance site: [Link to site]

OR

[NAME OF PRODUCT] is a third-party system developed by [NAME OF COMPANY] which means that some aspects of its accessibility are outside of our immediate control.
We are working closely with the suppliers to ensure future compliance. More information on their commitment to accessibility, roadmap and conformance reports is available on the product website at [LINK TO SITE].

Note: publishing an accessibility roadmap is optional. It’s a good idea to publish one if you want to be specific about the order you’re planning to tackle accessibility issues, and there’s no space to do so in the accessibility statement itself.]

[Note: the wording about when the statement was prepared is legally required, so do not change it.]
This statement was prepared on [date when it was first published]. It was last reviewed on [date when it was last reviewed].