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Accessibility Statement

This accessibility statement applies to uclan.ac.uk, run by the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) as our main University website.

As a large organisation, we have several websites, domains, platforms and mobile applications that are currently being reviewed and will have their own accessibility statements. This includes our student support website located at uclan.ac.uk/students.

Our uclan.ac.uk website and associated content is designed for as many as people as possible in mind, and we are committed to providing a website that is accessible to all users and one that provides a positive user experience.

As a user of our website with accessible needs, you should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • zoom in up to 200% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

In addition to the above, there are customisation tools available via your browser or personal device that will improve your online experience if you have a disability. AbilityNet - How to use My Computer My Way has step-by-step advice on making your computer, laptop, tablet or smart phone easier to use.

Accessibility on this website

Whilst we are fully committed to improving our user experience and accessible, we are aware some parts of this website are not fully accessible. This includes:

  • PDF’s published before published before 23 September 2018 are not fully accessible to screen reader software.
  • All on demand videos will have optional captions available, however this does not extend to all of our live video streams.
  • Some of our online forms are built outside our site using third-party software and maybe difficult to navigate using just a keyboard.
  • Some older images do not have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content). We plan to add text alternatives for all images by January 2022.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

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

Compliance status

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

Non-accessible content

We regularly test and monitor our website content for accessibility as we are committed to ensuring a positive user experience whilst meeting current WCAG 2.1 AA standards.

Whilst we have implemented processes for the ongoing maintenance of this site, not all elements will work for everyone.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

The content listed below are issues and bugs we need to resolve as a matter of urgency on our site

  • Some older images do not have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content). We plan to add text alternatives for all images by October 2021
  • All the videos in the video slider component of the website contain focusable elements that require interaction using a keyboard which could result in a confusing experience for a screen-reader user.
  • The colour contrast for our page banners is not sufficient. WCAG requires a minimum colour contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text, and 3:1 for large text (18pt and above, or 14pt bold).
  • The module component on all course pages contain a scrollable section that can't be operated by keyboard. Visitors who can't easily use a mouse may instead use a keyboard (or keyboard alternative) for navigation and will therefore struggle with interacting with this component.
  • Buttons on some pages do not have unique ID values which means that where sighted visitors may be able to get this information from the visual layout, visitors using screen readers rely on page elements being marked up correctly in the HTML.

Disproportionate burden

In some instances, there may be issues with our University website that cannot be resolved straight away. This may be because the cost of fixing the issues would place a disproportionate burden on the University within the meaning of the accessibility regulations.

Any issues falling into this category are listed below and will be reviewed annually or when contracts are due for renewal.

  • Some of our forms are built and hosted through third party software and adapted to look like our website. In these instances, they may be difficult to navigate using a keyboard. For example, because some form controls are missing a ‘label’ tag.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Whilst we make every effort to ensure our website is accessible, there is some content that we are not fixing straightaway as a priority. This content is currently exempt under accessibility legislation.

  • Portable Document Formats (PDFs) and other documents
    Current accessibility regulations do not require us to update PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. However, we are ensuring any new PDFs or documents we publish in the future will meet accessibility standards. If you have any issues in accessing older documents, please email us at webco-ordinator@uclan.ac.uk and we’ll endeavour to provide the information in an alternative format.
  • Live video
    Occasionally, we host live video streaming from our website for large corporate events. In some cases, we are able to offer live captioning to our viewers. However, this is not available for all events and it is advised to check prior to the event if this is available. Please note, live video captioning is exempt from meeting current accessibility regulations.
  • Maps
    Our website hosts a number of online maps or maps within PDFs. Where a map is available, alternative information is also displayed on the same page. If you require additional directional information to one of our campuses, please call us on +44 (0) 1772 201201.

    In addition, we are working with AccessAble (formally DisabledGo) to ensure that all our visitors have clear information on the accessibility and access of our venues. AccessAble produce online access guides available to view here. We strive to remove any barriers to participation and are continually making positive changes to improve the client experience.
  • Third-party content
    Our uclan.ac.uk website contains third-party content such as social media links and embedded content from other providers. Unfortunately, we do not have control over this and are not responsible under accessibility guidelines for this content. However, we do work with our third-party suppliers to improve accessibility and our user experience wherever possible.

Contacting us about accessibility

If you require information in a more accessible format such as large print, easy read, audio recording or braille please contact the relevant team by emailing webco-ordinator@uclan.ac.uk or call us on +44 (0) 1772 201201.

We’ll consider your request and respond to your request as soon as possible.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We're continually monitoring and updating our website to adhere to the latest accessibility guidelines and best practice. However, if you encounter any issues or problems not listed on this page, think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, or you wish to feedback future improvements please contact us by emailing webco-ordinator@uclan.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).

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 10 December 2020. It was last reviewed on 10 December

This website was last tested on 10 December. The test was carried out by the University of Central Lancashire. We used this approach by deciding on a sample of pages to test using external scanning software.