Accessibility statement for The University of York – Study Online

Overview

This website is run by Higher Ed Partners UK Ltd. on behalf of the University of York. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • Change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • Zoom in up to 300% 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)

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • Some of the elements will not reflow in a single column when you change the size of the browser window
  • You cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
  • Some of our online forms cannot yet be fully navigated using just a keyboard
  • You cannot skip to the main content when using a screen reader

What to do if you cannot access parts of this website

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 2 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact: Ed Harland-Lang (Marketing Director) at Higher Ed. Partners UK Ltd. by emailing ed.harland-lang@higheredpartners.co.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).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

We provide a text relay service for people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.

Our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

Find out how to contact us at the bottom of this page.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Higher Ed Partners UK Ltd. on behalf of the University of York are 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.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

  • Some 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).
    When we publish new content we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.

  • The form is not completely accessible in terms of focus outline, labels, tab order and button interaction. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1, 2.4.6, 2.4.7, 3.2.2, 3.3.2 and 4.1.2
    We plan to make the form accessible in order the application can be made entirely with a keyboard and assistive software

  • Colour contrast does not fully reach required standards. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.1 (Use of Color) and 1.4.3 (Contrast Minimum)
    We plan to address the colour scheme to improve readability.

  • Content cannot be zoomed on mobile devices. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.4 (Resize Text)
    We will remove the viewport restriction to allow zooming.

  • There’s no way to skip the repeated content in the page header (for example, a ‘skip to main content’ option). This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.1 (bypass blocks).

  • Link text can be ambiguous to screen-readers. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4 (Link Purpose)
    Accessibility measures will be added in order to make the content more readable.

Disproportionate burden

It’s not always possible to change the device orientation from horizontal to vertical without making it more difficult to view the content. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.4 (orientation).

It’s not possible for users to change text size without some of the content overlapping. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.4 (resize text).

Interactive tools and transactions

Some of our interactive forms are difficult to navigate using a keyboard. For example, because some form controls are missing a ‘label’ tag.

Our forms are built and hosted through third party software and ‘skinned’ to look like our website. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (information and relationships).

We’ve assessed the cost of fixing the issues with navigation and accessing information, and with interactive tools and transactions. We believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. We will make another assessment during the next development phase.

How we tested this website

This website was last tested on 12/09/2019. The test was carried out by Higher Ed Partners UK Ltd.

We used accessibility checker software to check for compliance to WCAG 2.0 (SiteImprove Accessibility Checker, Microsoft Accessibility Insights).
We also validated the HTML page markup against W3C Standards.

We tested:

  • Our main website platform, available at https://online.york.ac.uk
  • Our application microsite, available at https://apply.online.york.ac.uk
  • Ninja Forms – services based on a different technical platform but ‘skinned’ to look like our website

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are planning to address the main non-compliance accessibility issues listed above as soon as possible.

 

This statement was prepared on 12/09/2019. It was last updated on 13/09/2019.