Accessibility statement for lboro.ac.uk

Source: https://www.lboro.ac.uk/accessibility/ Parent: https://www.lborolondon.ac.uk/

This accessibility statement applies to Loughborough University’s website – www.lboro.ac.uk.

This website is run by Loughborough University. We’re committed to ensuring all visitors can access our web services and we want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

• 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. For example, in some instances

• the text will not reflow in a single column when you change the size of the browser window;
• on older web pages, you cannot skip to the main content when using a screen reader;
• on older web pages, you cannot navigate entirely using a keyboard;
• on older web pages will scroll in two dimensions on smaller screens;
• some images on our website do not have appropriate alternative text;
• some videos and audio on our website do not have the required caption controls, or transcriptions available;
• live video streams do not have captions;
• some older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software;
• some of our Portable Document Formats (PDFs) and Word documents that are essential to providing our services do not meet accessibility standards;
• some text does not have sufficient contrast with its background;
• some link text does not make sense when read on its own.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please contact webteam@lboro.ac.uk. We’ll consider your request and get back to you with a response.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We want to make our services as accessible as possible and 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, please contact webteam@lboro.ac.uk and we’ll review and address and seek to resolve any issues you may be facing in accessing our services.

Enforcement procedure

If, after contacting the web team, you feel your issue hasn’t been sufficiently addressed, you can escalate your issue to the Director of Marketing and Advancement, Helen Pennack.

PA to Director of Marketing and Advancement, Nicola Griffin: n.j.griffin@lboro.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).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Loughborough University 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 listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

General issues

No skip to main content option

• On some older pages, there is no option to skip to the main content, bypassing the site header and navigation. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria: 2.4.1 Bypass blocks (A).

We are actively working to archive or redevelop old sites using new accessible templates to address this issue by November 2024.

Pages scroll in two dimensions on smaller screens

• Some older pages scroll in two dimensions on smaller screens. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria: 1.4.10: Reflow (AA).

We are actively working to archive or redevelop old sites using new accessible templates to address this issue by November 2024.

Pages and functionality can’t be accessed using a keyboard alone

• Some elements on our website pages, including carousels can’t be accessed fully using a keyboard. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 2.1.1: Keyboard (A).

We are actively working to archive or redevelop old sites using new accessible templates to address this issue by November 2024. We are replacing older carousels with new accessible versions.

Colour contrast

• Some colours combinations used on our site do not meet colour contrast ratio standards making it difficult for users with visual impairments. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.4.3: Contrast minimum (AA).

We are reviewing our web pages to identify and resolve instances where contrast issues exist. All non-compliant colours will be replaced with colours that meet AA standards by November 2024.

Controls don’t change appearance when selected

• Some controls don’t change appearance when they are selected. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 2.4.7: Focus Visible (AA).

Pages affected by this issue are being redeveloped and should be fully resolved by November 2024.

Ensure links are distinguished by more than just colour

• Some links on our website are only distinguishable by colour. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.4.1: Use of Colour (A).

We will be updating our global styles to address this issue by November 2024.

Page structure

• Some pages have incorrect heading structures, such as multiple H1 tags, or a structure that doesn’t follow a logical order. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 2.4.6: Headings and Labels (AA).

We have updated our publisher documentation and training materials to ensure publishers are aware of heading structures and how to use them appropriately. We will be using Silktide to actively monitor and resolve this issue where it arises.

Tables

• Some pages contain tables which do not have headers or use tables for layout purposes. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.3.1: Info and Relationships (A).

We have updated our publisher documentation and training materials to ensure publishers are mindful of their responsibilities when publishing content using tables. We will be using Silktide to actively monitor and resolve this issue where it arises.

Non-HTML content

• Some PDF documents uploaded after 23 September 2018 may not be accessible and therefore their content will not be available to screen-readers.

We are providing further training and documentation to publishers on their responsibilities in respect of PDF creation and publication. Our in-house design team have received training on creating accessible PDFs alongside adopting a ‘web-first’ approach to document publishing. We will be using Silktide to continuously monitor for inaccessible PDFs to enable us to respond to and resolve issues with inaccessible PDFs.

Issues with text

Link text

• Some link text does not make sense when read out of context for example, using text such as 'click here'. Some pages contain multiple links which use the same link text but point to different destinations. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 2.4.4: Link Purpose (A).

We have updated our publisher documentation and training materials to ensure publishers are mindful of their responsibilities when using links in the content they publish and how to write appropriate link text.

Readability

• Some pages contain text which is not as simple as possible to understand. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 3.1.5: Reading Level (AAA).

Although this success criteria is level AAA, we are committed to ensuring our web content is as simple as possible to understand. We have provided some publishers with copywriting training and will be including this in future publisher training. We will be updating our publisher documentation to include information on creating better readable content.

Issues with images, video and audio

Text alternatives for images

• Some images do not have a text alternative, or the text alternative is unhelpful, so people using a screen reader cannot understand the non-text content. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.1.1: non-text content (A).

Images containing text

• Some images contain text. It might be difficult for some users to discern the text within these images. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.4.5: Images of Text (AA).

We have detailed information on how to add descriptive text to images as part of our publisher documentation and training. We will be using Silktide to continuously monitor and audit where images fail accessibility checks, enabling us to quickly respond and resolve issues when they arise.

Issues with video and audio

• Some embedded videos are not captioned or use automatically generated captions which may be inaccurate. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.2.2: Captions (Prerecorded) (A).
• Some embedded audio content (such as podcasts) does not have a transcript or other text equivalent. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.2.1: Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded) (A).

All new video content should be captioned, and auto-generated captions checked for accuracy. Some older videos embedded on our website may not have captions and we are working to remove old videos that are no longer required or relevant or update captions where appropriate. Podcast publishers are being asked to provide transcripts or text equivalent where they don’t already exist.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

Loughborough University’s Web and Digital Team undertake regular accessibility testing on this website and are working to migrate all content away from older web templates. We have created guides on how to make accessible digital content and provide training to publishers.

There are active projects to migrate non-compliant areas of content and features to new, WCAG 2.1 AA compliant templates.

We will be using Silktide to improve our identification of accessibility and content issues ensuring we are able to address them in a more timely manner.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 30 March 2020. It was last reviewed on 8 March 2024 and will be reviewed on or before 29 November 2025.