Website Accessibility Statement

This accessibility statement covers this website [aston.ac.uk] as the main website for the University. We have several websites, mobile applications, and platforms, each of which are being reviewed and have their own accessibility statement. We aim to achieve the recommended government standard for web accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA). We also test with users of varied needs and on different assistive devices.

As a user 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

We also aim to make the website text as simple as possible to understand.

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

Please note:

• The text 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
• Most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
• Live video streams do not have captions
• Some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
• You cannot skip to the main content when using a screen reader
• There’s a limit to how far you can magnify the map on our ‘contact us’ page

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 please email us.

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

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website 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 are not listed on this page or think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please email us.

Enforcement Procedure

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 us.

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

Aston 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

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

Aston’s Accessibility Report, produced in collaboration with DYNO Mapper, includes information regarding where the University’s website does not meet the full WCAG 2.0 expectations. Please contact us should you require a copy of this report.

Disproportionate Burden

Navigation and accessing information

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).

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 in September 2020.

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

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.

How we tested this website

This website was last tested on 08 September 2019. The test was carried out by our digital marketing department using third-party analytical software. The software scanned the site for AA compliance.

We tested our main website platform.

We will implement a program of continuous improvement and conduct further testing.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We aim that the following changes will be made by September 2020:

• We will update video captions, or remove older videos without captions
• We will remove out of date elements, custom code and features
• We will update our alt-text
• We will update our PDF documents that are essential
• We are working with our supplier to update some of our forms and aim to have these updated