Scope and ownership
This accessibility statement applies to this University of Westminster Archives website. The Records & Archives team is responsible for the digital accessibility of this website.
Using the website
This website is run by the University of Westminster. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website, which means that you should be able to:
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts
- zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate the website using just a keyboard
- navigate the website using speech recognition software
- listen to most of the website using a screen reader (most well-known screen readers)
We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.
For more advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability, visit the AbilityNet website.
Accessibility of the website
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible and have listed the issues according to level of impact, from high to low:
Higher priority issues
- Issues with the colour contrast may make the site difficult to use for some users.
- Issues with the form controls may cause confusion
- Lack of alternative text for non-decorative images may cause users to miss important information
Lower priority issues
- Poor reflow and resizing of the site when zoomed may cause issues for some users.
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 visit our digital accessibility contact us webpage for information on how to request this.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We have tested a sample of pages on the website. If you find an issue we have not yet identified, you can report it to us. We’ll pass this information to the website owner who will review the issue, make sure it is included in our plan to fix issues and add it into the accessibility statement when it is next updated.
Please visit our digital accessibility contact us webpage for information on how to report an accessibility problem.
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).
Ways to contact us
You can contact us by email or phone. If you prefer to visit us in person, get in touch and we’ll advise on which teams are available to meet with you.
Information on how to contact us is available on our digital accessibility contact us webpage.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
The University of Westminster is committed to making its websites accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
Compliance status
This website is not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 - AA standard due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons:
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
- Archive and Search result images lack appropriate alternative text (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.1.1).
- Some heading levels are skipped and non-heading elements (lists) are semantically marked up as headings (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.3.1).
- Some form fields do not have labels associated with the input field (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.3.1).
- Expand button on 'Holdings' section is not keyboard operable (WCAG 2.1. success criteria 2.1.1)
- When the site is zoomed to 400% some text is clipped on the filtering options (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.4.10).
- The colour scheme on the website does not provide enough contrast for some text and user interface components. (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.4.3 and 1.4.11).
- Error messages are not associated with input field (WCAG 2.1 success criteria 3.3.1).
Disproportionate burden
Content not within the scope of the accessibility regulation:
PDFs and other documents
- The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services.
- We are working to review the PDFs and Word documents that are essential to providing our services. We’ll either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages.
- Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish after 23 September 2020 will meet accessibility standards.
Pre-recorded time-based media published before 23 September 2020
- We do not plan to add captions to pre-recorded time-based media published before 23 September 2020 because these are exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
Live video
- We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
- This statement was prepared on 21/08/2020. It was last reviewed on 21/08/2020.
- This website was last tested on 21/08/2020. The test was carried out by AbilityNet, an external auditor who specialises in digital accessibility.
- We took expert advice from AbilityNet to identify a sample of pages to test. AbilityNet selected a sample of webpages based on the potential challenges that non-accessible content would have on the core user journey of the site.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We are working to address the issues identified in the ‘Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations’ section above. We will prioritise our efforts to address the issues with the highest impact on users. We are working to develop an accessibility roadmap to show how and when we plan to improve accessibility on this website.
The University contracts with an external supplier Arkivum to provide this website. Therefore, some of these issues are not within our control to address. We will raise these issues with the supplier and work with them to find solutions, where possible.