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This accessibility statement applies to:
The main Abertay website which can be accessed by visiting https://abertay.ac.uk.
This website is run by Abertay University. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:
navigate all of the website using just a keyboard.
listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver).
navigate all of the website using speech recognition software.
zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen.
change colours, contrast levels and fonts using your browser.
We have also made every effort to make the website text as simple as possible to understand.
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
We know some parts of this website aren’t fully accessible:
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.
not all media will have a transcript or be subtitled.
you cannot skip to the main content when using a screen reader.
some images do not have good alternative text or are missing.
some buttons are not correctly identified.
headings do not appear in a logical order on some pages.
Some input fields don’t have descriptions.
Some colour contrast issues.
the web form preview text doesn't have enough contrast against the field itself.
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:
email: ITServiceDesk@abertay.ac.uk
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.
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:
Find out other ways to contact us.
We'll try and respond as quickly as possible but this will be no more than 5 working days.
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).
British Sign Language service
contactSCOTLAND-BSL runs a service for British Sign Language users and all of Scotland’s public bodies using video relay. This enables sign language users to contact public bodies and vice versa. The service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
contactSCOTLAND-BSL service details
Abertay University is committed to making the 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 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
The full guidelines are available at:
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1
The following items to not comply with the WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria
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).
We plan to fix this issue by: 01 Dec 2023.
Not all video will have subtitles or subtitles that identify all speakers as well as noting other significant sounds e.g. laughter. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.2 (Captions (Prerecorded).
We plan to fix this issue by: 01 Dec 2023.
Headings do not appear in a logical order on some pages – this is specifically for course details pages. In some cases the heading is missing text. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.1 (Info and Relationships).
We plan to fix this issue by: 01 Dec 2023.
Many of our older PDFs and Word documents don’t meet accessibility standards - for example, they may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
We plan to fix this issue by: 01 Dec 2022.
Some form control labels have missing text. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.1 (Info and Relationships) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
We plan to fix this issue by: 01 Dec 2022.
Some iFrames with embedded videos are missing a title. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
We plan to fix this issue by: 01 Dec 2023.
Some of the input fields in our forms don’t contain a description. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.2 (Labels or Instructions) and 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
We plan to fix this issue by: 01 Dec 2023.
Colour contrast issues with heading over the header image depending on the header image. Also the image carousel controls have insufficient contrast. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.3 (Contrast (Minimum)) and 1.4.11 (Non-text Contrast).
We plan to fix this issue by: 01 Aug 2023.
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).
We plan to fix this issue by: 01 Aug 2023.
Web forms contain placeholder text that is too light and doesn't provide enough contrast.
We plan to fix this issue by: 01 September 2023.
We are not currently claiming that any accessibility problems would be a disproportionate burden to fix.
It is unlikely that the 3D map experience for the University or the floorplan maps are fully accessible with all assistive technologies. However maps are currently not within the scope of the regulations. In-person assistance is available if required.
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. By September 2022, we plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages.
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. For example, we do not plan to fix news articles published before this date.
Users can request a fully accessible version (i.e. it has passed Adobe Acrobat Pro DC’s accessibility checker) of the Digital Undergraduate Guide by contacting sro@abertay.ac.uk. We’re working to make sure a fully accessible version is available for all users to download.
Please note: creating a personalised version of the Digital Undergraduate Guide renders a PDF that does not retain essential PDF accessibility features. The University is committed to obtaining a solution that will retain essential PDF accessibility features. We do not have a delivery date for this solution.
We are proactively looking at page layouts and content types within the content management system to ensure any accessibility issues identified are fixed at this level. This will resolve issues that appear on every page that use these page layouts or content types.
We are actively using accessibility auditing tools such as SiteImprove, A11y and Lighthouse to review pages on a regular basis.
Content creators are being advised on how to produce accessible content.
The web team is actively involved in a number of accessibility user groups including the Government Digital Service, JISC and UK HE.
Where accessibility issues are within services provided by 3rd party suppliers we will feedback accessibility issues so that fixes can be built into their development road-map.
We will continue to review accessibility of content and advise content creators when required.
This website was last tested on 23rd of November 2022. The test was carried out by an internal team, using a wide range of automated and manual testing techniques and tools:
Accessibility Insights for Web (Chrome plugin) - provides a detailed walk-through of both automated and manual accessibility issues.
SiteImprove Accessibility checker (Chrome plugin) – provides a quick overview of issues.
Automated testing using Pa11y (htmlcs).
aXe (Chrome plugin) – provides an in-depth insight into issues.
Koa11y – provides an in-depth insight into issues.
WebAIM Contrast Checker – analysis of colour contrast ratios.
NVDA – open source windows software for screen reading.
As part of a detailed accessibility audit, we selected a sample of pages to test based on amount of traffic, type of content and task being carried out. We focused our accessibility testing mainly (but not exclusively) on pages that offer different tasks that may be performed on the website.
This statement was prepared on 24 January 2023 and last updated on 4 April 2023.