Accessibility statement

Accessibility statement for Anglia Ruskin University

This accessibility statement applies to Anglia Ruskin University's main external website aru.ac.uk. 

This website is run by Anglia Ruskin University. 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 200% without the text spilling off the screen
• navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
• use the site across multiple devices
• 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 our video content does not have captions
• captions/synchronised transcripts provided with our videos are usually generated by Automated Speech Recognition and although we have endeavoured to ensure the greatest level of accuracy there may be some errors especially with complex technical terms
• our videos do not have audio descriptions
• some PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software:
• there are supplementary forms for some of our CPD courses requiring student and employer sign off which remain in PDF format. We are Investigating ways to digitise these
• there are some supplementary accommodation forms which remain in PDF format. We expect to replace these with online forms by February 2021
• there are PDF versions of printed brochures for our Schools which are not fully accessible to screenreaders, the information contained within these is available elsewhere on our website in html format.
• the Global Sustainability Institute has a number of inaccessible PDF documents, these are not business critical
• there are a series of PDFs to support NHS staff who mentor our healthcare students. Many of these are inaccessible. These are updated on a regular basis and we will ensure new versions are accessible.

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 contact us as accessibility@aru.ac.uk with the URL of the page you need in a different format.
• We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 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: accessibility@aru.ac.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).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

Anglia Ruskin 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. 

Some of our video content does not have captions. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.2 (captions (pre-recorded)). We plan to include captions on all new videos uploaded from 23 September 2020.

Some of our video content does not have an audio description or media alternative. The fails WCAG 1.2.3 (Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded)). Fixing this has been assessed as a disproportionate burden.

Non compliance with the accessibility regulations

In a small number of instances, such as tables, html is used to format content. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and relationships). We plan to fix this by January 2021.

On some pages WAI-ARIA landmarks are not named. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and relationships). We plan to fix this by January 2021.

On a small number of pages there are heading tags which are missing text. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and relationships). We plan to fix this by January 2021.

On some pages the ID used for an element is not unique. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and relationships) and success criterion 4.1.1 (Parsing). We plan to fix this by January 2021.

Tabs on our undergraduate course pages don't have sufficient focus contract. This fails WCAG 2.1 Focus Visible. We plan to fix this by January 2021.

Disproportionate burden

Our video content does not contain audio descriptions. We've assessed the cost of implementing these. We believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. We will make an assessment on an ongoing basis as new video content is commissioned.

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

PDFs and other documents

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents do not meet accessibility standards - for example, they may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader.

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.

• There are a series of PDFs on our 3rd Sector Future pages from conferences run between 2014 & 2017 which do not meet requirements, these are not business critical and we are not obliged to fix these as they were uploaded before 23 September 2018
• There are a series of back issues of the Faculty of Science and Engineering research magazine 'First' which are not fully accessible to screenreaders. These are not business critical and we are not obliged to fix these as they were uploaded before 23 September 2018

Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We have a rolling programme of updating the content and design of this website in accordance with the guidelines set out by the WCAG. We will continue to assess and improve our accessibility based on these guidelines, user testing and user feedback. We use the SiteImprove tool to monitor and report on our site to aid in identifying and prioritising issues which need to be resolved.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 25 October 2019. It was last reviewed on 22 September 2020.

This website was last tested on 22 September 2020. The test was carried out by Anglia Ruskin University with the aid of the SiteImprove tool.

SiteImprove continually monitors the aru.ac.uk website and reports any errors it finds. We supplement this with periodic manual audits.