Writtle University College and ARU have merged. Writtle’s full range of college, degree, postgraduate and short courses will still be delivered on the Writtle campus. See our guide to finding Writtle information on this site.

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.

PDF documents that are not fully accessible to screen reader software 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.
  • The Global Sustainability Institute has a number of inaccessible PDF documents. These are not business critical.
  • A number of PDFs to support NHS staff who mentor our healthcare students. These are updated on a regular basis and we aim to ensure new versions are accessible.
  • A number of policy documents and forms that have been retained from Writtle University College for the 2023/24 academic year following WUC's merger with ARU. These are due to be retired or replaced with new, accessible versions for the 2024/25 academic year.

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 at [email protected] 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: [email protected].

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.

In February 2024 we published our fees for the 2024-25 academic year, which is a regulatory requirement, using a template supplied by the Office for Students. This template is available in PDF only. An accessibility check has identified an issue with table headings which we have been unable to adjust in PDF.

Non compliance with the accessibility regulations

On some pages WAI-ARIA landmarks are not named. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and relationships). We are undertaking work now and plan to fix this by July 2024.

On a small number of pages there are heading tags in 'story cards' which are missing text. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and relationships). We are investigating now and plan to fix this by July 2024.

Disproportionate burden

Some of our video content does not contain audio descriptions.

An example could be a video about a particular course, for example a Course Leader discussing some of the things that students will learn on the course. This information is spoken and conveyed through subtitles. Similar, detailed information is given on the course page itself. Typically, the video will appear on the course page, so visitors will not need to navigate away to access this information.

The video may include some incidental footage of our campuses. For example, the Course Leader may be seen walking into a building or sitting in a particular room. A visitor to the website can find information about our campuses through a dedicated suite of campus pages. All our course pages contain direct links to relevant campus pages.

We've assessed the cost of implementing audio descriptions. 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.

On a small number of pages that include contact or booking forms, we use the reCAPTCHA security device (version 2). This can help to confirm that form submissions are genuine, rather than from bots or malware. The reCAPTCHA device is designed and owned by Google. The current colour contrast may make it difficult for someone with sight loss to see the content properly. This fails WCAG 1.4.3 (Contrast - minimum). We have investigated the possibility of using reCAPTCHA version 3 and found the same issues with colour contrast. We have assessed our use of reCAPTCHA and believe that it meets the disproportionate burden threshold.

A small number of documents in the Practice Hub section of our website, which is for NHS staff who mentor ARU students on placement, contain some accessibility issues. We've assessed the cost of redesigning and reproducing documents, the intended audience and level of use, and believe that this meets the disproportionate burden threshold. All new documents are checked before publication and, where possible, any accessibility issues are addressed.

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 29 February 2024.

This website is continually monitored by the Siteimprove tool, which reports any errors it finds. Errors are either addressed immediately or reported for further investigation. We supplement this with periodic manual audits.