Accessibility Statement
This website is run by Swansea University. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website, feel welcome and find the experience rewarding.
For example, that means you should be able to:
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts via the Recite ME application
- zoom in up to 300% 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 (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
- We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.
AbilityNet https://mcmw.abilitynet.org.uk/ 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 aren’t fully accessible:
- No ability to change colours, contrast levels and fonts on unmigrated pages including Press Office, Staff Profiles and Jobs
- Older PDF documents aren’t fully accessible to screen reader software
- Live video streams don’t have captions
- Virtual Tours do not support keyboard navigation
- Some videos do not have captions
- Some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard and screen readers
The page design and markup are different on Press Office, Staff Profile pages and some old unmigrated pages.
What to do if you can’t access parts of this website
If you enjoyed using the swansea.ac.uk website, or if you had trouble with any part of it, please get in touch. We'd like to hear from you in any of the following ways:
email us at web-accessibility@swansea.ac.uk
Call us: +44 (0)1792 205678
Please ask for the Web Team.
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.
Transcription Centre
If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:
Swansea University Transcription Centre, Amy Dillwyn Building, Swansea University, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP
Email: braille@swansea.ac.uk
Twitter: @SUTranscription
United Kingdom
How to find the transcription center: https://www.swansea.ac.uk/media/SUTC-Accessible-Guide-2018.docx
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact us in any of the following ways:
email us at web-accessibility@swansea.ac.uk
Call us: +44 (0)1792 20 5678
Please ask for the Web Team.
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).
Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person
The university aims to provide professional information and guidance services for disabled students, students with specific needs and/or medical conditions.
We can provide support if you would like to visit us or phone us.
Please contact the disability office.
Telephone: +44 (0)1792 60 6617
Email: disability@swansea.ac.uk
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Swansea University 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
We're working hard to achieve our goal of Level AA accessibility, but we realise there are some areas that still need improving. The following information explains what we're doing to make that happen.
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
Old website content such as Press Office, Staff Profiles and Third-Party Applications
WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1: Non-text Content
Most of all non-text content on our website does have an alternative text. However, our website is currently being migrated to a new design and a new version of our content management system. This means some non-text content may not have an alternative. Our content is being reviewed and audited regularly to address this.
Audio and Video Content
WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.1: Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded)
We are currently in a process of reviewing the content hosted on our site to ensure all time-based media has an alternative.
Video Content
WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.2: Captions (Prerecorded)
We are currently in a process of reviewing the content hosted on our site and will be updating prerecorded audio content with captions where applicable.
Video and Audio Content
WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.3: Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded)
We are currently in a process of reviewing the content hosted on our site and will be updating video content with audio descriptions or media alternatives were applicable.
Old website content such as Press Office, Staff Profiles and Third-Party Applications
WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.3.4: Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data)
The website 'swansea.ac.uk' has no known legal or financial based transactions as this is handled by more internal systems. However, the website is in a process of transition and review to assess content and if this issue occurs it will be addressed as required.
Old website content such as Press Office, Staff Profiles and Third-Party Applications
WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.3: Status Messages
We are in active development of our website and hope to ensure all status messages are accessible to all as part of an ongoing process of this work.
Disproportionate burden
An assessment has been made taking into account the size and resources available to the organization, any content that is judged a disproportionate burden are stated in this section.
Navigation and accessing information
No issues or not applicable.
Interactive tools and transactions
Third Party Forms and transactions: /personnel/jobs/
WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (information and relationships)
Some of our forms are built and hosted through third party software and ‘skinned’ to look like our website. 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. Our supplier will be contacted to see any of the issues can be addressed. We will review this again in the next 12 months.
Interactive tools: /virtual-tour-stand-alone/
WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard)
Our site uses a virtual tour which currently does not support keyboard navigation.
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 when the supplier contract is up for renewal, likely to be in 2 years.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
An assessment has been made taking into account the size and resources available to the organization, any content that is judged out of scope of the regulations are stated in this section.
PDFs and other documents
WCAG 2.1 success criterion success criterion 4.1 (Compatible)
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.
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. For example, we don’t plan to fix: Jean-Earle.pdf
Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.
Live Video
WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.4 (captions - live)
Live video streams don’t have captions. We are currently investigating solutions that can provide captions for any live content we deliver through our website. At the present time our website is not used to deliver live audio content. 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
A full automated website audit is done remotely on weekly basis. The test is carried out by Site Improve https://siteimprove.com/en-gb/accessibility/. This approach produces an overall score and flags areas to be addressed for the next test and audit.
A full accessibility audit was conducted on 1st September 2019 on sample pages based on a typical user journey of a prospective student.
The sample pages included:
- Landing Page
- Course Pages
- Search Results
- A small selection of general content pages
These pages were subjected to the following audit process:
- A manual review based on POUR Checklist from GDS
- An automated check using Site Improve
- A basic audit using NVDA Screen reader software
The audit process was conducted by our internal usability specialist. This approach was decided upon based on the size of the website, time, resources and funding the organization had available at the time.
We tested our main website platform, available at https://swansea.ac.uk
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
Our accessibility roadmap shows how and when we plan to improve accessibility on this website:
- Develop Press Office and migrate to new page design
- Develop Staff Profile and migrate to new page design
- Review all PDF content and make accessible
- Implement automated web accessibility testing as part of our development process
- Work with third party developers to ensure forms and interactive tools are accessible
- Perform audit and reviews for blind users using screen readers including NDVA and VoiceOver
- Perform in person screen reader and general accessibility testing with end users
This statement was prepared on 10th September 2019. It was last updated on 20th September 2019.