Accessibility statement for Edinburgh College of Art
Website accessibility statement inline with Public Sector Body (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018
This accessibility statement applies to https://www.eca.ed.ac.uk.
This website is run the Engagement and Communications Team, Edinburgh College of Art, at the University of Edinburgh. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this application. For example, that means you should be able to:
- Change colours, contrast levels and fonts
- Zoom in up to 500% without the text spilling off the screen
- Navigate most 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)
- Use the website without encountering any time limits
- Use the website without encountering any flashing, scrolling or moving text.
We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand. However, some of our content is technical, and we use technical terms where there is no easier wording we could use without changing what the text means.
Customising the website
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. This is an external site with suggestions to make your computer more accessible:
AbilityNet - My Computer My Way
With a few simple steps you can customise the appearance of our website using your browser settings to make it easier to read and navigate:
Additional information on how to customise our website appearance
If you are a member of University staff or a student, you can use the free SensusAccess accessible document conversion service:
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
- Some tooltips are missing
- Some links open new tabs or browser windows without warning
- When navigating using a keyboard an outline or dotted line shows your location, this could be made clearer
- Some parts may not be fully compatible with keyboard navigation
- There are some areas where the colour contrast could be improved
- The skip to main content option is available but is partially obscured by content or the contrast could be made clearer.
- Some parts may not be fully compatible with screen readers
- Some parts may not be fully compatible with voice dictation software
- Not all media will have audio description.
- Not all functionality in TextHelp may be compatible with the website in certain browsers.
Feedback and contact information
If you need information on this website in a different format, including accessible PDF, large print, audio recording or braille:
- Email: ecawebed@ed.ac.uk
- Telephone: +44 (0)131 651 5750
- British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via Contact Scotland BSL, the on-line BSL interpreting service.
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We are 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, please contact:
- Email: ecawebed@ed.ac.uk
- Telephone: +44 (0)131 651 5750
- British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via Contact Scotland BSL, the on-line BSL interpreting service.
We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.
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 please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) directly:
Contact details for the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS)
The government has produced information on how to report accessibility issues:
Reporting an accessibility problem on a public sector website
Contacting us by phone using British Sign Language
British Sign Language service
Contact Scotland 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 from 8.00am to 12.00am, 7 days a week.
Contact Scotland BSL service details.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
The University of Edinburgh is committed to making its websites and applications 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[VG7] (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.
The full guidelines are available at:
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard
Non accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Noncompliance with the accessibility regulations
The following items to not comply with the WCAG 2.2 AA success criteria:
- Not all video will have audio descriptions.
- Low contrast errors on certain pieces of content flagged by auto testing.
- Certain magnification/reflow causing secondary menu items to disappear. JAWS/Dragon can't access them etc.
- Tooltips are not present for all icons and images.
- Not all content can be reached by a keyboard
- 2.1.1 keyboard
- Whilst the majority of content on the site can be accessed via keyboard, a bug in the site means that at 150% zoom, secondary menu items disappear and can’t be accessed via keyboard.
- Skip to main content is present in site but is partially obscured by header banner.
- Contrast of keyboard focus outlines in Chrome is too low.
- 2.4.7 focus visible
- Whilst outlines can be seen, outlines in Chrome need to be clearer.
- Dragging functionality is present in one component in the website, when in mobile view.
- 2.5.7 Dragging movements
- Whilst this is a mobile only design feature, the user can’t interact with the panel another way.
- There is no indication or warning of links which will open a new tab or window.
- Not all content is read out by JAWS in Firefox.
- 4.1.2 name, role, value
- The majority of content is read out across both browsers but four listing pages aren’t read in full in Firefox.
- Not all content can be accessed by Dragon Naturally Speaking software
- 4.1.2 name, role, value
- Whilst the majority of content can be accessed by Dragon, the zoom bug mentioned further up means the secondary menu can’t be accessed when in 150% + zoom.
We aim to improve our websites accessibility on a regular and continuous basis. See the section below ('What we're doing to improve accessibility') on how we are improving our site accessibility.
We are working towards solving these problems and expect several improvements by September 2024. Whilst the website has been built in-house, the design and frontend template build was by a third party agency. Any improvements on the design would require consultation with the agency.
Disproportionate burden
We are not currently claiming that any accessibility problems would be a disproportionate burden to fix.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
At this time we believe no content is outwith the scope of the accessibility regulations.
PDFs and other documents
Whilst there are not many PDF and Word documents on the website, those that are may not meet accessibility standards - for example, they may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role value).
WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role value)
Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs and Word documents that are used as application forms for Scholarships on the site.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We will continue to address and make adequate improvements to the accessibility issues highlighted. Unless specified otherwise, a complete solution or significant improvement will be in place by September 2024.
While we are in the process of resolving these accessibility issues we will ensure reasonable adjustments are in place to make sure no user is disadvantaged. As changes are made, we will continue to review accessibility and retest the accessibility of this website.
The outlined issues will be reviewed and actioned in a separate phase of work. This will be conducted between 1st March and 1st September 2024.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 20th February 2024. It was last reviewed on 20th February 2024.
The website was last tested in February 2024. The testing was carried out by the Engagement and Communications Team at Edinburgh College of Art at the University of Edinburgh using both automated and manual methods. The site was tested on a PC, primarily using Google Chrome alongside Mozilla Firefox. At the time of testing, Microsoft Edge was not compatible with the website whilst it was in development.
Recent world-wide usage levels survey for different screen readers and browsers shows that Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge are increasing in popularity and Google Chrome is now the favoured browser for screen readers:
WebAIM: Screen Reader User Survey
The aforementioned three browsers have been used in certain questions for reasons of breadth and variety.
We ran automated testing using WAVE WebAIM and then manual testing that included:
- Spell check functionality;
- Scaling using different resolutions and reflow;
- Options to customise the interface (magnification, font, background colour, etc);
- Keyboard navigation and keyboard traps;
- Data validation;
- Warning of links opening in new tab or window;
- Information conveyed in the colour or sound only;
- Flashing, moving or scrolling text;
- Operability if JavaScript is disabled;
- Use with screen reading software (for example JAWS);
- Assistive software (TextHelp Read and Write, Windows Magnifier, ZoomText, Dragon Naturally Speaking, TalkBack and VoiceOver);
- Tooltips and text alternatives for any non-text content;
- Time limits;
Compatibility with mobile accessibility functionality (Android and iOS).