Accessibility statement for the University of Bedfordshire

Access is one of the University of Bedfordshire’s core values and we strive to make our web-based information accessible to all.

This accessibility statement applies to www.beds.ac.uk lrweb.beds.ac.uk and www.putteridgebury.co.uk.

These websites are run by the University of Bedfordshire. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
listen to most of the website using a screen reader

We also make every effort to keep 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 buttons in online forms do not have alt text
not all images have an alt text [fix scheduled for 01.10.23]
some older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
live video streams through third party tool Streamyard do not have captions
some of our menu items are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
open day date panels are not yet visible at all times [fix scheduled for 01.05.23]

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print or easy read please email webteam@beds.ac.uk

We’ll consider your request and get back to you within seven 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 the Web Manager by emailing webteam@beds.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).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

If you are visiting the University and require any additional support for example a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter, then please email study@beds.ac.uk so we can facilitate this before your visit.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The University of Bedfordshire 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

The University of Bedfordshire 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:

Images

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 add text alternatives for all images by December 2022. When we publish new content we’ll ensure our use of images meets accessibility standards.

PDF documents

Some older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.2 . When we publish new content we’ll make sure our PDF documents meet accessibility standards.

Forms

Some of our online form contain date fields which currently have no alternative text. We plan to complete this by to meet this standard by December 2022.

IDs used in ARIA labels must be unique. This fails WCAG 4.1.1

Page banners

Our page banners currently have no pause, stop, hide. This fails WCAG 2.2.2 and means automatic carousel images cannot be paused, stopped or hidden. We plan to complete this by to meet this standard by December 2022.

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

Live video

We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video isexempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 28 November 2022.

This website was last tested on 27 November 2022 The test was carried out by The University of Bedfordshire.

We used this approach to deciding on a sample of pages to test: testing pages previously in scope of a Government Digital Service accessibility report (6 April 2022).

Further information

For Mac Users full functioning tabbing on the main navigation menu bar you will need to ensure all controls are switched on withing Keyboard shortcuts.