We're committed to providing a website experience that is accessible for everyone, regardless of ability or technology.

The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations set out the standards public sector bodies, including universities, must reach.

The following accessibility statement sets out how the University of Bath meets its obligations. It also explains what content is exempt from this requirement.

We will update this statement as and when we make improvements to bath.ac.uk.

Approach

The University's goal is to build and procure websites and applications that work for everyone. To do this, we consider the different types of people who use the site, how they use it, and where they use it.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) explained

To make sure that our website and applications are accessible, we follow the World Wide Web Consortiums (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1.

WCAG is a universally accepted standard for measuring the accessibility of a website or app. It uses a scale A, AA and AAA to rate the accessibility of content.

The University is committed to making sure, where possible, that its content meets AA compliance. AA compliance means people who have a disability should be able to access the majority of our content easily.

How we meet WCAG standards

To make sure that our website is compliant with accessibility standards, our templates:

  • use valid HTML and CSS
  • let users change aspects of the site's appearance to improve their own experience
  • are easy to navigate no matter the input device or method
  • have a logical content structure and a clear information hierarchy
  • have layouts that adapt to different screen sizes without loss of functionality or usability
  • provide sufficient colour contrast between background and foreground items
  • provide alternative text descriptions for non-text elements such as images

The majority of our content meets WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines. We have, however, identified some instances where this is not the case.

The University website

The University website (bath.ac.uk) is made up of a website and an intranet. The site and intranet went live before 23 September 2018.

Website

The website contains public-facing information including details about our courses, research activity and academic departments and functions. The site also includes information we are required to publish for legal, regulatory or statutory reasons.

Non-accessible

The University is actively working to address the following issues, in the interim you might experience difficulty accessing:

  • forms we have built using third-party software. These forms are 'skinned' to look like the University. They may be difficult to navigate using a keyboard. We will work with our supplier to address this issue.
  • older PDFs and Microsoft Office documents that are actively used for administrative purposes. We will replace these documents.

University virtual tour

The virtual tour gives students who can't visit the campus an opportunity to explore the University and historic locations in Bath. The tour is a third-party system developed by Mass Interact. There are some aspects of the virtual tour that are currently inaccessible.

Non-accessible

The University is actively working to address the following issues with the supplier. In the interim you might experience difficulty: - if you navigate using a screen reader or keyboard.

Mass Interact is planning to release an update early next year, which will address this issue.

Research portal

The research information management system (sometimes called Pure) allows academic colleagues and doctoral students to record information about their research activity and publish it online. Pure is a third-party system developed by Elsevier, there are some aspects of the PURE that are currently inaccessible.

Non-accessible

The University is actively working to address the following issues with the supplier, in the interim you might experience difficulty with:

  • poor colour contrast between text and background which means that certain words, sentences or paragraphs might be difficult to read.
  • poor page structure means that reading order does not follow the order text appears on the screen. As a result, people who use screen readers or only keyboard to navigate may struggle to use the site.
  • poor page structure means that search results can be difficult to navigate by people who use screen readers or keyboard only.
  • older PDFs.

Our supplier is planning to release an update early next year which will address these issues, except older PDFs which are classed as archival content.

Intranet

The intranet is made up of a series of tools used by staff, students and contractors. These tools support learning, teaching, research and business operations. To access these tools, you need a valid University username and password.

Non-accessible

We are carrying out an audit of the intranet and its tools to assess their accessibility.

Intranet tools

Moodle Virtual learning environment (VLE)

The Moodle is a web-based platform which is used by departments to support learning and teaching. It went live before 23 September 2018.

Moodle delivers online resource and activities. The tool also includes information we are required to publish for legal, regulatory or statutory reasons. The Moodle platform is compliant with WCAG 2.0 AA.

User-generated content in Moodle

We have, however, identified some instances where user-generated content uploaded to the tool does not meet WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines. To improve the accessibility of content, we have installed Blackboard Ally. The tool helps users to create accessible content and can be used to enable staff to convert existing non-accessible materials to alternative formats.

Technical information about the website's accessibility

The University of Bath is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Content that is non-accessible, however, is outside the scope of the regulations

The following content is exempt from the ‘The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018’ .

Maps

Embedded maps may not be accessible. However, we link to an accessible alternative which provides information about the location and access routes. Maps embedded within the Research Data Archive or University Archives and Research Collections may not be accessible as they are not intended for navigational use.

Office file formats

Older PDFs and Microsoft Office documents published before 23 September 2018 that are not used for administrative purposes. We will not replace these documents with accessible versions.

Pre-recorded and live time-based media

Captions and transcripts for time-based media. Pre-recorded videos published before 23 September 2020 do not include captions or transcripts. Live streams will not be captioned.

Third-party content

Some authors may choose to link content hosted on external websites that are not owned, paid for, or developed by the University of Bath. This content may not be accessible.

Affiliate content

The University has some affiliate websites that are not hosted on bath.ac.uk. Some of this content may not be accessible. You should check the affiliate website's accessibility statement for further information.

Archival content

As a Library-managed archive preserving a collection of scientific interest, the University’s Research Data Archive publishes downloadable datasets created during research activities from a range of disciplines in a wide variety of file formats. These files may have been created by bespoke software to discipline standards. We are responsible for preserving the content in formats that may not meet WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines. You might experience difficulty accessing this content. The University’s digital Archives and Research Collections are also managed by the Library as heritage collections, preserving items of historical and scientific interest. It may not be possible to make this content fully accessible due to incompatibility of accessibility requirements with the authenticity of the reproduction and the lack of automated, cost-efficient methods of extracting content into accessible formats. You might experience difficulty accessing this content.

Webpages

Public webpages that do not use the following URL structure (web address) may not be accessible.

Web pages on the University website that do not follow these URL structures will be removed or replaced with an alternative version by 23 September 2020.

A decision about personal websites hosted on bath.ac.uk has not yet been made.

Request an alternative format

The website, including intranet (excluding PURE and Moodle)

If you cannot access any information on our website and would like to request an alternative format, for example, an accessible PDF, large print document, easy read version, audio recording or braille copy, please use the form for reporting a digital accessibility issue in the section below. We will try to provide you with an alternative version; however, there may be times where this is not possible. We aim to respond to requests within five working days, where possible.

PURE

If you are a member of staff or a student and cannot access PURE as a result of an accessibility issues, please report the issue using the Web Accessibility reporting form and a member of the team will be in contact to help.

Moodle

If you are a student and cannot access a resource on Moodle, you should contact the teacher directly. You can find the course owner listed on the My Courses page on Moodle, and contact details for members of staff using Microsoft Outlook.

Report an issue

Report an accessibility issue and get help.

If you are not happy with our response

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for making sure organisations meet the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. If you’re not happy with our response, please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) for further advice