Accessibility Statement for Robert Gordon University
This accessibility statement applies to rgu.ac.uk.
This website is run by Robert Gordon 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 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 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:
- you cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
- some features may not be fully compatible with assistive technology or make it harder to use the page
- some features may be missing accessible text
- older PDF and Word documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
- live video streams do not have captions
- some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
Feedback and Contact Information
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website and welcome your feedback.
Contact: webteam@rgu.ac.uk if you:
- Need information on this website in a different format
- Find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements
We’ll consider your request and get back to you within 10 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, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person
Accessible Contact
BSL users can contact staff at the university via contactSCOTLAND-BSL, the online British Sign Language interpreting video relay service. Find out more on the contactSCOTLAND website. Our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.
University Student Services
The Service has an Enabling Technology Adviser, who provides training in the use of enabling technologies such as digital recording equipment and TextHELP Read and Write Gold software. If you require specific software to support your studies, please contact the Enabling Technology Adviser on +44 (0) 1224 262103 or email inclusion@rgu.ac.uk
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Robert Gordon 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. There are some issues that we either need to fix, cannot fix, or do not need to fix right now.
The issues are:
- Non-accessible Content – we will work on fixing these
- Disproportionate Burden – we can’t fix these
- Content which is outwith the scope of the regulations – we don’t need to fix these
If you find something that does not work, contact us.
Non-accessible content
The content listed is non-accessible for the following reasons:
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
- Older documents downloadable from the website are not fully compliant. [see Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations]
- Some PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services, for example, PDFs with information on how users can access our services, and forms published as Word documents.
Many of these have more complex design requirements which come with a cost. Along with this we are developing knowledge and understanding of producing accessible documents and we cannot yet assure all documents will be accessible.
We will either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages as pages and documents are reviewed. We also plan to raise awareness of document accessibility issues across the university with all staff and regularly review new documents that are being uploaded.
Navigation and Information Access
- Some images do not have a text alternative which means 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 as we review each page. When we publish new content we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.
- Some iframes are missing useful attribute values making it difficult for some users to find what they need. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value) and 2.4.1 (Bypass Blocks). We aim to review and fix these by 31 January 2024.
- Some container elements might be empty or not have roles assigned incorrectly, This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships). We aim to review and fix these by 31 January 2024.
- A small number of links may not have a clear purpose, meaning assistive technology is harder to use for some users. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4 (Link Purpose). We aim to review and fix these by 31 January 2024.
Interactive tools and transactions
- Videos on the University website are hosted on YouTube; we actively ensure that captioning is enabled but some of these may be incorrectly captioned and may not include audio description. This doesn't meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.2 Captions (Pre-recorded) and 1.2.5 Audio Description (Pre-recorded).
- Some of our interactive forms may be difficult to navigate using a keyboard. For example, if form controls are missing a ‘label’ tag and therefore fail WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value Frames).
- Our forms are built and hosted through third party software and ‘skinned’ to look like our website. Occasionally elements may fail WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (information and relationships). Some of our interactive tools and transactions are the responsibility of a third party contractor. We are reliant on suppliers providing products that are compliant and aim undertake to review these upon contract renewal.
- Our undergraduate course webpages include a mandatory 'Discover Uni' widget with key stats about the course. This widget uses a carousel. There is no way for users to pause, stop or hide this animated content. This fails WCAG 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide (A). The widget also has a low contrast between the text and background colours, which fails WCAG success criterion 1.4.3 Perceivable / Distinguishable / Contrast (Minimum) (AA). It is a requirement that we display these widgets on our course pages, but we are unable to edit them in any way.
Disproportionate burden
At this time we are not making any claims of disproportionate burden
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents
- Problems with documents which were produced prior to September 2018 falls outwith the scope of the accessibility standards.
- 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. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role value).
- 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.
Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards, subject to resource burden to monitor.
Third Party Sites
The site also contains a range of third-party content and functionality. This may link you to a related service, or partner we work with. We are reviewing all such functionality and intend to work with suppliers to make that fully accessible or look for alternative solutions.
- Some forms and other interactive elements that we link to are the responsibility of third party sites.
We are not responsible for the accessibility of these or any other websites which we do not manage or have a contractual relationship with the supplier and therefore they are outwith the scope of the regulations. For those third parties where we have a contractual relationship, we will undertake to specifically review for accessibility compliance when supplier contracts are up for renewal.
Live video
- Live video streams do not have captions. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.4 (captions - live).
We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations.
Maps
- Our website displays some maps. Where there is a map, the information being displayed is provided in an alternative format on the same web page. For example, on our transport and parking page we have a map to help visitors to navigate the campus.
If you cannot read the map, we also have our address listed and full contact information if you need help finding us. We have also provided public transport and satnav information for visitors so that they don’t need to use a map.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We test the entire website regularly using an automated third party tool which allows us to identify non-compliant content and provides details on how to fix it. Wherever possible, we fix the issues encountered within 2 months of running the test. We check all new documents using built-in accessibility checker tools. We recognise that automated checking will not identify all accessibility issues and are working to develop our resources, processes and understanding relating to digital accessibility across our community.
Learning and Teaching
CampusMoodle is the Robert Gordon University’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) which hosts learning resources and activities for our courses.
CampusMoodle is designed to be accessible and is continuously looking at improving compliance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA. The University is committed to providing equal and inclusive learning resources and experiences for all students to ensure that everyone can fully participate in their course. Academic staff and other content authors are able to upload learning resources of their choosing and are encouraged to ensure their learning materials are accessible.
Various technologies are also available to support students in their studies such as screen reading and captioning software. For further information please contact our Inclusion Centre directly by emailing inclusion@rgu.ac.uk.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 18 September 2020. It was last updated on 9 May 2023.
Accessibility statements for our other platforms
This statement applies to the pages found under www.rgu.ac.uk Our other platforms publish statements applicable to those platforms and pages.