Accessibility Statement

Accessibility Statement for Birmingham City University Springshare sites

Scope and ownership

Birmingham City 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 accessibility statement covers the pages that sit on the following URLs:

https://libcal.bcu.ac.uk/

https://libanswers.bcu.ac.uk/

https://libguides.bcu.ac.uk/

 

Using the website

We strive to create a website that can be used by as many people as possible. We understand the importance of creating content with accessibility in mind.

This means you should be able to do the following:

  • Zoom in up to 300% without impacting the functionality of the website
  • Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard, and when tabbing through content your current location will be indicated by a clear visual change
  • Listen to most of the website using a screen reader
  • Use ‘skip to content’ links to skip over some repetitive information
  • Control the embedded media player (YouTube) to play videos
  • Use high plugins such as Chrome HiContrast

 

How accessible is our website?

We know that some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • Alternative text is sometimes used to describe decorative images
  • Alternative text is not available on every image
  • Layout tables are sometimes used to arrange content
  • Hyperlinks are not always adequately described
  • Videos do not all have captions or transcripts
  • Some header levels are not in sequence on the Libcal calendar
  • There are multiple form labels attached to the form control on the space booking Libcal page
  • There are some links to legacy PDFs and Word documents which we cannot guarantee are accessible

 

What to do if you can’t access parts of the website

If you are unable to access content on our website, we will try to provide alternative formats to mitigate this. We are unable to provide content in every available format but we will aim to try and make our content as accessible as possible based on your needs. We review our available formats on an annual basis and our next review will take place in September 2022.

 

Requesting an alternative format  

If you require information in an alternative format, please contact the Library Web Team at lcmsrequest@bcu.ac.uk providing the following details:  

  • The content required  
  • The issues you are experiencing
  • The changes you require to the format 

Your email will be acknowledged within three working days and we will provide a timescale for resolution.

Alternative formats available:  

  • Written content provided as a Word document
  • Large print documents
  • Video transcripts

Please note, we are currently unable to provide content in the following formats:  

  • Videos with British Sign Language (BSL)   
  • Videos with audio description  
  • Braille  

 

Reporting accessibility problems

While we review and audit our pages frequently there may be issues that we are not aware of. If you find a page that contain accessibility issues that we have not listed above, please let us know and we will look into this.

If you find a page that isn’t accessible, please contact the Library Web Team by emailing lcmsrequest@bcu.ac.uk, providing the following details:  

  • The URL of the page
  • The issues you are experiencing
     

Your email will be acknowledged within three working days and a resolution timescale will be provided if we can resolve your issue.

If you are unhappy with the response you have received from the university about your accessibility-related issue, you can make a complaint to the university by emailing accessibility@bcu.ac.uk providing the following details:

  • Website address
  • Details of initial contact with the university including who you contacted and the information you provided
  • Reason for escalation

Your email will be acknowledged within 1 week and we will provide details of the next steps and how the complaint will be dealt within 3 weeks.

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).

 

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

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

The content listed below is currently not fully accessible, we are actively working on these outstanding elements but have provide comprehensive details below.

 

Content Hierarchy 

On some pages structural use of headings are incorrectly authored possibly leading to some confusion over the structure and outline of the content. We are implementing software improvements and training to support content authors to avoid or mitigate this issue for new content. 

 

Repetitive text in hyperlinks 

In some content the use of non-descriptive and repetitive text in closely related links can lead to confusion. We are training our content authors to avoid or mitigate this issue in new content and are working through all instances of this to resolve this issue. 

 

Use of alternative text 

Alternative text for images is not always contextually suitable for the use of the image and on occasion has been used on presentational images. We are implementing software improvements and training to support content authors to avoid or mitigate this issue. 

 

Colour contrast 

There may be some content that does not reach guidelines for colour contrast between it and its surrounding content. We are working up update our presentation styling, provide software enhancements for content authors and provide training to avoid or mitigate this issue with new content.

 

Reflow and magnification

All new content templates are designed to reflow content across various devices and viewports to make the most use of screen real estate without requiring the user to scroll both horizontally and vertically to view content. However, some legacy content and old page templates will not be able to provide the same.

 

Dynamic Content

Some content such as carousels or other dynamic content may not meet accessibility standards. We are working to identify, review and improve their accessibility and/or provide alternative content where necessary.

 

PDF Content

The site makes use of downloadable content in the form of PDF’s in several key areas. All new PDF content will be reviewed for accessibility issues but some legacy content is not accessible. Where we are unable to provide an accessible PDF we aim to provide an alternative format upon request.

 

Video transcripts, captions and scene description

All new videos on the website will be uploaded with a transcript available on the webpage on which is sits however older videos do not currently have transcripts available. All videos are embedded using a YouTube player or Microsoft Stream and have the option of turning automated captions on during the playback. We are currently unable to provided scene description for videos but will keep this under review.

 

Disproportionate burden

There are some areas of the website that we are currently unable to resolve without significant changes to the overall platform and infrastructure that we have in place. This includes the following:  

  • British Sign Language 
  • Scene description for videos

 

How we tested

Birmingham City University has tested its Springshare content using the following tool:

 

Wave

Our developers use WAVE to evaluate a page and focus on accessibility issues that impact end users when working on new functionality and content.

 

Reviews 

Monthly web checks will take place to monitor the accessibility of our webpages. This accessibility statement will be reviewed and updated as appropriate but as a minimum there will be an annual review of this document. 

 

Birmingham City University main accessibility statement.

 

Published 22nd September 2020.

Revised version published 4th October 2021.