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Accessibility statement for news.exeter.ac.uk

This accessibility statement applies to the news.exeter.ac.uk website. It does not cover other exeter.ac.uk subdomains such as service subdomains (for example www.arabislamicstudies.exeter.ac.uk) or the blog subdomain (sites.exeter.ac.uk), which have their own accessibility statements.

This website is run by university’s Press and PR team. 

How you should be able to use this website

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. You should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser or device settings.
  • zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen.
  • navigate most of the website using a keyboard or speech recognition software.
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We also make 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

Parts of this website are not fully accessible. For example:

  • some pages and document attachments are not written in plain English.
  • some tables do not have row or column headers.
  • some documents have poor colour contrast.
  • some heading elements are not consistent.
  • some images do not have image descriptions.
  • some images used to convey information have poor colour contrast. 
  • some information in tables cannot be reached with a keyboard.
  • many documents are in PDF format and are not accessible.

Feedback and contact information

If you:

  • experience problems whilst using assistive software to access our site.
  • need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF or Word document, audio recording or braille.
  • have any other feedback.

Please contact the digital team at digitalteam@exeter.ac.uk.

In your message, please include any of the following:

  • the web address (URL) of the content
  • your email address and name
  • the format you need.

Our Contact page lists other departments you can call for information.

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 digital team - digitalteam@exeter.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).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The University of Exeter 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, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible Content - non-compliance with regulations

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

  1. Images on some pages do not always have suitable image descriptions. This affects users of assistive technologies who may not have access to the information conveyed by images. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (Non-text Content), which applies to all images, including input elements with a type of value of "image," area elements, SVGs, object elements, image buttons, and more.
  2. Some tables do not have appropriate headers or are structured incorrectly. Assistive technologies may not be able to read or understand the relationships between data in these tables, causing issues. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), which applies to table summaries, row/column headers, ARIA attributes, and table cells using the id and headers attributes.
  3. Some headings are not marked properly, appearing as normal text or incorrect heading levels. This affects content structure and fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), which requires all headings to have a non-empty accessible name and be correctly identified.
  4. Some images use colour as the only means of conveying meaning. This can be inaccessible for people with colour vision deficiencies. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.1 (Use of Colour), which requires that links inside text are also sufficiently distinguishable without relying solely on colour.
  5. Some images or text elements have poor contrast with their background. This affects readability and visibility, failing WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3 (Contrast (Minimum).
  6. If a table is too wide to fit on the screen, hidden information cannot be reached using the keyboard. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard), which also applies to scrollable content and iframe navigation.
  7. Meta elements on some pages use refresh delays. This can be disruptive to users and fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.2.1 (Timing Adjustable).
  8. Some pages use elements like blink or marquee, or auto-redirect without user control, making content inaccessible. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.2.2 (Pause, Stop, Hide).
  9. On some pages, skip to main content links do not function as intended. They fail to bypass blocks of content properly, which fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.1 (Bypass Blocks).
  10. Some pages have duplicate or missing titles, which can confuse users and make content harder to navigate. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.2 (Page Titled).
  11. Some buttons and headings are labelled inaccurately, making their purpose unclear. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels).
  12. Some links that are images of text do not include full text descriptions in their alt attributes. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.5.3 (Label in Name).
  13. The language of some content is not identified correctly, affecting screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.1.2 (Language of Parts).
  14. Inconsistent language navigation placement on some pages makes the navigation experience unpredictable. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 3.2.3 (Consistent Navigation) and 3.2.4 (Consistent Identification).
  15. Some links that reveal additional content cause screen reader users to lose their place. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).
  16. Feedback buttons at the bottom of some pages behave unexpectedly, creating confusion for screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value).

Disproportionate burden

At this current time, we have not made any disproportionate burden claims.

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

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.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are working alongside other university departments and partners to fix content which fails to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 26 September 2024. It was last reviewed on 26 September 2024.

This website was last tested on 23 September 2024. The test was carried out using the Monsido accessibility tool and the Axe browser extension.