Website accessibility

Accessibility Statement for Open.Ed website

Website accessibility statement inline with Public Sector Body (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018

This accessibility statement applies to:
https://open.ed.ac.uk/.

This website is run by the Interactive Content team, Learning, Teaching and Web directorate within Information Services Group (ISG) at The University of Edinburgh. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • using your browser settings, change colours, contrast levels and fonts while retaining most functionality;
  • operate with mobile devices in both landscape and portrait modes;
  • use the website without encountering any time limits.

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.


Customising the website

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. This is an external site with suggestions to make your computer more accessible:
AbilityNet – My Computer My Way

With a few simple steps you can customise the appearance of our website using your browser settings to make it easier to read and navigate:
Additional information on how to customise our website appearance

If you are a member of University staff or a student, you can use the free SensusAccess accessible document conversion service:
Information on SensusAccess


How accessible this website is

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

  • text-to-speech assistive technologies (including Job Access with Speech (JAWS) and NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA)) are not necessarily compatible with all browser configurations when using this website;
  • speech-to-text assistive software (for example, Dragon NaturallySpeaking) is not necessarily compatible with all browser configurations when using this website;
  • colour contrasts do not necessarily meet the recommended Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 AA standard;
  • magnification beyond 300% may lead to reflow issues, where horizontal scrolling is necessary to see all content;
  • keyboard navigation could be clearer in informing users where they have reached on a page;
  • some video content does not have captions;
  • alternative text is not present on all non-text content;
  • pop-ups greet the user upon selecting some links;
  • address the use of italics, underlining and continuous capitals
  • some parts of the website are not fully compatible with mobile accessibility functionality.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format, including accessible PDF, large print, audio recording or braille:

We will consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.


Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are 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, please contact:

We will consider your request and get back to you in 5 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 please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) directly:
Contact details for the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS)

The government has produced information on how to report accessibility issues:
Reporting an accessibility problem on a public sector website


Contacting us by phone using British Sign Language

British Sign Language service

contactSCOTLAND-BSL runs a service for British Sign Language users and all of Scotland’s public bodies using video relay. This enables sign language users to contact public bodies and vice versa. The service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:

contactSCOTLAND-BSL service details.


Technical information about this website’s accessibility

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

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

The full guidelines are available at:
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard

Non accessible content

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

Non compliance with the accessibility regulations

The following items to not comply with the WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria:

Unless specified otherwise, a complete solution, or significant improvement, will be in place for those items within our control by November 2022.

Disproportionate burden

We are not currently claiming that any accessibility problems would be a disproportionate burden to fix.

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

We are not currently claiming that there is any content outwith the scope of the accessibility regulations.


What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We will continue to address the accessibility issues highlighted, either through delivery of a solution or suitable workaround. Unless specified otherwise, a complete solution or significant improvement will be in place for those items within our control by November 2022.

Whilst we are in the process of resolving these accessibility issues, or where we are unable, we will ensure reasonable adjustments are in place to make sure no user is disadvantaged. As changes are made, we will continue to review accessibility and retest the accessibility of this website.

Accessibility improvements

  • May 2020
    • 29 low contrast errors rectified.
    • Missing alternative text resolved for more images in the WordPress media library.
    • Within the footer section, there was an unused header tag, which has been addressed.
    • Sitemap listing published pages linked in footer.
  • October 2019
    • Corrected the missing form label related to Google reCAPTCHA (v3) tool.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 22nd May 2020. It was last reviewed on 5th May 2022.

This website was tested by the ISG Disability Information team during April and May 2022, using the Internet Explorer (19041.1052), Mozilla Firefox (78.11.0esr), Microsoft Edge (91.0.864.59) and Google Chrome (91.0.4471.124) browsers. Internet Explorer is still commonly used by disabled people, due to its accessibility features and compatibility with assistive technology, as shown in a UK government survey:

UK Government Assistive Technology Browser Survey.

However, a more recent world-wide usage level survey suggests the other browsers are used more widely. In particular, when using a combination of different screen readers and browsers, Chrome has increased in popularity, and is now the favoured one in overall use:

WebAIM: Screen Reader User Survey 2021.

We tested:

  • Spellcheck functionality;
  • Scaling using different resolutions and reflow;
  • Options to customise the interface (magnification, font, background colour et. cetera);
  • Keyboard navigation and keyboard traps;
  • Data validation;
  • Warning of links opening in a new tab or window;
  • Information conveyed in colour or sound only;
  • Flashing, moving or scrolling text;
  • Operability if JavaScript is disabled;
  • Use with screen reading software (for example, JAWS);
  • Assistive software (TextHelp Read and Write, Windows Magnifer, ZoomText, Dragon NaturallySpeaking, TalkBack and VoiceOver);
  • Tooltips and text alternatives for any non-text content;
  • Time limits;
  • Compatibility with mobile accessibility functionality (Android and iOS).