Policies and Standards
Queen Mary online is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. As such, we are partially compliant with the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard. This means that all content on online.qmul.ac.uk should be:
-
navigable using only a keyboard
-
meeting relevant contrast and colour recommendations
-
compatible with text-to-speech and speech-to-input software
-
marked-up using appropriate metadata and alt attributes
-
able to zoom up to 300% without text spilling out of view.
W3C summarise the various different technical requirements of an accessible website under four distinct categories:
-
perceivable – how content is displayed and accessed
-
operable – how users interact with our site
-
understandable – the language we use and the consistency of user interactions
-
robust – the compatibility of our site with a range of accessibility tools and formats.
Which parts of the site do not yet meet AA compliance?
We are actively working to ensure that all our web content meets the WCAG 2.1 AA standard. At this time, we are focusing our efforts on the main
online.qmul.ac.uk. As such, sub-domains, apps and microsites may not offer the same level of accessibility compliance as the website you are on now.
On this site, there are still small pockets of content that may not be fully accessible:
-
A small number of PDFs may not fully meet accessibility specifications. These are typically PDFs that we must host, but which are produced by a third-party organisation. Others are documents which were published before 2018. Examples include in-depth financial reports, insurance documents and some external returns content.
-
A small number of images may not include an appropriate alt attribute (WCAG 2 1.1.1).
-
Our homepage carousel cannot be paused (WCAG 2 2.2.2).
-
A small number of videos may not include captions or transcripts (WCAG 2 1.2.1).
We will help to provide you with alternate format content, answer your query directly, or point you in the direction of someone who can. By reporting non-accessible content to us, you are also helping to improve the experience for future users of our sites – thank you.
Disproportionate burden
At this time, there are a small number of accessibility issues that would place a disproportionate burden on the University's resources to fix. These are listed below:
-
Some older financial statements (pre-2016) can not be easily adjusted to meet document accessibility standards.
How we tested this site
This website was tested in August 2020. The test was carried out by the content team at CEG digital using a range of accessibility tools and browser extensions. Documents are tested using relevant Microsoft and Adobe software.
We tested at least one page from every section of the website, along with the front page and any highly-trafficked sub-pages.This statement was first published on 30/09/30. Regular testing will continue with upgrades periodically thought the year and the stamen will be updated to reflect the new test and changes.
