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Accessibility

This accessibility statement applies to the UWS Student Union website: www.uwsunion.org.uk

This website is run by University of the West of Scotland Student Union. 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 can see a full list of any issues we currently know about in the Non-accessible content section of this statement.

Feedback and contact information

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

  • email sauws@uws.ac.uk
  • call 0141 849 4151
  • Write to The Students' Union, Storie Street, Paisley, PA1 2HB

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 10 working days.

If you cannot view the map on our ‘contact’ page, call or email us for directions.

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 sauws@uws.ac.uk with the following details:

  • Which page of the website you are experiencing an accessibility problem with, i.e. the whole site or a specific page. If it is about a specific page, please provide the URL or name of the page.
  • Specific details of the problem
  • If you'd like us to get back to you, please leave your name and contact details.

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

UWS Students' Union 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

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

  1. Focus indication is lost when moving through the navigation menu. This fails WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible (AA). We are doing the following to fix this issue: reported to our website developer on 17/02/2022 with a high priority request to remedy.
  2. The main menu item dropdown menus are not accessible by keyboard and therefore can only be navigated at the top level using a keyboard. In addition, the interactive (collapsible) nature and status of the menu is not communicated to screen reader users. This makes navigating the website extremely difficult for keyboard and screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard (A), 2.4.7 Focus Visible (AA) and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A). We are doing the following to fix this issue: reported to our website developer on 17/02/2022 with a high priority request to remedy.
  3. Carousel controls across the website do not receive focus visibility, are not described to screen reader users, or do not exist to be able to stop carousel content. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A), 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (AA), 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide (A) and 2.4.7 Focus Visible (AA). We are doing the following to fix this issue: reported to our website developer on 17/02/2022 with a high priority request to remedy.
  4. There is no skip to content functionality on this website. This fails WCAG 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (A). We are doing the following to fix this issue: reported to our website developer on 17/02/2022with a high priority request to remedy.
  5. The guest/ admin login and chat function elements are not navigable by keyboard. This fails WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard (A). We are doing the following to fix this issue: reported to our website developer on 17/02/2022with a high priority request to remedy.
  6. Information presented across the home page navigation may be in a confusing order for some users that makes navigating the page difficult. This fails WCAG 2.4.3 Focus Order (A). We are doing the following to fix this issue: reported to our website developer on 17/02/2022 with a high priority request to remedy.
  7. The search field is announced multiple times making it difficult to understand for some users and contains hidden links. This fails WCAG 4.1.1 Parsing (A). We are doing the following to fix this issue: reported to our website developer on 17/02/2022 with a medium priority request to remedy.
  8. Event information including the “show me everything” and “that’s on X dates” options are not accessible by keyboard. This fails WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard (A). We are doing the following to fix this issue: reported to our website developer on 17/02/2022 with a high priority request to remedy.
  9. Video content on the home page does not contain media alternatives and does not reflow well for users of higher magnification. This fails WCAG 1.2.3 Audio Descriptions or Media Alternatives (A) and 1.4.10 Reflow (AA). We are doing the following to fix this issue: reported to our website developer on 17/02/2022 with a medium priority request to remedy.
  10. Many links across the website are not clearly described for users. This makes it hard for some users to know where links lead. This fails WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose (A). We are doing the following to fix this issue: reported to our website developer on 17/02/2022 with a low priority request to remedy.
  11. Some pages have a poor format to browser tab titles. These pages do describe the current page name, but do not follow good practice formatting which would also include the website name. For example, instead of just saying “Covid-19 FAQs” the page title in the browser tab would read “Covid-19 FAQs | University of the West of Scotland Union”. This fails WCAG 2.4.2 Page Titled (A). We are doing the following to fix this issue: reported to our website developer on 17/02/2022 with a low priority request to remedy.
  12. Across the website there are various iframes which are not described to screen reader users as well as they could be. This fails WCAG 4.1.1 Parsing (A). We are doing the following to fix this issue: reported to our website developer on 17/02/2022 with a low priority request to remedy.
  13. Across the website there are various old links or other errors which have not been removed and may sometimes be read out to screen readers incorrectly. This fails WCAG 4.1.1 Parsing (A). We are doing the following to fix this issue: reported to our website developer on 17/02/2022 with a low priority request to remedy.
  14. Some text across the website does not meet colour contrast requirements. This may make it hard to see for users who have difficulties with colour contrast. This fails WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast Minimum (AA). We are doing the following to fix this issue: reported to our website developer on 17/02/2022 with a low priority request to remedy.
  15. The Log in link is described as a list of 1 item to screen reader users. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A). The Log in link is described as a list of 1 item to screen reader users. We are doing the following to fix this issue: reported to our website developer on 17/02/2022 with a high priority request to remedy.

Disproportionate burden

At this time, we have made no claims of disproportionate burden.

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

Portable Document Format (PDF) and other documents

Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. By September 2020, we plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages.

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. For example, we do not plan to fix historical council meeting minute documents published before 23rd September 2018.

Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

Video content

We do not plan to add captions to live video streams because live video is exempt from meeting the accessibility regulations. We also have some existing pre-recorded video content that was published before the 23rd September 2020. This content is also exempt from the regulations.

Online Maps

Our service includes the use of online maps to show certain geographical information. These are not used for navigational purposes and are exempt under the regulations. If you require the information presented in an online map in a different format, please contact us to discuss reasonable adjustments.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

UWS Students’ Union is urgently fixing content which fails to meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. We will update this page when issues are fixed.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 17/02/2022. It was last reviewed on 17/02/2022.

This website was last tested on 03/12/2021. The test was carried out by All Able Ltd.