Scope and ownership
This accessibility statement applies to the Panopto website (https://westminster.hosted.panopto.com). The Learning Innovation & Digital Engagement team is responsible for the digital accessibility of this website.
Using the website
This website is run by the University of Westminster. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website, which means that you should be able to:
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts
- zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate the website using just a keyboard
- navigate the website using speech recognition software
- listen to most of the website using a screen reader (most well-known screen readers)
We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.
For more advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability, visit the AbilityNet website.
Accessibility of the website
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible and have listed the issues according to level of impact, from high to low:
Higher priority issues
- Some pages lack a heading structure, as heading semantics are not provided. Users cannot use the headings to understand the page structure and may struggle to navigate the page content
- Focus is not visible on certain elements, making the navigation unclear for keyboard users.
- Some elements are inoperable by using the keyboard alone. This will make navigating the site difficult or impossible for some users
- Some interactive elements are not labelled correctly or do not have useful instructions. Users may not understand what the purpose of the element is
- Resizing the text on some pages may cause the content to overlap. Users relying on browser text resize might have difficulties reading the content on the pages
- Some elements overlap when the user changes the text spacing in the browser. This may cause some users to miss important information
- There are elements with insufficient colour contrast. These elements can be difficult to read, especially for those with low vision, poor eyesight, or colour blindness
- Some videos and audios do not have the required caption controls or transcriptions available
Lower priority issues
- No skip link is available for users to bypass certain blocks of content
- Some pages lack a descriptive page title. This may cause initial confusion over the purpose of the page
Feedback and contact information
If you need information on this website in a different format such as accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please visit our digital accessibility contact us page for information on how to request this.
Reporting accessibility problems with this website
We have tested a sample of pages on the website. If you find an issue we have not yet identified, you can report it to us. We’ll pass this information to the website owner who will review the issue, make sure it is included in our plan to fix issues and add it into the accessibility statement when it is next updated.
Please visit our digital accessibility contact us page for information on how to report an accessibility problem.
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).
Ways to contact us
You can contact us by email or phone. If you prefer to visit us in person, get in touch and we’ll advise on which teams are available to meet with you.
Information on how to contact us is available on our digital accessibility contact us webpage.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
The University of Westminster 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 not compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard. The non-compliances and exemptions are listed below.
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons:
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
- Page title is not descriptive of page content (WCAG 2.1 – 2.4.2)
- No headings present (WCAG 2.1 – 1.3.1)
- Focus disappears at points (WCAG 2.1 – 2.4.7)
- Non-active tabs in sidebar not accessible by keyboard (WCAG 2.1 – 2.1.1)
- No skip links (WCAG 2.1 – 2.4.1)
- Link label not descriptive (WCAG 2.1 – 3.3.2)
- Multiple buttons have no labels (WCAG 2.1 – 3.3.2)
- Search field has no label (WCAG 2.1 – 3.3.2)
- Text resizing causes text to overflow containers (WCAG 2.1 – 1.4.4)
- Reflow causes content to be cut off, scrolling is not enabled (WCAG 2.1 – 1.4.10)
- No captions or audio descriptions available (WCAG 2.1 – 1.2.2)
Disproportionate burden
The University of Westminster is claiming disproportionate burden for the completion of fully accurate captions across all pre-recorded video content hosted on Panopto. UoW provides automated captioning for all pre-recorded content but it has been deemed a disproportionate burden under the regulations to provide manual adjusted fully accurate captions for all content. All who need fully accurate captions can still request them and will be provided under reasonable adjustments.
This disproportionate burden claim was agreed by the Digital Accessibility Team Lead.
Content not within the scope of the accessibility regulation
Extranet and intranet sites
We are reviewing the accessibility of the contents of this intranet site and plan to fix issues incrementally until this website undergoes a substantial revision. The content of extranets and intranets published before 23 September 2019 is exempt from meeting the accessibility requirements until the site undergoes a substantial revision.
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 23 September 2020. This content is also exempt from the regulations. All new video content we produce will have appropriate captions, audio descriptions and transcripts as necessary.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 9 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 11 April 2022.
This website was last tested on 29 April 2020. The test was carried out by AbilityNet. A sample of webpages was tested covering the core user-journey of the site.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
We are working to address the issues identified in the ‘Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations’ section above. We will prioritise our efforts to address the issues with the highest impact on users. We are working to develop an accessibility roadmap to show how and when we plan to improve accessibility on this website.
The University contracts with an external supplier, Panopto, to provide this website. Therefore, some of these issues are not within our control to address. We will raise these issues with the supplier and work with them to find solutions, where possible.