This accessibility statement applies to our main public website, www.westminster.ac.uk. This website is run by the University of Westminster Digital Team, within Marketing, Communications and Development.
Other websites and services that belong to the University of Westminster are managed separately and will publish separate accessibility statements.
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)
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 in the non-accessible content sections of this statement.
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).
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
Navigation issues
At higher magnification the navigation menu is presented as a hamburger menu. Menu controls and skip to main content links do not receive focus indication. This fails WCAG 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (A) 2.4.3 Focus Order (A), 2.4.7 Focus Visible (AA) and 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation (AA).
Search controls present a number of issues. The search button is not read out to NVDA or VoiceOver and does not receive focus indication. The search term field do not declare the dropdown expanded to NVDA. The search input does not have an appropriate legend, and surrounding heading information is not correctly tagged. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A), 2.4.3 Focus Order (A), 2.4.7 Focus Visible (AA), and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A).
Some navigational elements use a tabindex above 0 which affects their reading order and focus. This fails WCAG 2.4.3 Focus Order (A) and 2.4.7 Focus Visible (AA).
On pages across the website, navigation breadcrumbs identify multiple ‘current pages’ which can be confusing for some users. This fails WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A).
Navigational landmarks are not consistent across all pages which may affect some users navigating around a page. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A) and 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (A).
Content issues
Some content across the website including navigation controls and other text content fails colour contrast requirements. This fails WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast Minimum (AA).
On course pages there are visual charts which do not have appropriate text-based descriptions, use colour to present information and do not meet contrast requirements. This fails WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content (A), 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A), 1.4.1 Use of Colour (A), and 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (AA).
Decorative images across the website are sometimes not marked and do not have appropriate alt text descriptions. Other images sometimes have alt text descriptions which are too complicated or do not provide appropriate context. This fails WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content (A).
There are various focus indication issues across page content, including moving behind dialogue boxes, links and buttons on the cookie dialogue, skip links, some checkboxes, fees tabs, and carousels. This fails WCAG 2.4.3 Focus Order (A), 2.4.7 Focus Visible (A) and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A).
Some video content across the website in scope of the regulations does not have appropriate audio-described alternatives. This fails WCAG 1.2.5 Audio-descriptions (AA).
Across several graphs and other content, information is provided only through colour. This fails WCAG 1.4.1 Use of Colour (A).
Across the website there are various link text issues including, overly wordy link descriptions in news and event cards, course leader sections including lecturer descriptions, open day details, read more links, and A-Z navigation controls. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A), 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (A), and 2.4.4 Link Purpose (A).
Other issues
Across the website there are issues at 400% magnification, where content such as the live chat will obscure page content. This fails WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow (AA).
Content across the website such as ‘Go To’ sections of course pages cannot be correctly controlled by keyboard only. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A), 1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics (A), 2.1.1 Keyboard (A), and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A).
Some pages such as Fee information contain elements which have duplicate IDs. This fails WCAG 4.1.1 Parsing (A).
Various controls across the website do not function or are not identified to screen readers as would be expected. This includes editing preferences in the cookie dialogue, toggle switches, contact phone numbers, some aspects of course search, and accordions. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A), 3.2.2 On Input (A), 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A), and 4.1.3 Status Messages (AA).
Various other elements across the website are not correctly marked up including the occasional heading, filter drop downs, more open days sections, course team sections and some text which should be headings. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A) and 4.1.1 Parsing (A).
We are working through this list of issues to remediate as much as we can ourselves. We plan to address several high priority issues by December 2022 and incorporate several other actions into larger rework projects which are planned for 2023. Medium and lower priority issues are to be reviewed in January 2023 and planned into the roadmap for resolution as soon as possible.
If you find an issue that we have yet to identify, please contact us using one of the routes described in the ‘Reporting accessibility problems with this website’ section of this statement.
Disproportionate burden
At this time, we have not made any disproportionate burden claims.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
PDFs and other documents
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.
We are working to review the PDFs and Word documents that are essential to providing our services. We’ll either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages.
Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish after 23 September 2020 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 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.
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.
Archive content
Some of the content on the website is classified as an archive such as course transcripts from previous years predating the regulations. This kind of historically recorded content is exempt from meeting the digital accessibility regulations. If you require a specific piece of archive content and it is not accessible, please contact us using the methods above and we will provide an accessible version of the content on request.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 21 September 2020. It was last reviewed on 05 October 2022.
This website was last tested on 15 July 2022. The test was carried out internally by the Westminster Digital Accessibility Team. A sample of webpages was tested covering the core user-journey of the site. Testing was completed using a mixture of manual, semi-automated and assistive technology tests.
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.