This website is run by Sheffield Hallam University. 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. For instance:

• you cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
• most older PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
• some of our online forms are difficult to navigate using a keyboard or a screen reader
• some content is displayed in frames with no title attribute
• some of our videos do not have text descriptions

For more detail, refer to the Technical Information section below.

How to report accessibility issues with this website

If you find content that you are unable to access on our website, we recommend you contact the content owner in the first instance, using any contact details on the pages you are viewing. They will have direct access to the original content and be able to provide any alternative formats needed.

How to contact the University about accessibility issues

Reporting an accessibility problem

If you encounter an accessibility issue with our website not listed on this page, contact us using our web accessibility report form.

Requesting alternative formats

If you need information in a different format, such as accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, contact the content owner, where stated.

If you cannot identify the content owner, or if they cannot help, contact webaccessibility@shu.ac.uk.

The University also licenses Sensus Access, which can automatically improve the accessibility of files. We recommend staff and students use this to quickly create more accessible files.

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

Sheffield Hallam University is committed to making its website 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 version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non accessible content

We are aware that the website does not meet WCAG standards in some areas, as set out below. 

Non compliance with the accessibility regulations

We are continuing to make incremental improvements to deliver a stronger accessible website.

1.1.1 - Non-text content

• Some images feature alternative text that is the same as adjacent text links
• Elements of the website have imagery that isn't correctly defined as decorative
• The website contains adjacent links that point to the same destination
• Alternative text may not be appropriately labelled
• Our PDFs may not be machine readable
• Pages may contain a linked image that provides poorly described alternative text

1.3.1 - Info and relationships

• A few pages do not have a top-level heading due to an issue with our hyperlink manager
• Some headings do not have text due to an issue with the rich text editor
• Some fieldsets do not feature a legend to offer a description of the field group
• There are tables without the scope attribute throughout the website
• There are tables without table headings across the website
• There are dialogs (pop-up windows) that are not labelled
• There are a series of pages that feature forms with missing form labels
• A few of our forms have labels with the for attribute that do not point to labelable controls
• PDFs may contain headings that do not follow sequential order
• PDFs may not contain a heading one as the first heading
• Areas of the website have navigational elements that are not correctly defined as lists
• PDFs may not contain a heading
• PDFs may not be tagged
• Some form elements may not be named within a fieldset
• A few form elements do not link to their respective inputs
• There are lists that aren’t correctly defined

1.3.2 - Meaningful sequence

• PDF content may not be presented in a logical order

1.3.5 - Identify input purpose

• Forms feature fields that cannot be populated programmatically

1.4.1 - Use of colour

• There are links on the website that are not distinguishable by more than just colour making it more difficult to navigate with keyboard

1.4.3 - Contrast (minimum)

• There are areas of the website where text does not have sufficient contrast
• Keyboard focus has poor contrast on areas of the website
• PDFs may have insufficient contrast
• The website contains imagery with text placed over that does not have sufficient contrast between text and image

1.4.5 - Images of text

• There are a few pages that contain images of text 

1.4.10 - Reflow

• Some pages scroll in two dimensions on small screens
• Content may require the user to zoom in when using a small screen

1.4.11 - Non-text contrast

• Form controls do not have sufficient contrast with their surroundings

2.2.2 - Moving, flashing or scrolling information

• There is a small widget on course pages that animates sliding content for more than 5 seconds, which cannot be paused. The widget is owned and controlled by a third-party
• There are some animated gifs that are not pausable on the website

2.4.1 - Bypass blocks

• There are anchors in some pages that do not exist
• Not all inline frames have titles

2.4.2 - Page titled

• A few pages do not have a title due to an issue with our hyperlink manager
• PDFs may not have a title
• PDFS may contain a heading defined as weak

2.4.3 - Focus order

• Navigation sequence is not consistent

2.4.4 - Link purpose

• Some links do not explain their purpose
• There are links that feature the same text for different destinations

2.4.5 - Multiple ways

• PDFs may not use bookmarks to aid navigation

2.4.6 - Headings and links

• Some headings and labels may not be descriptive

2.4.7 - Focus visible

• There are controls on the website that do not change appearance when they are selected

2.5.7 - Drag and drop

• A few components on the website have drag and drop functionality without an alternative

2.5.8 - Target size

• The website features interactive components that are not far enough apart

3.1.1 - Language of page

• Not all PDFs specify a default language

3.2.2 - On input

• Not all forms feature a submit button

3.2.3 - Ensure components and navigation are identified consistently

• There are components featured on the website aren't consistent
• There are areas of the website where navigation options are not consistent

3.2.4 - Consistent identification

• Website components may be inconsistently presented

3.2.6 - Consistent help

• Some pages on the website may contain help that is not consistently presented

3.3.2 - Labels or Instructions

• There are some labels that may be difficult to understand with assistive technology

4.1.1 - Parsing

• Some pages have duplicate IDs
• There are lists on the website that are not marked up correctly

4.1.2 - Name, role, value

• Some links can not be used by screen readers

Disproportionate burden

Not applicable

Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

PDFs and other documents

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents do not meet accessibility standards – for example, they may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role value).

We had aimed to fix PDFs and Word documents by September 2020 that are essential to providing our services, unfortunately we were not able to meet that deadline and are aiming to replace those documents with accessible HTML pages as soon as possible.

Accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they are not essential to providing our services. 

How we tested this website

The University is using Silktide quality management software to run regular accessibility audits of this website. Audits run every five days.

In addition, we are currently scoping additional ways to identify accessibility issues, including user testing.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

As well as running regular accessibility audits, we are working with staff members to raise awareness around good accessibility practice.

This statement was prepared on 2 December 2019. It was last updated on 12 September 2023.