This website is run by Sheffield Hallam University and powered by Drupal. 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 have made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

Drupal publishes information about the accessibility features of its interface.

The University currently uses Drupal 7, which has been built to encourage and support the proper use of semantic markup. This is important for screen readers and other assistive technologies. For example, you should be able to use headings reliably for page-level navigation.

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’s interface are not fully accessible.

There are several staff members who have responsibility for uploading content to Drupal sites. Some content may be uploaded to specific sites which is not fully accessible.

• Many older content files such as PDFs are not fully accessible to screen reader software.
• Images may not have alternative text describing them.
• Videos created before 23 September 2020 may not have captions.

Drupal maintains a list of known issues that it is working to resolve.

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 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non accessible content

Issues that stop people from participating with the overall Drupal interface are submitted by Drupal users on the Issues Queue.

Non compliance with the accessibility regulations

All content uploaded by the staff members to specific sites may not comply with WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria yet. This could include:

• 1.1 Text Alternatives
• 1.1.1 Non-text Content
• 1.2 Time-based Media
• 1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded)
• 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded)
• 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded)
• 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded)
• 1.3 Adaptable
• 1.3.1 Info and Relationships
• 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence
• 1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics
• 1.3.4 Orientation
• 1.4 Distinguishable
• 1.4.1 Use of Colour
• 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)
• 1.4.5 Images of Text
• 1.4.10 Reflow
• 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast
• 1.4.12 Text Spacing

We are planning to work with Drupal editors to raise awareness of these issues and improve compliance among staff editors in Drupal sites.

Drupal may include 3rd party content and links. We cannot guarantee the accessibility of all 3rd party content.

Content that is outside the scope of accessibility regulations

• Content such as PDFs and Office documents uploaded to the site prior to 22 September 2018 is currently outside of the scope of these regulations. We will endeavour to make these files accessible where possible.
• Multimedia files created before 23 September 2020 do not require captions under the regulations.
• Live video streams do not require captions under the regulations.

The regulation requires that Drupal site content was accessible by 23 September 2020.

How we tested this website

Drupal has an Accessibility User Group that looks at ways to make Drupal more accessible. They also share hints, tips, discussion and patch proposals.

The University has software for testing the accessibility of Drupal.

What we're doing to improve accessibility

We are working with staff members to raise awareness around good accessibility practice.  We also work closely with our supplier, Drupal about how to improve accessibility in the main interface. Our overall intent is to return use of Drupal and merge content into the Sitecore web platform to improve accessibility standards.

This statement was prepared on 26 September 2019. It was last updated on 16 August 2022.