This website is run by Sheffield Hallam University and powered by Microsoft Dynamics. 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.

Microsoft provides information about the accessibility of Dynamics. The Knowledge Base is configured in line with Sheffield Hallam's main website at shu.ac.uk. Refer to the shu.ac.uk accessibility statement for more information.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible.

• You cannot modify the line height or spacing of text.

• You cannot skip to the main content when using a screen reader.

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

The Knowledge Base is based on Microsoft software. Microsoft provides an accessibility compliance statement for its products.

The Knowledge Base uses templates based on those used on the main Sheffield Hallam University website. For further compliance information refer to the accessibility statement for shu.ac.uk.

Some images do not have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).

We plan to add text alternatives for all images by September 2020. When we publish new content we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.

Navigation and accessing information

There’s no way to skip the repeated content in the page header (for example, a ‘skip to main content’ option). This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.1 (bypass blocks).

It’s not always possible to change the device orientation from horizontal to vertical without making it more difficult to view the content. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.4 (orientation).

Interactive tools and transactions

Some of our interactive forms are difficult to navigate using a keyboard. For example, because some form controls are missing a ‘label’ tag.

Our forms are built and hosted through third party software and ‘skinned’ to look like our website. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (information and relationships).

We’ve assessed the cost of fixing the issues with navigation and accessing information, and with interactive tools and transactions. We believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. We will make another assessment when the supplier contract is up for renewal, likely to be in September 2020.

PDFs and other documents

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents linked to from Knowledge Base do not meet accessibility standards. For example, they may not be structured so that they are accessible to a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2.

Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our services, and forms published as Word documents. 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 are not essential to providing our services.

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

How we tested this website

We have looked at information from Microsoft about the accessibility features they have tested in the Dynamics website. The University is also currently scoping its approach to testing websites to identify accessibility issues. This site will be tested in the future in line with that agreed approach.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We are working with staff members who edit the knowledge base to raise awareness around good accessibility practice.  We also work closely with our suppliers about how to improve accessibility in our interfaces.

This statement was prepared on 18 October 2019. It was last updated on 24 October 2019.