University of Edinburgh Wiki Accessibility Statement

Website accessibility statement inline with Public Sector Body (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. 

This accessibility statement applies to https://www.wiki.ed.ac.uk/ 

This website is run by Information Services, The University of Edinburgh. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this application. For example, that means you should be able to: 

  • Navigate most of the site using keyboard only; 

  • Listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of Job Access with Speech (JAWS), NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) and VoiceOver); 

  • Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software (for example, Dragon); 

  • Operate with mobile devices in both landscape and portrait modes; 

  • Experience no time limits when using the site. 

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand. 

Customising the website 

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. This is an external site with suggestions to make your computer more accessible: 

AbilityNet - My Computer My Way 

With a few simple steps you can customise the appearance of our website using your browser settings to make it easier to read and navigate: 

Additional information on how to customise our website appearance 

If you are a member of University staff or a student, you can use the free SensusAccess accessible document conversion service: 

Information on SensusAccess 

How accessible this website is 

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

  • Not all content can be reached by keyboard only;  

  • Keyboard navigation could be clearer in informing users where they have reached on a page; 

  • Navigation via a ‘skip to main content’ feature may be limited due to some links being broken; 

  • Colour contrasts do not necessarily meet the recommended Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 AA standard; 

  • Alternative text is not present on all non-text content; 

  • Text-to-speech assistive technologies (including Job Access with Speech (JAWS) and NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA)) are not necessarily compatible with all browser configurations when using this website; 

  • Speech-to-text assistive software (for example, Dragon NaturallySpeaking) is not necessarily compatible with all browser configurations when using this website; 

  • Some of the attached documents, such as PDF and office documents, may not be fully accessible; 

  • Website magnification leads to reflow issues depending on the browser in use, whereby horizontal scrolling is necessary to see all content and content can become obscured; 

  • There is moving content that cannot be paused or stopped; 

  • Text is sometimes displayed as an image;  

  • There are pop ups that appear without warning when the user interacts with an element; 

  • The site is not fully compatible with mobile website accessibility functionality. 

Feedback and contact information 

If you need information on this website in a different format, including accessible PDF, large print, audio recording or braille: 

  • Email IS.Helpline@ed.ac.uk 

  • Call our Information Services Helpline +44 (0)131 651 5151 

  • British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via the on-line BSL interpreting service   

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days. 

Reporting accessibility problems with this website 

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page, or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact the Information Services Helpline: 

  • Email IS.Helpline@ed.ac.uk 

  • Call our Information Services Helpline +44 (0)131 651 5151 

  • British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via the on-line BSL interpreting service   

We will consider your request and get back to you within 5 working days. 

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 please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) directly: 

Contact details for the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) 

The government has produced information on how to report accessibility issues: 

Reporting an accessibility problem on a public sector website 

Contacting us by phone using British Sign Language 

British Sign Language service 

contactSCOTLAND-BSL runs a service for British Sign Language users and all of Scotland’s public bodies using video relay. This enables sign language users to contact public bodies and vice versa. The service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 

contactSCOTLAND-BSL service details 

Technical information about this website’s accessibility 

The University of Edinburgh is committed to making its websites and applications accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. 

Compliance status 

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below. 

The full guidelines are available at: 

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA standard 

Non accessible content 

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons. 

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations 

The following items to not comply with the WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria: 

  • Not all non-text items hold alternative text 

  • Embedded video content may not include captions 

  • Not all user interface components, including icons and regions, can be correctly identified or labelled 

  • Colour is used as the only visual means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element 

  • There may not be sufficient colour contrast between font and background colours, especially where the text size is small 

  • Text can be resized without assistive technology up to 200 percent without loss of content or functionality. 

  • There are instances of text being conveyed via an image 

  • Content cannot be presented without loss of information or functionality, requiring the user to scroll in two dimensions 

  • Pages cannot be easily navigated or edited using only a keyboard 

  • Automatic play may be enabled on some audio / video content, alongside moving graphics that cannot be paused 

  • A ‘skip to main content’ feature is either not present or not working on some sections on the website 

  • Some links are formatted incorrectly and their purpose is not always clear 

  • It is not always clear to tell where the user has navigated to or reached when using the keyboard 

  • Pop ups appear without the user being alerted when the user interacts with an item 

  • Not all form elements have labels 

  • When a user is asked to rectify a data validation error, suggestions are not always consistent and sometimes arise as pop ups 

  • Assistive technologies, including screen readers, are not always able to interact with sections of the website 

Unless specified otherwise, a complete solution, or significant improvement, will be in place for those items within our control by October 2024. 

Disproportionate burden 

We are not currently claiming that any accessibility problems would be a disproportionate burden to fix. 

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations 

PDFs and Office Documents 

Many of our older attached / linked PDFs and Microsoft Office documents are not fully accessible. These items relate to a specific period of time and do not hold an active purpose. 

For example: Senior Honours Project Guide 2016 / 2017 

For reference, the accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23rd September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. 

Regulations for PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 

Archived Pages 

Similarly, many of our Wiki pages were produced prior to 23rd September 2018 and are no longer in use for active processes or procedures. The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix archived content if not needed for active purposes and which has not been updated or edited after 23rd September 2019. 

For example: Service Report for August 2014 

Regulations for archive content or other documents published before 23 September 2018 

What we’re doing to improve accessibility 

We will continue to address the accessibility issues highlighted. Where issues are within our direct control, we will work to provide a significant improvement by October 2024.  

However, many of the highlighted issues are non-configurable elements of a 3rd party product and therefore out of our direct control. Such issues were reported to the supplier on publication of this statement. We are also updating services regularly to ensure we stay within vendor support and benefit from any accessibility improvements in later versions of software. 

Much of the content in the Wiki is produced by users of the system from all areas of the organisation. Guidance is available centrally on the creation of accessible content. This will be shared with Wiki users as a regular reminder that content must be produced and updated in line with accessibility guidance. 

While we are in the process of resolving these accessibility issues, or where we are unable, we will ensure reasonable adjustments are in place to make sure no user is disadvantaged. As changes are made, we will continue to review accessibility and retest the accessibility of this website. 

Preparation of this accessibility statement 

This statement was prepared on 7th August 2020. It was last reviewed on 9th October 2023. 

This website was last tested by the University of Edinburgh’s Application’s Disability Accessibility Testing Assistant in May 2022, using the Mozilla Firefox (91.7.1esr), Microsoft Edge (99.0.1150.55), Google Chrome (99.0.4844.84), and Internet Explorer (19043.1586) browsers for comparative purposes.  

Internet Explorer is still commonly used by disabled people, due to its accessibility features and compatibility with assistive technology, as shown in a UK government survey: 

UK Government Assistive Technology Browser Survey 

However, a more recent world-wide usage level survey suggests the other browsers are used more widely. In particular, when using a combination of different screen readers and browsers, Chrome has increased in popularity, and is now the favoured one in overall use:  

WebAIM: Screen Reader User Survey 2021 

Automated testing, using the WAVE Evaluation Tool extension on Google Chrome browser, was also undertaken to supplement the findings.  

We tested: 

  • Spell check functionality;  

  • Scaling using different resolutions and reflow; 

  • Options to customise the interface (magnification, font, background colour, et cetera); 

  • Keyboard navigation and keyboard traps; 

  • Data validation; 

  • Warning of links opening in a new tab or window;  

  • Information conveyed in colour or sound only; 

  • Flashing, moving or scrolling text; 

  • Operability if JavaScript is disabled; 

  • Use with screen reading software (for example, JAWS); 

  • Assistive software (TextHelp Read and Write, Windows Magnifier, ZoomText, Dragon NaturallySpeaking, TalkBack and VoiceOver);  

  • Tooltips and text alternatives for any non-text content; 

  • Time limits; 

  • Compatibility with mobile accessibility functionality (Android and iOS). 

Change Log 

Since our initial testing and first Accessibility Statement, we have repeated the manual accessibility testing. Also, website has been updated on June 6th, 2023, and improved in the following ways: 

  • Keyboard trap in the search field was fixed; 

  • Labels of buttons were improved; 

  • The visibility of the skip navigation links was improved. 

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