Visitor Management System Accessibility Statement

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

This accessibility statement applies to: https://uoe.sharepoint.com/sites/vms-test

This site is managed by the Applications directorate within Information Services Group at the University of Edinburgh. 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 using browser or device settings
  • Experience no time limits when using the site
  • Magnify content to 400%
  • Navigate to most of the site using keyboard only
  • Read most of the site with a screen reader e.g. JAWS or NVDA
  • Navigate round most of the site using voice recognition software e.g. Dragon
  • Use the website without having to repeatedly input information
  • Use the site without the need to drag any content with a mouse

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand. However, some of our content is technical, and we use technical terms where there is no easier wording, we could use without changing what the text means.

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: 

  • Some information is conveyed in colour only
  • Speech-to-text assistive software (for example, Dragon NaturallySpeaking) is not necessarily compatible with all browser configurations when using this website
  • Text-to-speech assistive technology (Job Access with Speech (JAWS)is not necessarily compatible with all browser configurations when using this website
  • Keyboard navigation does not always follow a logical order
  • Selection displays are not clearly visible or lack colour contrast
  • Colour contrasts do not necessarily meet the recommended Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.2 AA standard;
  • There are pop-ups and new browser tabs that arise without warning
  • There are cases of moving graphics that cannot be paused or stopped by the user
  • Reflow is not enabled
  • Some non-text items do not contain meaningful alternative text
  • There are examples of text as an image
  • Some heading levels are skipped
  • There is some movement such as loading icons that cannot be paused or stopped
  • A help section is not available in the same place on every page of the website
  • Some parts of the website are not fully compatible with mobile 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
  • Telephone: +44 (0)131 651 5151 (Information Services Helpline)
  • British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via Contact Scotland BSL, 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, please contact:

  • Email:  IS.Helpline@ed.ac.uk
  • Telephone: +44 (0)131 651 5151 (Information Services Helpline)
  • British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via Contact Scotland BSL, 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 

Contact Scotland 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 from 8.00am to 12.00am, 7 days a week.

Contact Scotland 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) 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

The full guidelines are available at: 

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 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 2.2 AA success criteria:

We aim to improve our websites accessibility on a regular and continuous basis. See the section below ('What we're doing to improve accessibility') on how we are improving our site accessibility. 

Unless specified otherwise, a complete solution, or significant improvement, will be in place for those items within our control by August 2025.

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 

At this time, we believe no content is out with the scope of the accessibility regulations. 

What we’re doing to improve accessibility 

We will continue to address the accessibility issues highlighted, working alongside the software suppliers SharePoint to deliver a solution or suitable workaround. Unless specified otherwise, a complete solution or significant improvement will be in place for those items within our control by August 2025. However, most of the issues are not within our control but sit with SharePoint. We are in contact with SharePoint to discuss how best to resolve these issues as soon as possible.

While we are in the process of resolving these accessibility issues, 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 29th July 2024. It was last reviewed on 5th of August 2024.

The website was last tested on 24th July 2024. The testing was carried out by the Service Management team at the University of Edinburgh using both automated and manual methods. The site was tested on a PC, primarily using the browsers Microsoft Edge (126.0.2592.113), Firefox (128.0) and Google Chrome (126.0.6478.183). Recent world-wide usage levels survey for different screen readers and browsers shows that Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge are increasing in popularity and Google Chrome is now the favoured browser for screen readers:

WebAIM: Screen Reader User Survey

The aforementioned three browsers have been used in certain questions for reasons of breadth and variety.

We ran automated testing using Axe DevTools and then manual testing that included:

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

  • Spell check functionality;
  • Scaling using different resolutions and reflow;
  • Options to customise the interface (magnification, font, background colour, etc);
  • Keyboard navigation and keyboard traps;
  • Data validation;
  • Warning of links opening in new tab or window;
  • Information conveyed in the colour or sound only;
  • Flashing, moving or scrolling text;
  • Use with screen reading software (for example JAWS);
  • Assistive software (TextHelp Read and Write, Windows Magnifier, ZoomText, Dragon Naturally Speaking, TalkBack and VoiceOver);
  • Tooltips and text alternatives for any non-text content;
  • Time limits;
  • Compatibility with mobile accessibility functionality (Android and iOS).
  • Any drag functionality and alternatives
  • Consistent help functions
  • No need to re-enter data already submitted
  • Any cognitive tests 

Change Log

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