Accessibility Statement

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Docklands Campus - Student Accommodation

UEL is committed to achieving high levels of accessibility through its web pages.

UEL is committed to achieving high levels of accessibility through its web pages as part of its wider support for equality of opportunity and treatment throughout its learning community.

This accessibility statement applies to the University of East London (UEL) website. This website is run by UEL. 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 200% without the text spilling off the screen
  • View the browser in a one column format (1280px browser width and zoom in to 400%)
  • 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.

Accessibility

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

  • There are images which do not have appropriate alternative text for screen reader users
  • Some icons are visible to screen reader users
  • There is video content which does not have an accessible alternative such as a transcript or audio description. Some video content has captions which are not accurate
  • There are elements which are mouse dependent that cannot be accessed using keyboard navigation
  • There is expanding content which does not inform users of the state
  • The heading structure on some pages is not logical or hierarchical
  • There are lists which are not structured correctly
  • Some pages have text which is emphasised that is lacking semantic mark up to allow screen reader users to recognise the emphasis
  • There is content which is displayed as a table that does not have appropriate semantic mark up for screen reader users.
  • There are form controls which rely on placeholder text as a visible label.
  • There are grouped form controls which do not have a shared or common label.
  • There are elements in pdf documents which have been tagged incorrectly.
  • There are form fields with required input which are not marked correctly.
  • Search filters may be difficult for some users to interact with
  • There is content which moves for more than 5 seconds which does not have an accessible pause feature.
  • Some video content may contain flashing images
  • Skip to content links may not function as expected
  • Some pdf documents do not have an appropriate title
  • The focus order of some pages is not logical
  • There are links which are not descriptive and screen reader users may identify links which are empty on some pages
  • There are some elements which do not announce their role to screen reader users
  • Custom elements have been used which may not be accessible to all users
  • Aria has been used incorrectly on some components; invalid roles have been specified
  • There are buttons which have no accessible name and some button which have ambiguous text
  • Users may encounter iFrames which have no title
  • There are carousels which have been structured incorrectly and may be difficult for screen reader users to navigate
  • There are visible tabs which do not have the appropriate semantic mark up to allow screen reader users to interact with the tabs in the expected manner
  • There are text elements which fail to meet the minimum required colour contrast ratio
  • There are non-text elements which fail to meet the minimum required colour contrast ratio
  • Some elements do not have a visible focus highlighting mechanism which may cause issues for users who navigate with a keyboard only
  • There are links which are not descriptive when read out of context with screen reading software

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please email: digitalcontent@uel.ac.uk.

We'll consider your request and get back to you in 14 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, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

[Note: if your organisation is based in Northern Ireland, refer users who want to complain to the Equalities Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI) instead of the EASS and EHRC.]

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

We provide a text relay service for people who are D/deaf, hearing impaired or have a speech impediment.
Our offices have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

Find out how to contact us here.

Technical information about this website's accessibility

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

Compliance status

Currently, the website does not meet most requirements of the WCAG 2.1 AA standard, and is not yet compliant.

The non-compliances are listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Images

Non-descriptive alt text has been used on some images so people using a screen reader cannot understand the purpose of the image. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A).

We plan to add meaningful text alternatives for all images by November 2021 or 2022. When we publish new content, we will make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.

Non-descriptive alt text has been used on some images so people using a screen reader hear text that is not necessary. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A).

We plan to use null alts for all decorative images by November 2021 or 2022. When we publish new content, we will make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.

Forms

Form fields have been used that are not labelled so screen reader users may find it difficult to determine its purpose when browsing both in and out of context. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).

We plan to make sure that all form fields are labelled and done so descriptively by November 2021 or 2022. When we publish new content, we will make sure our use of form elements meets accessibility standards.

Form labels are not always descriptive. This means that it is difficult for people to understand the purpose of the form field or button. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA).

We plan to make sure that all form fields are sufficiently clear and descriptive by November 2021 or 2022. When we publish new content, we will make sure our use of form elements meets accessibility standards.

Form elements have been customised and are not accessible. This means that people that use assistive technologies are unable to use them. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).

We plan to make sure that all form fields are accessible by November 2021 or 2022. When we publish new content, we will make sure our use of form elements meets accessibility standards.

Structure

Headings have not been used to introduce content. This means that people using a screen reader may not be able to determine the layout of the page and quickly navigate to different sections. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).

We plan to include headings to all sections of all pages by November 2021 or 2022. When we publish new content, we will make sure our use of headings meets accessibility standards.

The order in which headings are presented is not hierarchical and logical. This means that the structure of the page content is not clear for people that use a screen reader. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.10 Section Headings (Level AAA).

We plan to ensure that all heading structures are marked up in a hierarchical and logical order by November 2021 or 2022. When we publish new content, we will make sure our use of heading structure meets accessibility standards.

Lists have not been marked up correctly.  This means that relationships between content will not be clear to people using a screen reader. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 4.1.1 Parsing (Level A).

We plan to ensure that all lists are marked up correctly by November 2021 or 2022. When we publish new content, we will make sure our use of lists meets accessibility standards.

Updating content

Content is added to the page after a search has been performed but does not inform people that use a screen reader. This means that people that use a screen reader are unaware that the search has been successful and results are displayed. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.3 Status Messages (Level AA).

We plan to ensure that all content that is dynamically added to the page informs people that use screen readers as soon as the search results appear by November 2021 or 2022. When we publish new content, we will make sure updating content meets accessibility standards.

Colour

The colour contrast between foreground and background colours did not meet the expected ratios.

This means that some content may be difficult for users with low vision and colour deficiencies to read. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (Level AA) and 1.4.6 Contrast (Enhanced) (Level AAA).

We plan to ensure that all colour contrast ratios are amended by November 2021 or 2022 to meet the contrast ratios required for AA at a minimum. When we publish new content, we will make sure our use of colour contrast ratios meets the accessibility standards.

The contrast of non-text content did not meet the expected ratio of 3:1 where borders on form fields were used. This means that it may be difficult for people with low vision and/or colour deficiencies to know where to input information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (Level AA).

We plan to make all non-text content clearly visible by November 2021 or 2022. When we publish new content, we will make sure our use of colour contrast of non-text content meets the accessibility standards.

Navigation

There are some skip links that should let people skip between different areas of the page. These are not functioning as they should which means that people that use a keyboard to navigate are unable to skip to the relevant area. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (Level A).

We plan to ensure that all pages will have functioning in-page skip links by November 2021 or 2022. When we publish new content, we will make sure that bypassing blocks of content meets the accessibility standards.

The focus order of interactive elements is not logical. This means that people who use a keyboard to navigate may find it difficult to understand or operate the Web page. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A).

We plan to ensure that all pages will display a logical focus order by November 2021 or 2022. When we publish new content, we will make sure that the focus order of interactive elements is logical to meet the accessibility standards.

Some elements are mouse dependent meaning users who rely on a keyboard only or other input devices may not be able to interact with some components. This fails WCAG success criterion 2.1.1 Keyboard (Level A). We plan to ensure all interactive components can be accessed using a keyboard only by November 2021 or 2022 to meet the accessibility requirements.

The focus state of some elements may not be apparent to users who navigate with a keyboard only. The visible focus state indicator is not present on some components. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.7 Focus Visible (Level AA).

We plan to ensure all focusable elements have a highly visible focus state indicator by November 2021 or 2022 to enable keyboard only users to navigate the site efficiently and meet the accessibility standards.

iFrames

iFrames do not have titles. This means that people that use screen readers are unable to determine which frame to enter and explore in detail. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (Level A).

We plan to ensure that all iframes will have titles by November 2021 or 2022. When we publish new content, we will make sure that iframes are titled and done so descriptively to meet the accessibility standards.

Links

Links are not always descriptive of their intended purpose or destination. This means that people with motion impairment are unable to skip links that they are not interested in, people with cognitive limitations may be disoriented and people with visual disabilities are unable to determine the purpose of a link without leaving the link to explore its context. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.4 Link Purpose - in context (Level A) and 2.4.9 Link Purpose - Link Only - (Level AAA).

We plan to ensure that all links are descriptive of their purpose and destination both in and out of the context of the page content by November 2021 or 2022. When we publish new content, we will make sure that links are descriptive and meet the accessibility standards.

Pre-recorded Video

Video content may not have an accessible alternative such as an audio description or transcript. This means that some of the content will not be accessible to deaf and blind users. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.1 Audio only and Video only (Pre-recorded) (Level A), 1.2.2 Captions (Pre-recorded) (Level A) and 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Pre-recorded) (Level A) and 1.2.5 Audio Description (Pre-recorded) (Level AA).

We plan to ensure all video content is accessible by November 2021 or 2022 with accurate captions, media alternative and audio description where necessary.

How to report accessibility problems with this website

We're 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 Digital Content team via email at digitalcontent@uel.ac.uk..

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

PDFs and other documents

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  2022, 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're not essential to providing our services. 

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

What we're doing to improve accessibility

Our accessibility roadmap [to be published] shows how and when we plan to improve accessibility on this website.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 3 August 2021. It was last reviewed on 4 August 2021. It will be next be reviewed at the end of September 2022. Meanwhile, we are making some changes to accessibility on our website. Once these changes are actioned we will be updating and reviewing this statement again.

This website was last tested on 10 February 2020. The test was carried out by The Digital Accessibility Centre and covered the following journeys, which are representative of the main templates used on the website.

A selection of forms

You can download and read the full accessibility test report below

How we test this website

Digital Accessibility Centre  audit process involves:

  • Automated testing 
  • Expert Review 

User testing (disabled end to end experience) by disabled testers, some using assistive technologies such as:

  • JAWS screen reader
  • NVDA screen reader
  • VoiceOver on iOS (Mobile)
  • TalkBack on Android (Mobile)
  • Dragon voice activation software
  • ZoomText magnification
  • Keyboard only
  • Users with disabilities who do not require assistive software such as those with dyslexia, colour blindness, anxiety/panic disorder