Accessibility Statement

Accessibility statement for Northumbria University

Northumbria University is committed to providing a website that is accessible to all users. Content the website is designed so that it is easy to find, read, understand, and interact with.

This Accessibility Statement provides an overview of the accessibility features we have implemented on the websites northumbria.ac.uk and work4.northumbria.ac.uk.

The Northumbria University website also contains links to third-party content. The University is not responsible for the accessibility of this content and has no control over it. However, Northumbria University is committed to working with partners to ensure material they are responsible for meets accessibility standards where possible and that they have their own accessibility statements.

Northumbria University also has responsibility for several other websites and platforms and each has their own Accessibility Statement.

How accessible is this website?

Northumbria University aim to make the web pages meet the required WCAG AA standard and adhere to level 1 and 2 guidelines set out in the International WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standard.

We endeavour to ensure that the website is responsive to different devices and enable browsers to accessibly change text sizes through the way the website has been designed and developed.

In addition, you could visit AbilityNet – an organisation supporting people with disability or impairment to use technology – who provide practical advice on making your device easier to use.

Northumbria University will continue to review the accessibility of content across university websites and applications. The review process will:

Ensure Accessibility Statements are available for all websites and applications and that they are kept up to date as part of the review process;
Ensure that content is available in all possible, accessible formats and where this is not possible seek alternative formats as necessary;
Ensure accessibility is understood and embedded in university policies;
Assign clear responsibilities in respect of accessibility and ensure ownership of it as appropriate;
Employ quality assurance methods to ensure the quality of accessible content.

Feedback and contact information

If you would like us to provide any of this content in a different format, please Email Us for Accessibility Support or Complete the Accessibility Form Below.

We will consider your request and aim to get back to you in 2 days.

Northumbria University is committed to reviewing and improving accessibility of our websites and welcome comment and feedback to support us to do this.

Reporting 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, please Email Us for Accessibility Support or Complete the Accessibility Form above.

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

Northumbria University 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

These websites are partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below:

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

The Northumbria University website is currently WCAG 2.1 AA non-compliant. Issues include:

PDFs linked to the website not having titles. To fix this issue we require all content authors to audit their PDFs and add titles where necessary. We aim to be compliant by January 2025.
Links do not explain their purpose - These will be audited and links updated by content owners. We aim to be compliant by January 2025.
Pages are scrolling in two dimensions on small screens. We aim to be compliant by January 2025.
Focus is not fully obscured - When selecting a user interface component with the keyboard, the focus indicator must not be completely obscured by anything in front of it.
Controls are not clearly indicate when they are selected - All controls on the page - including links, buttons, and fields - should clearly indicate when they have been selected by the keyboard.

Disproportionate burden

Should any issue be identified, that cannot be fixed, as the cost of doing so would place a disproportionate burden on the University, we will identify what those issues are, list them and explain why they cannot be fixed at that time. Any issues falling into this category will be reviewed.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

Northumbria University has acquired 3rd Party testing software, which scans our websites weekly and returns any accessibility issues, which the Digital Team (website owners) will endeavour to fix, through website developments or communicating best practice to content authors and owners.

We produce accessibility report dashboards every two months for all our website section owners, so they can review any issues on their pages and make the relevant changes to fix the issue