This statement does not cover the University of Sunderland’s main website www.sunderland.ac.uk. Please refer to the accessibility statement for www.sunderland.ac.uk if your query concerns that site.
The University’s web estate consists of many related sub-sites. Accessibility statements for such sub-sites will be found locally on each site.
Sunderland Creatives and its website www.sunderlandcreatives.co.uk is managed by External Relations and was launched in 2020 to provide a digital version of the annual Degree Shows for students in the Faculty of Arts and Creative Industries. It was relaunched in July 2021 to coincide with the Degree Show for the Class of 2021.
We want as many people as possible to be able to use the site. 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 have also tried to make the website text as simple to understand as possible.
You can find useful advice on making your device more easy to use by visiting AbilityNet, which provides step-by-step guides to making individual adjustments to your laptop, tablet or smart phone.
We also have a ReciteMe toolbar which allows you to customise the appearance of our website to make it easier to read and navigate, for example, by changing colours or having text content read aloud. You can find this in the top right of your screen on all pages.
Where we have identified issues with the website’s accessibility or compatibility with assistive technologies they are listed in this statement.
How accessible this website is
We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:
- some parts may not be fully compatible with screen readers
- the text will not reflow in a single column when you change the size of the browser window
- you cannot modify the line height or spacing of text
- most older and some recent PDF documents are not fully accessible to screen reader software
- not all media will have a transcript or be subtitled
- some media such as GIFs or video may autoplay without the option to pause
- some images do not have good alternative text
- colour contrast is not sufficient in some areas
- some webpages may have non-consecutive headings
- the purpose of some links may not be clear
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:
Web: IT Portal
Email: webteam@sunderland.ac.uk
Call: +44 191 515 2424
We will consider your request and get back to you in five 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: webteam@sunderland.ac.uk.
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).
Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person
Find out how to contact us.
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
The University of Sunderland 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
This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
Navigation and accessing information
- There is not a visible tab focus to assist with navigating the website by keyboard (2.4.7 - Focus visible)
- Some headings on webpages are not organised to appear in order. We will correct heading order as we review each page. (2.4.10 - Section Headings).
- It is not possible to use a keyboard to access all the content. We will ensure content can be navigated by keyboard as we review each page. (2.1 - Keyboard accessible).
- Some information is conveyed as an image of text rather than as text itself so that it's not compatible with screen readers and other assistive technology. This may be due to it being a part of student work which we can't change, but where possible we will ensure content conveyed as an image is replaced by HTML when we review each page. (1.4.5 - Images of text).
- Some links are not labelled clearly, for example, they may not make sense when taken out of context. We will correct link text over time as we review each page. (2.4.4 – Link Purpose (In Context)).
Media
- Not all pre-recorded audio-only or video-only media will have alternative media that presents equivalent information e.g. audio track with description of the action in a video with no sound. We are working through all media, including that published prior to September 2018, to add these manually to ensure accuracy and expect this to be complete by December 2022. (1.2.1 - Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded)).
- Not all video will have subtitles or subtitles that identify all speakers as well as noting other significant sounds e.g. laughter. We are working through all media to add these manually to ensure accuracy and expect this to be complete by December 2022. (1.2.2 - Captions (Prerecorded)).
- Some media may contain flashing images. Where this is the case we have prefaced the video with a warning. (2.3.1 - Three Flashes or Below Threshold)
Other
- Some iframes are missing the ‘Title’ tag (YouTube videos, Twitter feeds). (4.1.2 - Name, Role, Value).
- On some pages, the ID used for an element is not unique. (4.1.1 – Parsing).
We improve our website accessibility on a regular and continuous basis. See the section below ('What we are doing to improve accessibility') on how we are improving our site accessibility.
Disproportionate burden
We are not currently claiming that any accessibility problems would be a disproportionate burden to fix.
Interactive tools and transactions
Our site includes some content displayed via third-party tools or plug-ins. Depending on our relationship with the third party, we cannot always guarantee its accessibility. We plan to phase out use of these where they are inaccessible or provide the same content in an accessible format.
Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
Third-party content
Our website contains third-party content. We do not have control over and are not responsible for the accessibility of this content, but we make best endeavours to work with the third party to improve its accessibility. The problems that may occur include:
- Colour contrast issues
- Keyboard navigation not functional
- Videos closed captions missing
- Missing ALT tags
- Links to non-University of Sunderland websites
- Some headings are not tagged appropriately
What we are doing to improve accessibility
- A regular weekly central website audit using an automated service, followed by manual prioritisation of issues with key user journeys
- We use a design framework which is stable and has been tested for accessibility issues. This cuts down, but doesn't totally remove, the risk of web editors adding design elements that are not accessible
- A full University web estate audit to assess issues with site accessibility, security and data protection.
- Support, guidance and training process in place for University staff to increase awareness of accessibility and what our responsibilities are.
- Accessibility improvements, bug fixes and development work to fix issues will be recorded to keep a record of work completed.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 8 July 2021. It was last reviewed on 8 July 2021.
This website was last tested in July 2021. The test was carried out by the University of Sunderland Web Team.
Our website is tested on a regular basis, with a new scan scheduled every seven days using an automated accessibility tool provided by LittleForest. This tool tests all web pages and provides a report on accessibility issues. Manual checks are also performed on a sample of pages on www.sunderland.ac.uk.
Issues are prioritised according to the severity of the impact it may cause, the number of people that may be impacted and the time involved in resolving the issue.