Accessibility

This website is run by the University of West London. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. On our website you should be able to:

• zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen and without the content being truncated or overlapping
• navigate most of the website and use video controls using just a keyboard
• listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
• skip to the main content when using a screen reader or navigating with the keyboard
• read text descriptions of images
• read subtitles for videos produced after 2015. 

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

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

Accessibility limitations

Although we have built our website to provide the access features listed above, we know that some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

• some textboxes are missing a visible label to describe them
• some forms do not include instructions on how to submit data
• some input fields that collect an individual’s personal data do not have the necessary “autocomplete” attributes
• The drag-and-drop functionality cannot receive focus or be operated using the keyboard
• The image galleries are only partially usable with keyboard navigation or screen readers
• In some places, we rely on functionality provided by third parties. This includes the use of social media widgets and Google Maps. We do not have control over the accessibility features of these tools. 

Issues affecting people with low vision

• Some combinations of text and background colour for text and form controls do not have sufficient colour contrast
• The focus indicators for some links, buttons and form controls do not have sufficient colour contrast against the background
• Some pages contain infographics that contain text that becomes pixelated when zoomed.

Issues affecting video and audio content

• Some embedded videos have no audio description of the visual content.

Issues affecting screen reader users

• Most PDF and Word documents on the website are accessible, however if you need a document in a different format please contact webcontent@uwl.ac.uk
• In some places, we rely on functionality provided by third parties. This includes the use of social media widgets and Google Maps. We do not have control over the accessibility features of these tools.

Feedback and contact information

If you are a student, our Wellbeing Team can provide support with accessing information using a range of assistive technologies. More about disability support.

We can also arrange alternative formats for essential reading books and provide assistive technology in our library. More about access for disabled students in the library.

Contact us

If you cannot access information about our courses, you can contact us via:

• Email: courses@uwl.ac.uk
• Phone (UK only): 0800 036 8888
• phone (outside the UK): +44 (0)208 231 2468

If you need information on this website in a different format, please contact webcontent@uwl.ac.uk.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

If you find any problems not listed on this page, or you think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please email us.

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, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Visiting us in person

If you are attending an event such as an open day, our registration form asks for information about your access needs to help us support you.

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

The University of West 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

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

Non-accessible content

Some parts of our website may not work for everyone. The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons:

• The Google Maps logo does not have an appropriate description. (WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1).
• Some videos have no audio description for their visual content - This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.3 (Audio description or media alternative (Pre-recorded)) and WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.2.5 (Audio description (Pre-recorded).
• Some content visually resembles cards, some breadcrumb navigation links, burger menu links, and slider controls in embedded videos, but this is not conveyed programmatically. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and relationships) and WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, role, value).
• In the image galleries, some of the thumbnail buttons do not receive focus and/or are hidden from assistive technologies. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and relationships) and WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (Name, role, value).
• Some input fields that collect an individual’s personal data do not have the necessary “autocomplete” attributes. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.5 (Identify Input Purpose).
• Some combinations of text and background colour for text do not have sufficient colour contrast. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3 (Colour Contrast).
• Various checkbox borders, button icons, focus indicators of links and buttons and form controls do not have sufficient colour contrast against the background. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.11 (Non-text Contrast).
• The drag-and-drop functionality cannot receive focus or be operated using the keyboard. This fails 2.1.1 (Keyboard).
• Some text links do not have sufficient context and would be ambiguous for some users. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2 4.4 (Link Purpose (In Context)).

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

PDFs and other documents:

• Any new UWL-produced PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards or will be available in an accessible format, eg, web pages.
• Office file formats published before 23 September 2018 are exempt from the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (but not from WCAG) unless such content is needed for active administrative processes relating to the tasks performed by the public sector body.
• Non-UWL documents provided by external agencies that we cannot edit may not be accessible but may be available in accessible formats directly through the agency.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We use a quality assurance tool called SiteImprove and monitor reports generated from it every week and our editors correct accessibility errors that have arisen in our content. 

Help us improve accessibility

If you find any problems not listed on this page, or you think we are not meeting accessibility requirements, please email us.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 31 August 2022. It was last reviewed on 8 March 2024. This website was last tested in February 2024. We followed GOV.UK guidance on deciding how to check the University of West London’s website as follows:

1. We used an automated website mapping tool to identify all the pages and documents on the website.
2. We identified any subdomains that were out of scope and removed all the pages from the page list.
3. We removed all the documents from the list.
4. We grouped the remaining pages according to type, such as all the About Us pages, Course pages, News pages etc.
5. We manually assessed a number of pages from each group to determine the level of consistency within the group and the type of content on those pages.
6. We identified a minimum representative subset of pages that contain examples of the most common layouts, components and features, including:

• The header and footer
• Important “unique pages”
• Pages with text content and data tables
• Pages with informational images, images of text and video content
• Interactive elements such as accordions, lightboxes, forms, tabbed interfaces, and content filtering
• We conducted a manual WCAG audit on the representative subset of pages.