Falmouth Learning Space Accessibility Statement

We know some parts of this website aren't fully accessible, for example:

Contrast issues  

Some documents and images contain text with a low contrast ratio to the background colour. This can cause the text to be difficult to read, especially to those with visual impairments, such as colour blindness or poor eyesight.  

Images without a description  

Some images have been used to convey meaning, but do not have any descriptive text associated to them. This can prove detrimental to those people who rely on screen readers or other assistive tools to understand the image and its purpose.  

Untagged Documents  

Some documents in PDF format are untagged and therefore do not appropriately highlight the structure of the document, e.g. defining what is a heading, paragraph, list.  

Headings  

Some of the content on pages and documents does not adhere to a typical heading hierarchy, so the structure and layout of sections may be confusing to those with assisted devices or tools.  

Links with inappropriate text  

Some content contains links with inappropriate (e.g. “click here”) or no text. This can be confusing to navigate for text-to-speech devices or tools.  

Select element must have an accessible name 

The assessment & feedback plugin utilises select form fields. Recommendation is to use the label element and an explicit, programmatically associate label with select elements. The lack of this is confusing to screen readers which do not know the input data expectations and cannot programmatically determine information about input objects without an established label relationship. 

We are working towards making all our content as accessible as possible and part of this is to provide documents in alternate formats. We use a tool called Blackboard Ally, which provides an option next to documents on the page to download it in an alternate format. 

If this option is not available for your desired content, you can contact us using our webform to report the issue. You will get a confirmation within five working days that your form has been received and a full response within 20 working days. 

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 are not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact us using our webform. You will get a confirmation within five working days that your form has been received and a full response within 20 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, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS). 

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

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

Learning Space uses the Moodle platform which is an open-source virtual learning environment and, as such, some aspects of its accessibility are out of our immediate control. Moodle has a known issues page which shows any reported problems with accessibility, along with the Accessibility Standards page which all Moodle developers should adhere to. 

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations  

Contrast issues - WCAG 1.4.3  

Documents, images with text, and some page content may have a low contrast ratio between text and the background colour. Most of these issues are largely due to the nature of the creative courses and the learning material being provided.   

Where poor contrast exists, we are actively working with staff to address the colour choices for documents and images and aim to make any new learning material added during 2023/24 term accessible.   

Images without a description - WCAG 1.1.1, 1.4.5  

Some images contain text-based information, or used to convey meaning, and have not provided a text alternative. Ongoing training with Staff aims to educate in this area, and where found or reported the images will be fixed.   

Links without appropriate text - WCAG 2.4.4, 2.4.9   

Links in documents and content may not have appropriate text to describe where that link is sending the user. As this is a content editor issue, ongoing training aims to address and educate in this area. Where found or reported, these issues will be fixed.  

Headings - WCAG 2.4.3, 2.4.6   

Some of the content on pages and documents does not adhere to a typical heading hierarchy, so the structure and layout of sections may be confusing to those with assisted devices or tools. Ongoing training with editors has reduced the number of occurrences. Content updates are ongoing in 23/24. Where found or reported, these issues will be fixed.  

Documents - WCAG 2.4.3, 2.4.6   

Some documents in PDF format are untagged and therefore do not appropriately highlight the structure of the document, e.g. defining what is a heading, paragraph, list.   

Scanned Documents - WCAG 1.4.5   

Some documents are either entirely scanned or contain pages that are scanned. Screen readers are unable to convert images into words, even if the image only consists of text. We plan to educate staff on accessibility best practice. We also have employed a tool (Ally) that can, where possible, provide optical character recognition versions of these documents.  

Select element must have an accessible name - WCAG 4.1.2 

My Assessment & Feedback specific: The recommendation is to use the label element and an explicit, programmatically associate label with select elements. When labels for form elements are absent, screen reader users do not know the input data expectations and cannot programmatically determine information about input objects without an established label relationship. 

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

Heritage documents 

Certain technical documentation that has been scanned may not be accessible due to OCR not working on scan, and the original documents no longer exist. 

Pre-recorded Audio and Video 

Video content published before September 2020 is exempt from the regulations and therefore may not be accessible. All new video content going forward will adhere to regulations. 

Third-party content 

Learning Space uses various third-party plugins, such as Talis Aspire and Turnitin, that we do not have control over so are not responsible for their accessibility. We do try to provide alternate solutions to any issues that may affect users, and you can contact us should any arise. 

This statement was first prepared on 12/08/2020. It was last reviewed on 8/11/2023.   

This website was last tested on 8/11/2023. The test was carried out by Falmouth University.   

In order to test the website, a selection of pages were identified that would best indicate the accessibility of Learning Space as a whole. This included: login page, home page, resource page, course page, module page, activity page, assessments & feedback. Multiples of these pages were chosen across the various departments. Once identified, these pages were reviewed using a combination of automated and manual testing, utilising automated Ally for LMS and manual Deque Axe DevTools to highlight issues found.