This website is run by University of the Arts London (UAL). This accessibility statement applies to this website. Other websites and browser based systems on the arts.ac.uk domain have their own accessibility statements.
This website uses HTML 5 (HyperText Mark-up Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) to render content. We have also used other technologies including JavaScript on certain areas of the website.
We commit to ensuring this website is as accessible as possible and we want as many people as possible to be able to use it. This means that you should be able to:
- access the website regardless of the device and browser you are using
- 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 easy to understand as possible although we recognise we have more work to do on this.
This website features user generated content that is created by our students and this content may not be accessible.
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
How accessible this website is
We know that some parts of the website are not fully accessible:
- While you should be able to navigate most of the site using a keyboard, there is no skip to main content link.
- Some headings don’t follow a nested structure.
- Some documents are embedded using iframes and these iframes may be missing a text alternative. Additionally, student created documents such as PDFs may not be accessible.
- Some form elements fields may be missing descriptive labelling.
- Some on page element IDs are not unique.
- Some container elements are missing roles. These roles provide information about content structure and how page elements fit together.
- Some pages may contain one or more "empty" headings (heading tags with no text content). A heading is considered "empty" if there is no text for a screen reader to relay to the user.
- The Show more link on project pages doesn’t have sufficient colour contrast.
Feedback and contact information
If you need information on this website in an alternative, more accessible format please contact the Digital Team by email at digitalpublicplatforms@arts.ac.uk.
Please include details of the content you need and the required format or the service you are trying to access. We will then work with the team who own the content or the service to get you what you need.
We aim to provide you with an initial response within two working days and will provide clear information about how we will deal with your request.
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, contact the Digital Team by email at digitalpublicplatforms@arts.ac.uk.
We aim to provide you with an initial response within two working days and will provide clear information about how we will deal with your enquiry or complaint.
If you feel we have not answered your enquiry or complaint satisfactorily, please contact us again. We will escalate your enquiry or complaint to the Assistant Head of Online Services who will work with the team who provides the service/content to get you a response.
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
For information about contacting us by phone or to arrange a visit to our offices please visit the Contact us page on the main UAL website.
More information about accessing our buildings is available from AccessAble.
Our commitment and legal obligations
We commit to ensuring the communications we produce are clear and accessible to the widest range of people.
We recognise our obligations under The Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 and the Equality Act 2010.
Technical information about this website's accessibility
UAL 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 below.
Non-accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
- The site has no skip to main content link. This fails WCAG success criterion 2.4.1 (Bypass blocks). Some headings don’t follow a nested structure. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.3.1: Info and Relationships.
- Some documents are embedded using iframes and these iframes may be missing a text alternative. This fails WCAG success criterion 4.1.2: Name, Role, Value.
- Some form elements fields may be missing descriptive labelling. This fails WCAG success criterion 4.1.2: Name, Role, Value.
- Some on page element IDs are not unique. This fails WCAG success criterion 4.1.1: Parsing.
- Some container elements are missing roles. These roles provide information about content structure and how page elements fit together. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.3.1: Info and Relationships.
- Some pages may contain one or more "empty" headings (heading tags with no text content). This fails WCAG success criterion 1.3.1: Info and Relationships.
- The "Show more" link on project pages doesn’t have sufficient colour contrast. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum).
Much of the content on this website has been produced by our students and should be considered as user generated content. While we have produced digital accessibility guidance to our students, we cannot guarantee that all student content is accessible. This may include but not limited to the following:
- Embedded videos may not have captions or audio description.
- Embedded audio files may not have accompanying transcripts.
- Office file formats such as Word and PDF documents may be missing appropriate headings and mark-up.
- Virtual reality content may not be accessible.
- The content of student owned websites and social media content linked to from this website may be accessible.
What we're doing to improve accessibility
We are updating the user interface of the website and improving the user experience. Accessibility improvements are made through our continuous improvement process.
UAL students upload their work to Graduate Showcase via Portfolio and are required to add alternative text to images. We also provide accessibility guidance for our students, so that they can make their content as accessible as possible.
Preparation of this statement
This statement was prepared on 27 July 2020. It was last reviewed on 22 March 2023.
The website was last tested in March 2023. Testing was carried out in house by UAL staff using Siteimprove.
The pages we tested are listed below: