Accessibility statement for SITS / eVision

This statement applies to the SITS website which is run by the University of Sheffield as part of the Student Lifecycle Programme, using the platform provided by Tribal.

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Introduction

We want as many people as possible to be able to use the SITS website. 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've made the SITS website text as simple as possible to understand in many sections. We will continue to work to improve the text across the site. 

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

The SITS website is only available to those logged in on the University network.

How accessible the SITS website is

The accessibility evaluation checks were conducted following the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and are based on semi-automated and manual evaluation conducted between July-September 2021. The SITS website may have changed since that time. 

We know some parts of the SITS website are not fully accessible:

  • when text is resized to 175%, there are instances where the text is cut off. Users relying on browser text resize might have difficulties reading the content on the pages. 
  • there are elements with insufficient colour contrast. These elements can be difficult to read, especially for those with low vision, poor eyesight, or colour blindness
  • some of our interactive forms are difficult to navigate using a keyboard because some form controls are missing a ‘label’ tag although they do have titles. The title attribute value for unlabelled form controls will be presented to screen reader users.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on the SITS website in a different format or via an alternative service contact us 

  • email our Academic Programmes and Quality admin team apqteam@sheffield.ac.uk
  • call our admin team +44 114 222 0426 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm).

Responding to your request

We’ll review your request and get back to you within two working days. Some requests will be easier to fulfil than others and take a little more time – we can discuss this with you.

Reporting accessibility problems with the SITS website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of the SITS website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact us

When contacting us, provide:

  • page URL (web page address)
  • issue encountered 
  • device used (mobile, tablet or desktop)
  • particular software or assistive technology being used (for example browser, screen reader)

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 the SITS website’s accessibility

The University of Sheffield 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

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

How we tested the SITS site

The SITS website was tested between July 2021 and September 2021 by our Functional Testing Team and our User Experience team. 

The functional testing evaluation was carried out using:

  • WAVE extension tool on Chrome browser 
  • Chrome screen reader
  • manual accessibility checks following the WCAG checklist including keyboard only testing

We selected the three main landing pages, and sub-pages which featured varied functionality:

  • Homepage – login (pre and post login pages)
  • Curriculum Management (main and sub navigation pages) - including the intray, page menus and navigation tools
  • System admin page - bulk ‘add user access permissions.’ included system admin tools, page header menu.

The User Experience team used:

  • WAVE
  • Accessibility Insights for Web
  • Microsoft Narrator screen reading tool against the Word document – module development form.
  • Manual testing with two students with dyslexia who went through all the modules creation pages. 

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

  • Some images on buttons do not have a text alternative, so people using a screen reader cannot access the information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content). We plan to add text alternatives for all images / buttons in the next release of the product.
  • There are some elements with insufficient colour contrast. These elements can be difficult to read, especially for those with low vision, poor eyesight, or colour blindness. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.3. (Contrast - minimum). This will be fixed in the next release of the product.
  • Some title attribute text is the same as text or alternative text. The title attribute value is used to provide advisory information. It typically appears when the user hovers the mouse over an element. This fails WCAG 1.1.1 (Non-text content).
  • Links on focus are not clearly highlighted / or the contrast is low. This fails WCAG 2.4.7 (Focus visible). This will be improved in the next release of the product.

Disproportionate burden

Form label

Some of our interactive forms are difficult to navigate using a keyboard because some form controls are missing a ‘label’ tag although they do have titles. The title attribute value for unlabelled form controls will be presented to screen reader users. 

Device orientation

It’s not always possible to change the device orientation from horizontal to vertical without making it more difficult to view the content.

Sizing on smaller screens

It’s not possible for users to change text size without some of the content overlapping.

Duplicate ids

On some pages, two or more elements have the same id value. These should be unique.

Screen-readers read out hidden text and labels

On some pages screen-readers read out hidden container text which could confuse users. For example, the user will hear ID CMP00000200 when selecting to view a proposal.

Addressing these issues

We’ve assessed the cost of fixing the issues with form labels, device orientation, text resizing, duplicate IDs and hidden text. We believe that doing so now would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the accessibility regulations. We will make another assessment when the next version of the software is released in 2022.

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

PDFs and other documents

We currently have one Word document which is not fully accessible due to the table formats. This is a system generated document which is provided as an alternative download to the existing HTML page. This will be improved in a future release.

Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

What we're doing to improve accessibility

We will continue to work with Tribal, the owners of SITS e:Vision website, in making further improvements and enhancements to their accessibility features based on feedback from our users.

We plan to:

  • improve accessibility of the site with every new release and update of the website
  • improve the text and content throughout the site
  • continue an audit on existing content if not previously tested
  • monitor known issues including those reported to our supplier
  • report new issues with the software to the supplier
  • undertake development in specific areas (see details in non-compliance section)
  • document common problems to avoid recurrence in future
  • test all new content for accessibility as it is published
  • review this accessibility statement annually.

Updates to non-accessible content and compliance status

Items which have been added to the review schedule and completed.

December 2021

Improved text colour contrast on green call-to-action button

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 4 November 2021. It was last reviewed on 8 December 2021.

Contacting us

You can contact us via our feedback form if you have any problems. Be as specific and detailed as you can, and please also tell us what you like and find useful.

Complete the feedback form