Accessibility statement for MDX Minds

Accessibility statement for MDX Minds

We want everyone who visits the MDX Minds website to feel welcome and find the experience rewarding, going above and beyond the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations 2018.

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. You should be able to:

  • zoom in to 400% without causing two-directional scrolling;
  • use most of the website with just a keyboard;
  • use most of the website with speech recognition software;
  • use most of the website with a screen reader.

We also try to make the content as simple as possible to understand, with plain English and clear language.

What are we doing?

To help us make the MDX Minds website a positive place for everyone, we’ve been using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. These guidelines explain how to make web content more accessible for people with disabilities, and user friendly for everyone.

The guidelines have three levels of accessibility (A, AA and AAA). We’ve chosen Level AA as the target for the MDX Minds website.

How are we doing?

We are working hard to achieve our goal of Level AA accessibility, but we realise there are some areas that still need improving. The following information explains where we are falling short, and what we are doing to improve.

Images

Success criteria 1.1.1

We intend to go through all images flagged as missing an alt text and provide an appropriate alt text for each.

Embedded content

Success criteria 4.1.2

We know that some of our iFrames are missing a title, and are going through these to add an appropriate title to each.

Navigation and links

Success criteria 1.3.1

We are working with our content management system providers to ensure our templates are built correctly. This includes use of proper headings and nesting, WAI-ARIA labelling, and working functionality.

Success criteria 1.4.1

Where links are identified by colour only, we are looking to add underlines or other visual cues. Where we wish to use colour only, for aesthetic branding purposes, we will change the hex code to make sure there is sufficient contrast.

Success criteria 2.4.7

On some pages, the keyboard focus is not clearly visible on every element. We are working to introduce a template where all elements have a clearly visible focus.

Text and content

Success criteria 1.4.3

We know some of our branding colours are not totally accessible. We are going to look into better hex codes and bigger text sizes to ensure all our text is readable.

Success criteria 2.4.1

Currently there is no way to skip past repeated content to a page’s main, unique content. We are working to provide a heading for each block of content that is repeated on multiple web pages, to ensure this can be navigated more freely.

Forms

Success criteria 3.3.2

Our “Related blogs” form input does not have required labelling. We are working with our providers to label this function correctly.

Third party content

We may sometimes have third party content or functionality on our website. This may include:

  • survey tools for collecting user feedback;
  • insight tools for user experience research;
  • applications for providing forms, hosting chats, and and storing data.

Where we are legally required to feature third party content, we cannot reasonably accept responsibility for ensuring it meets accessibility standards. However, for all content we have control over or have otherwise chosen to include, including that which we have paid for, we are obliged to work towards ensuring this content is accessible as possible. We are embedding accessibility into our procurement processes, meaning it is a necessary part of any contract for digital work.

Third party platforms

We often use other applications to create official Middlesex University content. For example:

  • social media content, such as on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn;
  • videos which we post on YouTube, Vimeo or Kaltura.

We must make sure our own content is as accessible as possible (for example, by making sure any video we upload to YouTube has appropriate subtitled, captions and audio description). However, we do not have influence over the accessibility of the platform itself (for example, the YouTube video player functionality).

Plans for improvement

Our University Accessibility Working Group has established a roadmap of continuous improvement to ensure as much content as possible is accessible by September 2020. Beyond this deadline, we will continue to improve accessibility wherever possible, by making changes as outlined above.

How we tested this site

We test MDX Minds weekly using an automated tool that scans every page for problems (Siteimprove). The reports are checked at least weekly by the web team, and we aim to fix high priority issues within one week of identification.

We also conduct frequent manual testing, to pick up errors that an automated scan cannot identify.

Contacting us for help

What to do if you cannot access parts of this website

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please email accessibility@mdx.ac.uk.

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that aren’t listed on this page or think we’re not meeting the requirements of the accessibility regulations, please email accessibility@mdx.ac.uk.

What to do if your problem is not dealt with satisfactorily

If you have contacted us about an accessibility problem but you feel that this has not been dealt with satisfactorily, we want to know.

The first stage would be to raise your concern informally. The aim of this stage is to achieve a quick and easy solution for you. It would be appropriate to take the concern through the relevant contact listed above for reporting an accessibility problem.

If, after this, we have not dealt with your concern satisfactorily, you can take it through to a formal complaint. See the Middlesex University policies page for more information on making a complaint.

Further enforcement

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the accessibility regulations in the UK. If you are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

About this statement

This statement was created on 23 January 2020. It was last revised on 6 April 2020.