Accessibility Statement for MDXSU.com

This accessibility statement applies to MDXSU.com, the website run by Middlesex University Students’ Union (MDXSU), which is available on both desktop and mobile.

 

We want as many people as possible to be able to use our website. 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
  • Choose the orientation of webpages to view content in portrait or landscape
  • Increase or decrease font sizes
  • Enable reading tools such as a screen mask
  • View page content as plain text
  • Listen to most of the website using a screen reader

We’ve 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, and UnionCloud, who oversee our website, have advice on using the Accessibility Toolbar.

 

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not yet fully accessible:

  • Some older PDF documents may not be fully accessible to screen reader software
  • Some of our online components are difficult to navigate using just a keyboard
  • Images within pages managed by individual student groups may not have alternative text, and so may not be reactive when using a screen reader

 

What to do if you cannot access parts of this website

If you need the information from this website in a different format such as accessible PDF, large print or easy read, please contact the MDXSU Welcome Desk via:

  • Email: mdxsu@mdx.ac.uk
  • Telephone: 02084 116450 
  • Address: MDX House, Middlesex University, Hendon, NW4 4BT

 

We will consider your request and get back to you within 7 working days.

 

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of our website. If you find any problems not listed here, or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact mdxsu@mdx.ac.uk.

 

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).

 

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

MDXSU 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.

 

Non-accessible content

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

  • Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Images and alternate text

Some images do not have a text alternative, particularly on pages managed by individual Student Groups and so may not be reactive when using a screen reader. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.1.1 (non-text content).

 

We plan to add text alternatives to all images on centrally managed pages, and provide guidance to Student Group leaders on how to do this, by September 2020.

 

When we publish new content, we’ll make sure our use of images meets accessibility standards.

 

Navigation using only a keyboard

Some of our online components, such as pages with a large number of images, may be difficult to navigate when using only a keyboard. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1.1 (Keyboard).

 

We plan to review the accessibility of affected pages, and action any updates or improvements through UnionCloud, our website developer, by September 2020.

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

PDFs and other documents

Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information about our constitution and by-laws, and forms published as Word documents or PDFs. By September 2020, we plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages.

 

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. 

 

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

 

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We plan to improve the accessibility of this website by providing solutions and changes to the above issues listed as not fully accessible. We intend to review the accessibility of this website annually to ensure action has been taken on the above, and that we continue to comply with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard.

 

As of August 2020, an accessibility toolbar is available to all website users providing:

    • Screen reading
    • The ability to increase or decrease font sizes
    • The ability to manipulate font, contrast and colour scheme
    • Reading tools, including a screen mask (web only)
    • Plain text mode

 

Website users are encouraged to contact us on mdxsu@mdx.ac.uk if they identify a problem with the accessibility of our website which has not been noted here.

 

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 01 September 2020 and will be reviewed annually. This website was last tested on 10 August 2020 by Middlesex University Students’ Union.

 

We aim to ensure that all content we create is compatible with assistive technology.