Accessibility statement

Website accessibility statement inline with Public Sector Body (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This accessibility statement applies to: 

This website is run by the Development and Alumni Department, University of Edinburgh. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this application. For example, that means you should be able to:  

  • Change colours, contrast levels and fonts 
  • Zoom in up to 500% without the text spilling off the screen 
  • Navigate most of the application using just a keyboard 
  • Listen to most of the application using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS and Dragon)  

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand. However, some of our content is technical, and we use technical terms where there is no easier wording we could use without changing what the text means.  

Customising the website

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. This is an external site with suggestions to make your computer more accessible:  

AbilityNet - My Computer My Way  

With a few simple steps you can customise the appearance of our website using your browser settings to make it easier to read and navigate:  

If you are a member of University staff or a student, you can use the free SensusAccess accessible document conversion service:  

How accessible this website is  

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

  • Not all images have descriptive alt-text 
  • Not all colour contrasts meet recommended standards 
  • It is not always clear where a user has tabbed to using keyboard 
  • Ensure tooltips can be reached by keyboard and assistive software 
  • The site is not fully compatible with assistive software such as screen readers and voice recognition software.  

Feedback and contact information  

If you need information on this website in a different format, including accessible PDF, large print, audio recording or braille:  

  • Email: dasusers@ed.ac.uk 
  • Telephone: +44 (0)131 650 2240 
  • British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via Contact Scotland BSL, the on-line BSL interpreting service. 

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.  

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are 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, please contact:  

  • Email: dasusers@ed.ac.uk 
  • Telephone: +44 (0)131 650 2240 
  • British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact us via Contact Scotland BSL, the on-line BSL interpreting service. 

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 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 please contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS) directly:  

The government has produced information on how to report accessibility issues:  

Contacting us by phone using British Sign Language 

British Sign Language service 

Contact Scotland BSL runs a service for British Sign Language users and all of Scotland’s public bodies using video relay. This enables sign language users to contact public bodies and vice versa. The service operates from 8.00am to 12.00am, 7 days a week. 

Technical information about this website’s accessibility 

The University of Edinburgh is committed to making its websites and applications 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 (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.  

The full guidelines are available at:  

Non accessible content  

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

Noncompliance with the accessibility regulations  

The following items to not comply with the WCAG 2.2 AA success criteria:  

  • Not all images have alt text 
  • Not all colour contrasts meet the minimum standard 
  • Not all tooltips can be accessed when navigating by keyboard or by assistive software 
  • Is it not always clear where you have navigated to by keyboard 
  • Not all content is fully compatible with assistive software such as screen readers or voice recognition software e.g. some frames do not have an accessible name 

We aim to improve our websites accessibility on a regular and continuous basis. See the section below ('What we're doing to improve accessibility') on how we are improving our site accessibility.   

The site is fully within our control and we are working towards solving these problems and expect several improvements by July 2026.  

Disproportionate burden

We are not currently claiming that any accessibility problems would be a disproportionate burden to fix.  

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

At this time we believe no content is outwith the scope of the accessibility regulations.  

What we’re doing to improve accessibility  

We will continue to address and make significant improvements to the accessibility issues highlighted. Unless specified otherwise, a complete solution or significant improvement will be in place by July 2026.   

While we are in the process of resolving these accessibility issues we will ensure reasonable adjustments are in place to make sure no user is disadvantaged. As changes are made, we will continue to review accessibility and retest the accessibility of this website.  

Preparation of this accessibility statement  

This statement was prepared on 10th July 2025. It was last reviewed on 10th July 2025.  

The website was last tested on 3rd June 2025. The testing was carried out by the Development and Alumni Department at the University of Edinburgh using both automated and manual methods. The site was tested on a PC, primarily using Microsoft Edge alongside Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.  

Recent world-wide usage levels survey for different screen readers and browsers shows that Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge are increasing in popularity and Google Chrome is now the favoured browser for screen readers:  

The aforementioned three browsers have been used in certain questions for reasons of breadth and variety.  

We ran automated testing using AXE and then manual testing that included: 

  • Spell check functionality; 
  • Scaling using different resolutions and reflow; 
  • Options to customise the interface (magnification, font, background colour, etc); 
  • Keyboard navigation and keyboard traps; 
  • Data validation; 
  • Warning of links opening in new tab or window; 
  • Information conveyed in the colour or sound only; 
  • Flashing, moving or scrolling text; 
  • Use with screen reading software (for example JAWS); 
  • Assistive software (TextHelp Read and Write, Windows Magnifier, ZoomText, Dragon Naturally Speaking, TalkBack and VoiceOver); 
  • Tooltips and text alternatives for any non-text content; 
  • Time limits; 
  • Compatibility with mobile accessibility functionality (Android and iOS). 
  • Any drag functionality and alternatives 
  • Consistent help function 
  • No need to re enter data already submitted 
  • Any cognitive tests   

Change Log  

3rd June 2025 

Testing found these previous issues have been resolved or improved:  

  • Improvements have made it clearer and more consistent where users have tabbed to by keyboard  - this has seen significant improvements but is not fully resolved. 
  • Improve consistency of data validation, colour contrast of error messages and ensure error messages do not appear as pop ups. 
  • Improve JAWS compatibility with Firefox and Internet Explorer and ensure links and icons are labelled - this has seen significant improvements but is not fully resolved. 
  • Improve compatibility with Dragon item selections- this has seen significant improvements but is not fully resolved. 
  • Improve compatibility with mobile accessibility functionality - this has seen significant improvements but is not fully resolved.