View the site your way
There are a number of customisation options for your browser and device that could help you use the website and other websites more effectively.
AbilityNet provide advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
Explore some of our recommendations for tools that can make your online experience better.
Feedback and contact information
Please contact us if you have an accessibility query including:
- If you are experiencing issues with accessing information or using the website
- If you find an accessibility problem not listed on this statement
- If you have positive feedback on the accessibility considerations made.
When you contact us there is a process in place that will acknowledge your contact, tell you who is dealing with it and give you a timescale by which you can expect a reply.
Alternative formats
We’ve designed our content to be as accessible as possible. If you still experience barriers, you can request alternative formats. For more information please contact us.
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 University of Kent’s webmaster to register your difficulty. This helps us improve our systems.
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 this website’s accessibility
The University of Kent is committed to making its website and associated subdomains accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
Compliance Status
The website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.
Non-accessible content
We formally test the accessibility of key user journeys that represent the breadth of content across our website on a regular basis against WCAG 2.1 AA standards.
Some parts of the website may not work for everyone. Below are known issues that we either need to fix, cannot fix, or do not need to fix right now.
If you find an issue that we have missed please contact us.
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
This section covers issues that we need to fix and are working to do so.
Images without a description
Some images on our website don't have appropriate alternative text.
Some pages contain images that don’t have a description or alternative text. People with screen readers or other assistive devices rely on these descriptions to understand the image content and purpose (WCAG: 1.1.1).
Incorrectly tagged decorative images
Images which are purely decorative are not identified as such (WCAG: 1.1.1
Images with embedded text
Some images contain embedded text. The text content is not available in another format which allows for it to magnified or read aloud by screen reader software (WCAG: 1.4.5).
Keyboard tabbing order
The keyboard tabbing order does not match the visual layout of the page (WCAG: 2.4.3).
Modal does not maintain keyboard focus
Some modal windows do not retain focus. This means that people using keyboard navigation or screen readers can’t navigate the modal. Instead they tab out of the modal and access content on the page behind it (WCAG: 2.1.2).
Mislabelled elements or missing labels
Some of the user interface elements, such as buttons and headings, do not have appropriate labels that define their roles. This includes labels which do not match the purpose and elements which do not have a label (WCAG: 4.1.2).
Page titles
Some of the page titles are not unique which can cause confusion (WCAG: 2.4.2).
IDs are not unique
Some IDs are duplicated across the elements on the same page (WCAG: 4.1.1).
The website’s language is not specified
The website does not have a language specified. This can cause issues for the accuracy of screen reader applications (WCAG 3.1.1).
Links without meaningful purpose
Some of the links are not labelled clearly. This means that the links do not make sense when they are taken out of context, and for some links it is not possible to know what the purpose of the link is (WCAG: 2.4.4).
Empty Heading
Some headings are empty with no text content, instead they only have an image with embedded text. This means that the heading is inaccessible for screen reader users (WCAG: 2.4.6).
Form labels
Some of the form elements are missing labels which explain the type of content to type. Some of the forms have labels which are not persistent. These labels do not remain visible when the user begins to type data in the fields (WCAG: 3.3.2).
Page structure missing landmarks
Some of the pages have elements which are not contained in appropriate landmarks such as ARIA labels and HTML 5 tags (WCAG: 1.3.1).
Disproportionate burden
This section covers issues that we cannot fix right now. We’ve assessed the cost of fixing these issues but believe that doing so would be a disproportionate burden within the meaning of the law.
Not applicable.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
This section covers issues that we do not need to fix right now. The law calls these exemptions.
Not applicable.
Third-Party content
The Online Store website runs a third party system from WPM Education, with local customisation applied by the University of Kent, which means that some aspects of its accessibility are outside of our immediate control.
To help accessibility compliance across the sector, the University of Kent supports searchBOX, a centralised, independent directory of third-party accessibility information.
searchBOX catalogues the contact information and accessibility statements of third-party suppliers, enables the sharing of community-generated accessibility statements, and allows users to map their supplier ecosystem.
Users can access third-party accessibility statements using the free searchBOX Finder service.
The University of Kent encourages all our partners and suppliers to support this effort by ensuring that their accessibility information is included in the searchBOX directory.
Preparation of this accessibility statement
This statement was prepared on 28 April 2020. It was last reviewed on 2 August 2020.
This website was last tested on 2 August 2020. The test was carried out by the University of Kent.