Policies and Information

Web accessibility

Accessibility Statement for www.hull.ac.uk

The University of Hull is committed to making its websites accessible, in line with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. This statement applies to the main University website: www.hull.ac.uk.

Other University sites using subdomains (e.g. research centres, commercial services) are managed separately and will publish individual statements tailored to their content and technical setup.

Compliance status

The University of Hull website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.2 AA standard, due to the exemptions and issues listed below.

How our site supports accessibility

We aim to make the website usable by as many people as possible. You should be able to:

  • Zoom in up to 200% without text spilling off the screen
  • Navigate most pages using a keyboard or speech recognition tools
  • Use screen readers with structured content and semantic headings
  • Skip to main content via keyboard shortcuts
  • Adjust colours, font sizes and contrast using browser settings or plugins
  • Listen to pages with a text-to-speech tool
  • View content in immersive formats (including limited 360° tours, which may not be fully accessible)

We follow universal design principles and work towards WCAG 2.2 level AA across all our platforms.

Known accessibility issues

As this is a newly launched website, some accessibility issues may not yet be identified or documented. We are actively monitoring user feedback, running automated and manual accessibility checks, and prioritising fixes to ensure compliance and inclusive access. The statement will be updated regularly to reflect ongoing improvements

Despite our ongoing efforts, some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

PDFs and documents

  • Some PDFs are not tagged properly for screen readers
  • Reflow and zoom behaviour can be poor in older documents
  • To improve access, we recommend opening PDFs in Microsoft Word’s Web Layout view or using Immersive Reader features

Navigation and structure

  • Some pages lack descriptive titles (WCAG 2.4.2)
  • PDFs often lack heading structures (WCAG 1.3.1)
  • Resizing text may cause truncation or layout issues (WCAG 1.4.4 / 1.4.10)

Images and icons

  • Some decorative images lack proper alt attributes
  • This will be resolved by October 2025

Content not within scope

  • Pre-2018 non-essential PDFs may not be fully accessible
  • Maps may not be fully compatible with assistive technologies, but alternatives are provided
  • Third-party content (e.g. embedded social media posts or videos) may fall outside our control

Disproportionate burden

Certain accessibility issues cannot be resolved immediately. We’ve assessed the cost and impact and consider them a disproportionate burden at present:

  • Third-party tools: Full audits of third-party platforms are beyond current resource levels, though we request accessibility statements from providers
  • Live Chat and Cookie Banner: These are delivered via external suppliers. We’ve notified them of issues and will prioritise accessibility during contract renewals

How we test the website

  • Partnered with AbilityNet (2022) for a full audit of key pages
  • Automatic scans run every five days using Siteimprove
  • Manual reviews of high-traffic pages using tools like Stark
  • Limited in-house manual testing due to resource constraints

Feedback and support

If you need information in a different format (e.g. accessible PDF, large print, HTML), please contact:

Digital Team Student Recruitment & Marketing Directorate University of Hull, Cottingham Road, HU6 7RX , digital@hull.ac.uk , +44 (01482) 346311 Live Chat and Messenger are also available on our homepage

We aim to respond within five working days.

Enforcement

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) enforces the accessibility regulations. If you’re not satisfied with our response, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).