Accessibility

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

This statement covers our website which was published after 23 September 2018. 

This website is run by South Lanarkshire College and is on the https://www.slc.ac.uk/ domain.

The accessibility regulations aim to help make sure online public services are accessible to all users.  We want as many people as possible to be able to use our website as accessibility and inclusiveness is a key objective of the College’s mission.

This means that you should be able to:

  • Change colours, contrast levels and font style
  • Zoom in up to 300% without impacting the functionality of the website
  • Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
  • Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
  • Listen to most of the website using a screen reader
  • Understand the website text
  • View alternative text alongside non-decorative images (so people who cannot see them understand what they are there for)
  • See transcript or closed captions with video and audio materials
  • Download documents in alternative formats

Providing support where our website is not accessible

If you find that a certain section of our website is not accessible and you can’t get access to the information that you need, or you need information in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, then please contact us using our online contact form. We will try and respond as quickly as possible, but this will be no more than 5 working days.

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

Reporting accessibility problems with our website

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of our website.  If you find a problem that isn’t already listed, or you think we are not meeting the requirements of the current accessibility regulations (Public Sector Bodies (Website and Mobile Applications) (No.2) Accessibility Regulations 2018) please use this feedback form (link).  We will ask you for the web address (URL) of the page and a description of the problem.  We will also ask for your name and email address so that we can contact you about your feedback.  You should expect to hear back from us within 5 working days.

Enforcement Procedure

If you have a complaint about the accessibility of our website, you should raise a complaint via the College’s complaint procedure.  If you are not happy with our response and all our procedures have been exhausted, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Website and Mobile Applications) (No.2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 and you can take up your complaint about the accessibility of the website with the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).  Contact details for the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS)

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

Our reception points have audio induction loops, or if you contact us before your visit, we can arrange a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter.

Find out how to contact us here.

Technical information about the accessibility of our documents

South Lanarkshire College is committed to making our website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Website and Mobile Applications) (No.2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Disproportionate burden

We have carried out a ‘disproportionate burden’ assessment and have decided that making some of the website content and older legacy documents accessible right away would be a disproportionate burden for the College.  As part of our ongoing improvement plan, we will continue to fix or replace sections of our website including content and documents to meet accessibility standards.

Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Campus Maps

It is unlikely that that the campus maps are fully accessible.  However, maps are currently not within the scope of the regulations.

PDFs and other documents

Some of the content on our website was created to earlier WCAG standards (e.g. WCAG 2.0).

Many of our older legacy PDFs and Word documents do not meet accessibility standards – for example they may not be structured so they are accessible to a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 (name, role value).

Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services.  For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our services.  We plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages.

The accessibility regulations do not require to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they are not essential to providing our services.  For example, we do not plan to fix archive materials such as news articles published before 2018. 

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

British Sign Language Plan

Our British Sign Language Plan 2023-2029 can be viewed BSL plan

Please watch the video to learn about our BSL plan coming soon BSL Plan 2023 - 2029

What we are doing to improve accessibility?

Regular automated and manual audits are taking place to identify accessibility issues. This includes the use of accessibility assessment software followed by a prioritisation of actions to address issues.

Accessibility improvements

Accessibility improvements, bug fixes and ongoing development work to fix issues will be recorded to a keep a record of work completed.

Accessibility Improvement Action Plan produced to identify key issues with set timelines for completion.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 16 November 2022.