We have attempted to follow relevant standards and good practice for accessibility and usability while developing the University website, including the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
We have also tested the site extensively in a wide range of browsers and settings to ensure the site functionality is available to as many users as possible.
Access keys help users who find it difficult to use pointing devices (a mouse) to navigate. They use a combination of keys and numbers to navigate around the website.
Windows users will find access keys take precedence over application commands which can still be accessed from the keyboard by first typing the menu shortcut key (usually ALT) followed by the letter or number corresponding to the desired menu item.
Browser | Windows | Linux | Mac |
---|---|---|---|
Internet Explorer | [Alt] + accesskey | N/A | N/A |
Chrome | [Alt] + accesskey | [Alt] + accesskey | [Control] [Alt] + accesskey |
Firefox | [Alt] [Shift] + accesskey | [Alt] [Shift] + accesskey | [Control] [Alt] + accesskey |
Safari | [Alt] + accesskey | N/A | [Control] [Alt] + accesskey |
Opera | Opera 15 or newer: [Alt] + accesskey Opera 12.1 or older: [Shift] [Esc] + accesskey |
N/A | N/A |
Users of screen reader will find that disabling the use of CSS in their browser means the first link on each page is a skip navigation link. This can also be triggered using the access key mentioned above.
An EU directive on the accessibility of websites and web applications of public sector bodies came into force in September 2018. This was passed into UK law entitled as the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. This law reinforces the need to follow the standards above and in particular those defined in WCAG 2.1 AA standards.
We constantly review our web pages to ensure that we are compliant with this legislation. If you come across a part of our site that is difficult to use or could be improved in terms of accessibility or usability we apologise and would be very grateful if you could email us at d.honeyman@tees.ac.uk. Your feedback is an invaluable part of helping us improve our site
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has useful tips on contacting organisations about inaccessible websites.
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