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Minerva Web Accessibility Statement

The University of Leeds is committed to making its digital estate accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Minerva is the University's Portal and Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) which uses Anthology’s Blackboard Learn technology. Minerva contains online teaching areas and links to other integrated tools for interactive learning, assessment and grading, and communication.

This statement applies to accessibility within the system itself, and does not cover content uploaded to Minerva. Accessibility statements for integrated tools are available separately, via the Accessibility Statements for Digital Education Systems page.

Compliance Status

Minerva is partially compliant and has been designed and developed in accordance with the internationally standard Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below. Blackboard has provided further accessibility information, including a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) available via the Blackboard Help Center.

Accessibility within Minerva

Minerva supports the use of screen readers, keyboard and swipe navigation, and speech recognition software. Adjustable browser settings for magnification are supported as well as colours, contrast and fonts.

Screen Readers

For the best experience with your screen reader, Anthology recommend using Chrome and Jaws on a Windows system, and use Safari and VoiceOver on a Mac.

Keyboard navigation and shortcuts

Industry standard keyboard interactions are used throughout to move between menus, open menus, and select items within a menu. Keyboard navigation patterns differ between browsers such as Edge, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome. The interactions within any particular browser are common and consistent.

Content editor

The content editor appears throughout your modules, such as when you participate in a discussion. The editor includes accessible controls, as well as keyboard shortcuts for formatting content created within it.

To use your keyboard to jump to the content editor toolbar, press ALT + F10. On a Mac, press Fn + ALT + F10. Use the arrow keys to select an option, such as a bulleted list.

Alternative File Formats

Minerva includes the option to download alternative formats of content in your modules through the Anthology Ally 'A' Download Alternative Formats icon next to files. Further information and a list of supported formats is available on the Digital Education Systems Help Site.

Non-accessible Content

Areas of non-compliance

Logical heading order

H2 headings are used to delineate major sections of a page. These headings are hidden and allow screen reader users to skip directly to each major page section. As such, H3 headings are typically used as the title of content items or key content elements on a page. Users may however find jumps in heading levels in some content areas such as Discussion Boards. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (Level AA).

Focus order

In some side panel dialogues, the user needs to navigate backwards to focus on the "Close" button that closes the dialogue. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A)

Navigation with zoom

Some instances where zooming up to 200% hides content, notably in Course Toolbar, with no method to view e.g. truncated text such as in Course Content. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 1.4.4 Resize text (Level AA).

Confirmation of successful actions

When an item is posted, "Posted" or "New Submissions" is displayed, but this is not communicated to assistive technology users. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criteria 4.1.3 Status Messages (Level AA).

Advisory issues

Navigation with zoom

Accordion menus do not have a visual confirmation such as a colour change or chevron indicator at higher levels of magnification, requiring users to scroll down to check if content has opened. While no content is lost so does not violate WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standards, we recognise the additional scrolling required may not be intuitive for all users.

What we are doing about known issues

University of Leeds is committed to improving accessibility across all our sites. Where issues are identified we will work to warn users and provide alternatives, while working with our vendors to enact continuous improvements. Web accessibility statements are developed through testing within the Digital Education Service in collaboration with University IT and reviewed annually.

Preparation of this Accessibility Statement

This statement was prepared on 9th June, 2023.

Auditing and testing was led by self-assessment from the Digital Education Service Systems Team, with input from third-party auditor WebUsability completed on 15th May, 2023. Testing is undertaken internally using Voiceover and TalkBack screen readers and browser-based accessibility tools in Chrome, Safari and Firefox; with auditors performing further evaluation using JAWS, Dolphin Supernova screen readers and native Mac magnification and speech recognition software.

Feedback and Contact Info

If you would like more information, find any problems not listed in this statement, or feel we're not meeting your accessibility needs, please contact the Digital Education Systems Team via the IT Service Desk.

If you encounter issues accessing learning content, please also contact your School in the first instance.

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 concerns, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).