Accessibility statement for the tuas.fi main website

Turku University of Applied Sciences (TUAS) is committed to guarantee the accessibility of its websites in accordance with the Act on the Provision of Digital Services. This accessibility statement covers the WordPress websites of TUAS (separate projects and services, several different websites). The original statement has been created on 13 September 2019 and updated on 21 November 2019.

The accessibility of TUAS’ WordPress websites has been evaluated by Geniem Oy in May 2019. The evaluation is based on the international Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) by W3C (the World Wide Web Consortium). All websites have been checked with an automatic tool, Deque aXe v3.8.0 (axecore 3.2.2).

In the manual process, the websites were tested as follows:

•  With a keyboard on a regular desktop computer (macOS operating system and Firefox browser were used in the testing)
•  With the Safari browser and VoiceOver screen reader
•  On iOS, with the Safari browser and VoiceOver screen reader
• On an Android phone, with the Chrome browser and TalkBac screen reader On a Windows desktop computer, with the Edge browser in high contrast mode

Some of TUAS’ websites in the WordPress online service environment have been launched on 23 September 2018 or after, some earlier. The accessibility assessment applies all websites.

The status of accessibility of the WordPress websites

The WordPress websites managed by TUAS mainly meet the essential A and mediumlevel AA accessibility requirements. In the web services, the requirements of harmonized standards, which apply the perceivability, robustness, operability and understandability of the services, are considered.

• The websites can be navigated with a keyboard. The focus order is logical.

• The responsiveness of the websites on screens of different sizes is good.

• The accessibility of PDF files is in order. A change has been made in the Office specifications of TUAS, in which the ISO 19005-1 PDF/A-format has been set as the default saving format when saving files in PDF format in Office products.

Non-accessible content of WordPress websites

TECHNICAL DEFICIENCIES

The needs to correct the templates of the websites have been considered and concrete corrections to the websites have been made in November 2019.

Instructions and an accessibility review have been created for the content producers of the WordPress websites to correct e.g. the following deficiencies:

• alt texts for photos and other embedded media
• descriptive subheadings and conforming to a good title hierarchy descriptive and individual link texts
• adequate colour contrasts The information/service can be obtained in an alternative way by contacting the contact persons listed on the website.

VISUAL DEFICIENCIES

Some of the visual deficiencies are related to the abovementioned alternative ways of presenting the web content and the distinguishability of different elements. In some cases, at least the following actions require more careful attention:

• Adding the alt text (alternative text) to photos

• Writing out all graphics on the website Considering an adequately clear colour contrast in terms of the elements on top of the background

OTHER CONTENT-RELATED DEFICIENCIES

On the websites, we consider the accessibility requirements of the video material and possible sound transmissions published on the website according to the implementation time they are obligated by.

OTHER DEFICIENCIES

On some WordPress sites of TUAS, there are additionally individual, mild deficiencies such as

• the social media feed cannot be bypassed with the keyboard or assistive technology and
• it is not possible to completely control the heading hierarchy. In the future, all the above-mentioned issues are considered in the website development and maintenance.

Did you notice an accessibility deficiency on our WordPress website?

The maintainers of the WordPress websites have been notified of all the corrective actions specified above. If you notice accessibility problems on a website, start by giving feedback to the maintainer of the website or TUAS’ Communications Services via email, viestinta@turkuamk.fi. It may take 14 days until you receive a reply. We do our best to correct the deficiency.

If you’re not satisfied with the answer you have been given or do not get a response within two weeks at all, you can give feedback to the Regional State Administrative Agency of Southern Finland:

Saavutettavuuden valvonnan yksikkö (Unit of accessibility supervision) saavutettavuusvaatimukset.fi saavutettavuus(at)avi.fi, telephone exchange 0295 016 000

We constantly strive to improve accessibility

Turku University of Applied Sciences is committed to improve the accessibility of the WordPress websites it maintains. We take accessibility into account e.g. as follows:

•  An accessibility assessment has been carried out on our WordPress websites in May 2019,
•  accessibility belongs to our mission statement and internal practices,
• an overview and instructions for the maintainers have been created on the accessibility of online services and
• in the future, we will provide our employees support and training related to accessibility.

The A ct on the Provision of Digital Services (the text is available only in Finnish) is based on the Directive (EU) on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies . According to it, everyone shall have equal rights to access digital services.

Accessibility statement of the Turkuamk.itslearning.com service

This accessibility statement applies the turkuamk.itslearning.com service. 

Turku University of Applied Sciences is committed to improve the accessibility of its digital services.

Preparing this accessibility statement

This accessibility statement has been created on 5 November 2020 and it has been updated on 22 February 2023. In the evaluation, the usability, and functions of the itslearning site were compared with the EU’s Web Accessibility Directive and meeting the requirements set by levels A and AA in the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines). 

The technical accessibility of the service has been evaluated by Turku UAS’ own experts with the WebAIM Wave accessibility evaluation tool, Funkify disability simulator and Siteimprove Accessibility Checker tools on the Chrome browser. In addition, the accessibility check of the Itslearning content editor was tested with a usability check tool integrated into the content editor.

Status of accessibility of the digital service

As an entity, the accessibility of the turkuamk.itslearning.com service meets the requirements of levels A and AA in part. The accessibility statement created by the supplier can be read at itslearning.com/global/your-data-matters/accessibility/

Detected deficiencies in the technical accessibility 

The observations listed below apply especially the language selection on the login page, the home page, the course icon banner, and the main navigation.

•  Very low contrast.
• Some images are missing a text alternative or alt text. 
• You can't add alt text to images used in notifications on the Overview page.
• It is not possible to mark an image of a new planner as an illustration, nor is it possible to add a caption or alt text to it.
• Missing form label or empty form label
• Broken ARIA menu.
• Missing page title.
•  Button without name.
• Link without name.
• Main navigation keeps disappearing.

We are aware of possible deficiencies in terms of published contents. We will take accessibility into account in our everyday communications and in the further development of the service. 

Non-accessible content

In education and early childhood education, teaching contents which do not yet meet the accessibility requirements can be used temporarily and in a limited group. A period of one semester is considered temporary use. 

The exception enables that the teacher and students can, for example, produce contents to be utilized in the teaching without knowing the accessibility requirements in depth or technologies which would support the implementation of accessible contents. Along with the exception, new services and contents can also be tested within the limited group.

If the digital teaching material or service, which has been in temporary use, is introduced permanently, it must meet the accessibility requirements. Often learning environments and online courses are utilized year after year, and in this case, they should be implemented accessibly. Also, when the teacher uses the same teaching video one academic year after another, it is not temporary use and thus the video must be accessible.

Our website does not yet meet the requirements in all respects.

Observable deficiencies 

• Infographics and other illustrations: all pictures on the course pages do not have alt text.
• Video presentations: some of the videos uploaded on the course pages lack subtitles.
• Files: all files on the course pages are not accessible.

Did you notice an accessibility problem in our digital service?

Tell us about it and we’ll do our best to correct the deficiency.

The teacher is responsible for the accessibility of the course contents. If you noticed a problem in the materials, you can ask the course materials and assignments in accessible format directly from the course teacher.

If you notice accessibility problems in the service, please first give feedback to us i.e. the website admins. You can contact us by email at itslearning (at) turkuamk.fi. It may take 14 days until you receive a reply.
 
Supervising authority
If you’re not satisfied with the answer you have been given or do not get a response within two weeks at all, you can file a report to the Regional State Administrative Agency of Southern Finland (the website is in Finnish). The website of the Regional State Administrative Agency of Southern Finland describes in detail, how the report should be filed and how it will be processed (in Finnish).

Contact information to the supervising authority
Regional State Administrative Agency of Southern Finland
Saavutettavuuden valvonnan yksikkö (Unit of accessibility monitoring)
www.webaccessibility.fi/
saavutettavuus(at)avi.fi
telephone exchange +358 295 016 000