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Portico: Student Deposits accessibility statement

This accessibility statement applies to UCL Portico: Student Deposits

UCL Portico: Student Deposits is a UCL and Flywire webpage application. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website, which means that you should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate the website using speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader

There are a number of customisation options for your browser and device that could help you use this website and other websites more effectively. AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

Feedback and contact information

Please contact us if you have an accessibility query including:

  • If you are experiencing issues with accessing information or using the website
  • If you find an accessibility problem not listed on this statement
  • If you have positive feedback on the accessibility considerations made. 

When you contact Student DepositsTeam, there is a process in place that will acknowledge your contact, tell you who is dealing with it and give you a timescale by which you can expect a reply.

We aim to respond to all contacts within 3-5 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We formally test the accessibility of key user journeys that represent the breadth of content across our website on a regular basis against WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) 2.2 AA standards.

We're always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we're not meeting accessibility requirements, please contact us.

Read tips on contacting organisation about inaccessible websites.

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 complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about this website's accessibility 

University College London is committed to making this website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Portico: Student Deposits site-wide observations

There are buttons on various pages that are classed as links and vice versa. The labelling of these items needs consistency to enable a good user journey. This fails WCAG 3.2.4 Consistent Identification (AA) and WCAG 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation (AA).

When zoomed in to 400% there is a hamburger menu that does not get focus. This is a main Portico issue. This fails WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow (AA) and WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible (A).

There are a number of page tabs that have inconsistent naming structures. Users who are blind and rely on these names when moving through pages would get lost easily. This fails WCAG 2.4.2 Page Titled (A).

Throughout this application there are colour contrast issues with specific areas of Portico. This has a contrast ratio of 2.84:1. Expected contrast ratio should be 4.5:1 or higher. We suggest darkening the background to achieve this, but this is a system-wide change. This fails WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (AA).

There is some hidden text on the page called “Group start Statement” inserted just below the heading Statement. This serves no purpose to the end user and could confuse a user when moving through the page. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A). 

Student Deposit Screens - various stages

On the main landing page for deposits there is information about enrolment that is in a table. An issue with this table is that in the 3rd column there are 3 buttons that are all read out once you move to it. A suggestion would be to remove the table as this is only for asthetic purposes. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A).

There is a breadcrumb navigation menu on top of the deposit pages informating the user where they are in the process. Currently the stages are not alligned to the page you are on and need to changed to make sense to the user. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A).

There are a number of mandatory fields within Student Deposits that are only marked up via colour, where other pages on the same flow are marked with an asterisk. This fails WCAG 1.4.1 Use of Colour (A).

Throughout Student Deposits screens the user can choose an amount to pay, but when you enter the box to add an amount there is no confirmation of the required format needed. If the format is incorrect the user only knows once they try to move to the next page. This fails WCAG 3.3.2 Labels and Instructions (A)

There is no easy way to cancel a payment after you have entered an amount. You have to move to the next screens to be able to do this. This fails WCAG 3.3.4 Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data) (AA).

A student has the ability to search numerous deposit transactions, entering in differing search criteria. Once the criteria has the first letter entered the search takes place, but the user is not told anything is happening. This dynamic search can be confusing for users who cannot see the screen as they would not know when the search is completed. This fails WCAG 4.1.3 Status Messages and WCAG 3.2.2 On Input (A).

There are various links at certain stages of the deposit screens that would send the user to the UCL webpage or another part of the system, but these links are hard to read as they contain the whole URL. This fails WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (A).

A student can download a fee notification letter. Once this letter is downloaded, if magnified to 250% or over, scroll bars are added making it difficult for users to read. This fails WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow (AA).

There is a link at the bottom of the Flywire page to cancel the payment and move back to the UCL page, but this 'Cancel' option at the footer of Flywire web portal is not labelled as such and is confusing. This fails WCAG 2.4.4 Link Purpose (A).

When the View Application Form button is pressed a new HTML page is created showing student details. There are various issues with this page that are noted below:

  • UCL logo presented over the top of text.
  • Colour contrast ratio is at 4.1:1. This fails WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (AA).
  • Text overlaps at 400% zoom. This fails WCAG 1.4.10 Reflow (AA).
  • Presentation of text from the middle of the page (advisory note).

There is a note to students when payment is meant to be made by on the Financial Deposits page. This note occurs after the link to pay the deposit. Have suggested to move this information before. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A).

Students are able to download a statement after payment, in PDF format. The PDF produced for Students have accessibility issues relating to headings, structure, and labelling. UCL is currently working to make these files more accessible.
 
If you find an issue that we have yet to identify, please contact us using one of the routes described in the ‘Reporting accessibility problems with this website’ section of this statement.

Disproportionate burden

At this time, we have not made any disproportionate burden claims.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

This section covers issues that we do not need to fix right now. The law calls these exemptions.

Third-party content

Our websites contain third-party content. We do not have control over and are not responsible for the accessibility of this content, but we make best endeavours to work with the third-party to improve its accessibility. This may include:

  • links to non-UCL websites
  • content/functionality on our website
  • content hosted on other websites, such as social media sites.

To help accessibility compliance across the sector, University College London supports searchBOX, a centralised, independent directory of third-party accessibility information. 

searchBOX catalogues the contact information and accessibility statements of third-party suppliers, enables the sharing of community-generated accessibility statements, and allows users to map their supplier ecosystem. 

Users can access third-party accessibility statements using the free searchBOX Finder service. 

University College London encourages all our partners and suppliers to support this effort by ensuring that their accessibility information is included in the searchBOX directory. 

Our testing processes

We tested the website using a combination of manual and automated checks alongside reference to the existing conformance reports provided by Flywire. If you find an issue we have not yet identified, you can report it to us. We’ll pass this information to the website owner who will review the issue, make sure it is included in our plan to fix issues and add it into the accessibility statement when it is next updated.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 27 July 2023. It was last reviewed on 27 July 2023. This application was last tested on 27 July 2023. The test was carried out by UCL.

Flywire VPAT can be found here: Flywire Accessibility report.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

University College London (UCL) are working to fix or provide alternatives for all issues that we are made aware of and as identified by our periodic internal testing and auditing processes.