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What the sector needs

What the sector needs. The new regulations and what we need from Jisc , GDS, Ucisa etc…. What the sector is doing. Awareness appears patchy… The digitalaccessibilityregulations@jiscmail.ac.uk Jiscmail list provides evidence of panic and confusion

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What the sector needs

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  1. What the sector needs The new regulations and what we need from Jisc, GDS, Ucisa etc…

  2. What the sector is doing • Awareness appears patchy… • The digitalaccessibilityregulations@jiscmail.ac.ukJiscmail list provides evidence of panic and confusion • Briefings and conferences springing up - well-attended and much-needed

  3. Clarity needed • On scope • On timescales • On semantics • ‘Substantial revision’ • ‘Disproportionate burden’ • On exemptions • On monitoring and enforcement • Even on the correct link to the legislation!www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/952/made

  4. Meet the key stakeholders • PolicyConnect • Trying to provide guidance, but have contributed to confusion • Government Digital Services (GDS) • Are providing guidance, but seem not to appreciate the scale of the task for HEIs – and have lost one key person • Jisc • Have been working behind-the-scenes with GDS - but have lost their ‘accessibility lead’ • Run monthly clinics • And a Working Group – FHEDAWG…

  5. Further Higher Education Digital Accessibility Working Group (FHEDAWG) Includes reps from the sector and beyond (Kent, UCL), GDS, PolicyConnect, Jisc, AbilityNet Objectives: • Create model accessibility statements. • Collate guidance & frameworks on how to meet standards. • Provide good practice guidance in areas where the government’s official guidance is not good enough. • Liaise with government and regulators to promote outputs and press government for better guidance.

  6. Notes from a conversation with GDS

  7. GDS did clarify timescales: Public-facing websites • New or updated online content published on or after 23 Sept 2018 has to comply by 22 Sept 2019.  • Existing sites (published before 23 Sept 2018) must comply by Sept 2020. Intranets (behind a password – e.g. VLEs) • New or substantially revised content published on or after 23 Sept 2019 to comply with the requirements of the regulations on publication. • Intranet content published before 23 September 2019, doesn’t have to be brought into compliance at a fixed point; they must instead be brought into compliance only when first substantially revised on or after 23 September 2019

  8. What all institutions need to do Could share ideas and examples • Understand the legislation • Identify in-scope platforms • Write accessibility statements for each platform • Develop policies More localised actions needed • Assess and prioritise remediation work • Communications plan • Enhance guidance and training • Fix stuff (platforms, content) • Establish a central point of contact

  9. Some possibly useful accessibility statements… Joint production from the awesome Ben Watson (University of Kent) and George Rhodes (Kent County Council) Technical Statement​ • Includes all of the wording from the regulations. Plain English Statement • the one we would hope most of our end users will access. A good way to help people get the best from our digital content regardless of disability… Known Issues • An overview of current issues that have been identified through auditing or user feedback

  10. A good read… On the challenges of responsibility without authority

  11. What Ucisa is planning to do • Raise awareness amongst IT Directors • Produce a Digital Accessibility Toolkit (in partnership with FHEDAWG) • Facilitate provision of legal advice on the ‘grey areas’ (maybe with Jisc) • Lobby GDS and PolicyConnect to provide more consistent, focused and practical guidance • Put pressure on vendors to improve the accessibility of their platforms • Procure/develop sector-focused guidance and training

  12. Hot off the press • Guidance from FHEDAWG - https://www.lexdis.org.uk/digital-accessibility/ on timelines and ‘what is a website’

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