Accessibility statement for Application Portal

The University of South Wales runs this application portal for prospective students applying to courses. It is accessed through unique course-instance application links on our course pages. While we configure the service and manage access to it, we do not fully control the underlying code. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this portal and are committed to making the application process as clear, accessible and inclusive as possible for all users.

This statement applies to pages within the domain of apply.southwales.ac.uk.

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This website is run by the University of South Wales. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

• Zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
• Navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
• Navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
• Listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
• We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible. You can see a full list of any issues we currently know about in the non-accessible content section of this statement.

1. Some form fields do not have labels, so screen reader users may not know what information to enter. 
2. Some tasks cannot be completed using only a keyboard. 
3. Some tables look like data tables but are not coded properly, so screen readers cannot read them. 
4. Some tables have missing or incomplete headers, making it hard for screen reader users to understand the content. 
5. Some pages do not show a visible focus indicator, so keyboard users cannot see where they are on the page. 
6. Some elements are not correctly identified to assistive technologies, which can make them confusing to use.
7. Some text does not have enough colour contrast with the background, making it hard to read. 
8. In some tables, headers are not properly linked to their cells, which makes the information unclear for screen reader users. 
9. Keyboard focus can move to hidden elements or outside the intended area, making navigation confusing. 
10. Some buttons and controls have low contrast, which makes them hard to see. 
11. Screen readers can sometimes read out content behind a modal window, which causes confusion. 
12. In some modals, keyboard focus is not kept inside the window, so users can get lost when navigating.

Alternative formats

We've designed our content to be as accessible as possible. However, if you experience barriers, you can request alternate formats.

For more information, please email [email protected] or contact us. 

Feedback and contact information

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website.

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 feedback on the accessibility considerations made.

When contacting us, please provide:    

• the web address (URL) of the page where you found the problem
• what the problem is, and whether you were using a mobile or desktop device
• the name and, if possible, version of the web browser you were using
• any assistive technology you use, for example a screen reader 

Please email [email protected] or contact us. 

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

The University of South Wales 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

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard. 

This website is not compliant with the  Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard.

Non-accessible content

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

1. Some form fields are missing labels, so screen reader users cannot identify them.
   This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A).
2. Some actions cannot be carried out using only a keyboard.
   This fails WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard (A).
3. Some pages do not show a visible focus indicator, so keyboard users cannot see where they are on the page.
   This fails WCAG 2.4.7 Focus Visible (AA).
4. Some text and controls have low colour contrast, making them hard to read for users with visual impairments.
   This fails WCAG 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (AA).
5. Some elements are missing or have the wrong role, which can confuse assistive technologies.
   This fails WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A).
6. Some modal windows do not keep keyboard focus inside them, so users can get lost when navigating.
   This fails WCAG 2.4.3 Focus Order (A).
7. Screen readers can sometimes read content behind a modal window, which causes confusion.
   This fails WCAG 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence (A).
8. Some tables look like data tables but are not coded properly, so screen readers cannot interpret them.
   This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A).
9. Some data tables are missing or have incomplete headers, which makes the content unclear for screen reader users.
   This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A).
10. In some tables, headers are not correctly linked to their cells, so relationships between information are unclear.
    This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A).
11. Some pages lack a clear page title, so users may not know where they are.
    This fails WCAG 2.4.2 Page Titled (A).
12. Some groups of form controls are not associated with a common label, making them harder to understand. This fails WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A).

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

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.

Ongoing improvements are made dynamically throughout the year following feedback from our ongoing audit processes and users.

Disproportionate burden

We are not claiming a disproportionate burden for this website.

Our application portal is a legacy service. It will be replaced as part of the Student Journey project. The timeline is being set, and this page will be updated when confirmed.

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

At this time, we have not identified any content that is not within scope of the accessibility regulations.

European Accessibility Act (EAA)

While we aim to meet the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018, which require compliance with WCAG 2.2 Level AA, our application portal includes legacy elements that do not yet fully meet these standards. We are reviewing and improving the portal and its content as part of our wider work to strengthen accessibility and support the expectations of the European Accessibility Act (EAA), which came into effect on 28 June 2025.

This website is partially compliant with technical standard EN 301 549 v.3.2.1. See Non-accessibility content for more details.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

The University of South Wales is doing the following to improve accessibility:

• We are developing a Digital Accessibility Policy

We have a Digital Accessibility Working Group to monitor and coordinate Digital Accessibility of our Services and Systems

Preparation of this accessibility statement

Pages and documents from across the site were tested against WCAG 2.2 AA using axe DevTools Pro v4.10.0 and Chrome Lighthouse 12.2.0. Tests ran on Mac OSX and Windows in Firefox and Chrome.

This website was last tested on 16/06/2025.

This statement was prepared on 16/06/2025.

It was last reviewed on 16/06/2025

This accessibility statement is reviewed annually.