Accessibility Statement: FreshService

USW Support Portal Accessibility Statement

This accessibility statement applies to Freshservice Self-Service Portal https://support.southwales.ac.uk/ 

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This website is run by the University of South Wales. Freshservice is provided by a third-party supplier Freshworks. We configure the service but do not control the underlying code. Some accessibility limitations arise from third-party components used by the supplier within the product.

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

How accessible this website is

According to the vendor’s VPAT, the following accessibility issues are present in our deployment:

• You can see a full list of any issues we currently know about in the non-accessible content section of this statement.
• Some form instructions (for example, character limits in paragraph fields) are not announced to screen readers. 
• In a few places the accessible name/role/value of components is incorrect (for example, notification dialogs and elements with invalid ARIA values). 
• A colour-picker control in the rich-text editor cannot be operated by keyboard, although a code entry alternative is present.

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 positive 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.  

For a copy of the vendor’s VPAT or more information, please email [email protected].

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

This website is partially compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA, because of the non-compliances listed below.

The underlying assessment was performed against WCAG 2.1 AA; we are using those findings to progress to WCAG 2.2 AA.)

Non-accessible content

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

1. Incorrect programmatic names/roles/values for some components
   Some elements use invalid ARIA values and some notification dialogs (success/error) have inappropriate accessible names. Screen reader users may not reliably hear what a control is, or may not be notified of outcomes. This fails WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A).
2. Form instructions not available to assistive technologies
   A paragraph text field has a character limit, but this instruction is not exposed to screen readers. Users relying on a screen reader may exceed limits or submit without knowing constraints. This fails WCAG 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (A). 
3. Keyboard access gap in rich-text editor
   The colour-picker in the editor toolbar is not operable via keyboard, although a code entry alternative exists. This can hinder keyboard-only users when formatting descriptions.
   This fails WCAG 2.1.1 Keyboard (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 our website.

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

We do not rely on “out of scope” exemptions for this service. Where users add their own content (for example, screenshots in tickets), accessibility of that user-generated content may vary. Our preference is to manage issues with the supplier rather than to exclude content from scope.

European Accessibility Act (EAA)

While this website is designed to meet the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018, which require compliance with WCAG 2.2 Level AA, we are actively reviewing and updating our content and services in line with the European Accessibility Act (EAA), which comes 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 section 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

This statement is based primarily on Freshworks’ Accessibility Conformance Report (VPAT® 2.5, International — WCAG 2.1 & 2.2 / Revised Section 508) for Freshservice Requester Portal, report date 13 May 2025.

This website was last tested on 13/05/2025. 

This statement was prepared on 22/10/2025. 

It was last reviewed on 22/10/2025

This accessibility statement is reviewed annually.