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Accessibility statement for MySouthampton

Contents

We aim to make the MySouthampton mobile application and web experience accessible to disabled people, and we commit to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 at level AA. At present, the app is partially compliant with WCAG 2.2 AA due to the non-compliances listed below.

This statement applies to the MySouthampton mobile application for web browsers, iOS, and Android, for the latest version 1.0.118 for Android and for Apple iOS (published in October 2025)

We run this service for students at the University of Southampton.

The MySouthampton app is run by the University of Southampton in partnership with Learning Mate. 

We want as many people as possible to be able to use this mobile application and web experience. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • Change contrast levels with light/dark mode
  • Be able to navigate most of the application using a keyboard or speech recognition software
  • Be able to listen to most of the application using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)

We’ve also made the 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 app is

We know some parts of this app do not meet accessibility requirements. You may face issues with focus order and keyboard navigation, structure and labelling, colour and text contrast, status messages, pointer interactions, and zoom/reflow on several screens.

Feedback and contact information

If you find a problem or need content in a different format (for example, accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio, or braille), please contact the University of Southampton’s iSolutions ServiceLine.

Contact options:

  • You can log your request through the service portal . 
  • If your enquiry is not urgent, you can email ServiceLine@soton.ac.uk .
  • You can call:
    • 023 8059 5656 from the UK
    • +44 (0)23 8059 5656 if you are calling internationally

The phone lines are open from 08:30 – 18:00 Monday – Friday, each day the University is open.

We will review your request and respond.

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 app’s accessibility

The University of Southampton is committed to making its mobile application accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

This app has been tested against WCAG 2.2 AA. It is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Login and authentication

  1. The ‘Login with University ID’ dialogue does not expose a proper role, name, and state to assistive technologies, which fails 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).
  2. The ‘Login with University ID’ box does not announce its role of “dialog”. This is a failure of 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).
  3. Focus does not move into the dialogue on open, does not return to the trigger on close, and does not cycle within the dialogue, which fails 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A).
  4. The slider at the top of the login dialogue is non-functional and does not expose a valid control name and role, which fails 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).

Email – compose

  1. The error text under invalid addresses in the To and Cc fields has insufficient colour contrast, which fails 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (Level AA). Screen readers do not announce the error.
  2. Toolbar buttons above the message editor, and colour-picker buttons within expanded menus, do not have accessible names, which fails 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).
  3. Expanded menus do not indicate which option is currently selected, visually or programmatically, which fails 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).
  4. Expanded ‘Styles’, ‘Foreground colour’, ‘Background colour’, and ‘Align’ controls have insufficient text and non-text contrast, which fails 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (Level AA) and 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (Level AA).
  5. The ‘styles’, ‘foreground colour’, ‘background colour’ and ‘align’ buttons become expanded or collapsed as soon as the mouse button is pressed, which fails 2.5.2 Pointer Cancellation (Level A).
  6. After sending an email, the app does not announce a confirmation via a status message, which fails 4.1.3 Status Messages (Level AA).
  7. Icons in the editor do not meet non-text contrast in dark high-contrast mode, which fails 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (Level AA).
  8. Foreground and background colours in the colour pickers are not visible in high-contrast modes, which fails 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (Level AA).

Email – viewing and message list

  1. The ‘more options’ (three dots) button appears before the To line in the Document Object Model (DOM, which breaks the meaningful reading sequence and fails 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) and 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence (Level A).
  2. Deleting an email does not request confirmation, which fails 3.3.4 Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data) (Level AA).
  3. After deleting an email, the app does not announce the result via a status message, which fails 4.1.3 Status Messages (Level AA).

Calendar

  1. Users cannot close dialogue boxes in Week and Month views using a keyboard, which fails 2.1.1 Keyboard (Level A).
  2. Calendar grid lines do not meet non-text contrast, which fails 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (Level AA).

Home, News, and Events

  1. News cards and Home page ‘News & Announcements’ cards are not marked up as lists, which fails 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).
  2. Focus does not land on the Back button after selecting ‘View All’ and does not return to the original trigger, which fails 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A) on the News page, the University events page, and several Home page views.
  3. On the Home page ‘Events for you’, the main content lacks correct structure and roles, which fails 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A), 3.2.2 On Input (Level A), and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).
  4. The ‘Clubs and Special Interest’ tag on event cards has insufficient colour contrast, which fails 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (Level AA).
  5. On ‘Today’s Agenda’ ‘View All’, content is cut off at higher zoom levels, which fails 1.4.10 Reflow (Level AA).

ID Card

  1. Focus does not move between ‘Tap to view full screen barcode’ and ‘Tap to exit full screen barcode’ as expected, which fails 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A).
  2. The barcode cannot be read by a screen reader due to aria-label used that overrides inner text, this fails 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).

Search Function

  1. After clicking on the Search button, a dialogue box opens which is unlabelled, which fails 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)
  2. The search results is not a tabbed interface, and should be in a list which fails 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A) and 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)
  3. After selecting the ‘Clear All’ button, focus is lost, which fails 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A)
  4. There is no live region announcement for when the search is ongoing, which fails 4.1.3 Status Messages (Level AA)

In the ‘More’ section

  1. At 300% zoom and above, the top of the Profile content is cut off, which fails 1.4.10 Reflow (Level AA).
  2. Lists in ‘Terms of Use’ are not marked up as lists, which fails 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).
  3. The text ‘In emergency’ on Emergency Contacts requires a heading, which fails 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A)
  1. On mouse hover, the main list of buttons (for example, ‘Academic’, ‘Student Information’) and sub-page link lists (for example, ‘Attendance’) have insufficient colour contrast in high-contrast modes, which fails 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (Level AA).
  2. As you zoom using Ctrl+Plus, the top user information section is cut off; this fails 1.4.4 Resize text (Level AA) and 1.4.10 Reflow (Level AA).
  3. After opening ‘View Profile’ ‘Academic’, or similar sections, focus does not land on the Back button and does not return to the original trigger, which fails 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A).

Splash screens and privacy notice

  1. The main content on splash screens is focusable because it sits in a scrollable container, which creates navigation problems affecting mobile screen readers and fails 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A).
  2. The ‘Skip’, ‘Login with University ID’ and ‘Visit our Website’ buttons do not meet non-text contrast on hover, which fails 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (Level AA).
  3. The ‘Decline’ button’s background in the Privacy Notice has insufficient contrast, which fails 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (Level AA).

Zoom and reflow (all pages after login and selected pop-ups)

  1. After pressing ‘Decline’, the ‘I understand’ button in the Privacy Notice pop-up is cut off at 400% zoom, which fails 1.4.10 Reflow (Level AA).
  2. Splash screen content and controls are cut off or unusable from 150% upwards zoom, which fails 1.4.4 Resize text (Level AA) and 1.4.10 Reflow (Level AA).
  3. After login, the header and footer occupy too much vertical space at higher zoom levels, which constricts or hides main content and fails 1.4.10 Reflow (Level AA).

Disproportionate burden

We have not made any disproportionate burden claims.

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

We do not list content here at present.

Other known issues (advisory)

These issues affect usability but are not Level A/AA WCAG failures; we plan to address them.

  1. The three-dot options box on email cannot be dismissed with TalkBack in the same way as without TalkBack. The underlying issue aligns with AAA guidance and current good practice.
  2. Email compose includes a ‘ghost’ text area when TalkBack is on.
  3. The app runs slowly with TalkBack on in Calendar.
  4. The Privacy Notice block does not use semantic elements such an aside or commentary region or landmark. This means those who use screen readers cannot quickly navigate to this area, but does not prevent them from accessing it.
  5. The bottom navigation items are not coded as a list.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We will prioritise fixes that unblock keyboard and focus, contrast and visibility, and zoom/reflow. We will then address structure and labelling, status messages, and pointer interactions.

The roadmap of priorities to improve accessibility are:

  1. To Correct the focus order issue in More menu, sub-pages and Home page sections.
  2. To optimise the screen design and updates for 200% zoom.
  3. To fix some of the button versus background colour contrast.
  4. To improve usability of app for screen readers (currently experiencing lag).
  5. To complete a feasibility check for improving contrast issues in 3rd party plugins used in the app (e.g. Quill editor in email). 

We will update this statement as we release improvements.

How we tested

Our development partner LearningMate and the University of Southampton tested the app. We tested the web app in modern browsers, and the native app on iOS and Android. We used TalkBack, VoiceOver, and JAWS. We based this statement on the detailed issue log exported for this release.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 18 September 2025. It was last reviewed on 18 September 2025. This app was last tested on 18 September 2025 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.

The test was carried out by LearningMate and the University of Southampton. We sampled key user journeys and high-traffic screens, and we validated behaviour with the assistive technologies listed above.

Notes on this statement

  1. We created this statement using the GOV.UK model accessibility statement structure for public sector bodies.
  2. We compiled the non-compliance list from our internal CSV of verified issues across app features.

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