Accessibility  Third-party accessibility statements

This accessibility statement applies to the University of Leeds ‘Parky’ chatbot.

This chatbot is supplied to the University by ICS.AI and some of its content is maintained by the University. We want as many people as possible to use this chatbot. 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 chatbot using just a keyboard
• listen to most of the chatbot 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.

While we are working actively to resolve the accessibility issues with our relevant websites and services AbilityNet has advice that may make our digital properties more usable in their current state.

How accessible the ‘Parky’ chatbot is

We know some parts of this chatbot are not fully accessible, such as the following:

• some button links are not announced by screen readers as links until they receive focus
• the focus indicator is not always visible
• you cannot modify the colours, contrast or text line height
• some form elements do not have useful labels.

The chatbot is considered a pilot so has limited functionality. It is also considered an alternative route to access information available on our student website and from our Student Information Service. 
 
You can also contact the Student Information Service:

• Email the Student Information Service at studentinfo@leeds.ac.uk
• Phone the Student Information Service on 0800 915 0402
• In person: Visit a Student Information Point on campus, information is available on the student help page. 

Please consider using these resources to find the information you cannot access through the chatbot. 

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this chatbot in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please contact the IT Service Desk:

• Web: Use either the contact form for people who cannot log in to the IT site or the contact form for people who can log in.
• Phone: Call the IT Service Desk on 0113 343 3333

Reporting accessibility problems with this chatbot

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this chatbot. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact the IT Service Desk: 

• Web: Use either the contact form for people who cannot log in to the IT site or the contact form for people who can log in.
• Phone: Call the IT Service Desk on 0113 343 3333

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).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

More information about access to our campus is available in information for disabled visitors.

If you have any specific questions, details for different sections of the University are listed on our contact page. 

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

The chatbot provider, ICS.AI, is committed to providing an accessible experience for users. There are planned fixes for known issues where it’s possible to provide them.

Preparation of the University of Leeds ‘Parky’ chatbot accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 15 September 2021. It was last updated on 13 January 2023.

The University of Leeds is committed to making its third-party web content accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

This accessibility statement applies to the University of Leeds Information Governance training system, hosted in the Learning Pool system.

The Learning Pool system comprises a Learning Management System (LMS) that hosts the training, and e-learning modules from the Learning Pool ‘Ready-made’ Libraries that have been customised by the University.

The training modules contain interactive components such as multiple-choice questions, horizontal scrolling, accordions and hot graphics. There are no audio, video or animated components.

Learning Pool’s own accessibility statements for its LMS and its ‘Ready-made’ Libraries can be read at the following locations:

• Accessibility statement for Learning Pool LMS
• Accessibility statement for Learning Pool ‘Ready-made’ Libraries

Compliance status

The University of Leeds Information Governance training system is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 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

We have identified the following accessibility issues with the e-learning modules and are working with the supplier to resolve these:

• On macOS using the VoiceOver screen reader with the Safari browser, it’s not always possible to tab to all interactive elements on a page. This doesn’t meet success criterion 2.1.1 Keyboard. Users affected are encouraged to rely on VoiceOver commands such as the ‘Move to next’ (VO key and right arrow key) and ‘Move to previous’ (VO key and left arrow key) commands in VoiceOver, or to use the Firefox browser.
• On iOS using the VoiceOver screen reader, having completed an action on a page the focus is in the wrong place. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.3 Focus Order. Users affected can request a text-only, Word transcript of the module content.
• Using NVDA on Windows 10 with the Chrome browser, course pages can’t be launched from the home page menu using the keyboard. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.1.1 Keyboard. Users affected are encouraged to use the Firefox browser as an alternative.
• There are broken ARIA references on the course home pages that may affect your understanding of the content. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships; 4.1.1 Parsing; 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value.
• There is an invalid ARIA attribute value on all course pages that may make it harder to engage with the content for some screen reader users. This doesn’t meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value. Users affected can request a text-only, Word transcript of the module content.

Recommendations

Windows users

NVDA screen reader users are encouraged to use the Firefox browser due to the difficulties with using NVDA with the Chrome browser as noted under ‘Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations’.

Mac users

VoiceOver users are encouraged to use the Firefox browser due to the difficulties with tabbing around some parts of the content while using the Safari browser, as noted under ‘Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations’.

iOS users

Some parts of the training may be hard to access for VoiceOver users, as noted under ‘Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations’. These users may prefer a text-only, Word transcript. See the ‘Requesting and text-only, Word transcript’ section for details of how to request this.

Requesting a text-only, Word transcript

Please contact the IT Service Desk via the Request Catalogue using the ‘Log a General Request’ option if the accessibility shortcomings of the training system mean a text-only, Word transcript of the content of the Information Governance training modules would be more convenient for you. 

Requesting in this way allows a record to be kept of your engagement with the training. We can then manually mark the training as complete against your user record when you have later confirmed that you have read the transcript and questions.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 4 April 2022.

This statement for the University of Leeds Information Governance training system was prepared through automated and manual testing of the system by the University of Leeds. It was evaluated against all WCAG 2.1 AA criteria.

This statement was last reviewed on 4 April 2022.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information in the University of Leeds Information Governance training system in a format other than a text-only transcript, like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please contact the IT Service Desk:

• Web: Use either the contact form for people who cannot log in to the IT site or the contact form for people who can log in.
• Phone: Call the IT Service Desk on 0113 343 3333

Reporting accessibility problems

We’re always looking to improve web accessibility. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact the IT Service Desk:

• Web: Use either the contact form for people who cannot log in to the IT site or the contact form for people who can log in.
• Phone: Call the IT Service Desk on 0113 343 3333

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).

Updated: 13 January 2023

This accessibility statement applies to the University of Leeds ‘Falco’ chatbot. 

The core product behind the ‘Falco’ chatbot is ServiceNow Virtual Agent, which is controlled by its provider, ServiceNow. Some of the chatbot functionality and its content is controlled by the University. 

We want as many people as possible to use this chatbot. For example, that means you should be able to:

• Navigate most of the chatbot using just a keyboard.
• See text and interface items even if you have a type of colour-blindness. 

While we are working actively to resolve the accessibility issues with the chatbot where we can, AbilityNet has advice that may make our digital properties more usable in their current state.

The University of Leeds is committed to providing an inclusive environment, and to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities. We are continually improving the user experience for everyone, and we are working to apply the relevant accessibility standards.

How accessible the ‘Falco’ chatbot is

We know some parts of the ‘Falco’ chatbot are not fully accessible:

• The chatbot can be very difficult to use via screen readers, particularly mobile screen readers such as iOS VoiceOver. 
• Some screen readers do not read all messages from the chatbot or read them in an incorrect order.
• Elements of the product (links, buttons, etc.) do not always have a clear purpose.
• Instructions and labels are not always clear, and we do not always provide context-sensitive help.
• Engaging with all parts of the chatbot via keyboard or touch-based gestures often requires moving focus backwards.
• The heading structure conflicts with the host page heading structure.

The chatbot is considered an alternative route to access information already available on the IT site on which it’s hosted. We recommend people who use assistive technologies consider using the IT site as normal or call the IT Service Desk on 0113 343 3333.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information from the chatbot in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille, please contact IT Services: 

• Web: Use either the contact form for people who cannot log in to the IT site or the contact form for people who can log in.
• Phone: Call the IT Service Desk on 0113 343 3333

We’ll consider your request and get back to you as soon as we can. Please also consider looking for the information via the main IT site.

Reporting accessibility problems with the ‘Falco’ chatbot

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of the ‘Falco’ chatbot. If you find any problems not listed in this statement or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact IT Services with details of the issue you’ve identified:

• Web: Use either the contact form for people who cannot log in to the IT site or the contact form for people who can log in.
• Phone: Call the IT Service Desk on 0113 343 3333

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 concerns, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Contacting us by phone or visiting us in person

If you have any specific questions, details for different sections of the University are listed on our contact page. 

Our Campus Directory is an accessible, text-based alternative to our interactive campus map.

More information about access to our campus is available in information for disabled visitors.

Technical information about the ‘Falco’ chatbot’s accessibility

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

Compliance status 

The ‘Falco’ chatbot is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 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

• An inappropriate heading level is provided to the End Conversation heading. One or more headings lack actual heading text. The topic list present in the All topics dialog is not marked-up as an actual list. People who are blind or have low vision may struggle to always understand what the chatbot is communicating. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).
• The chatbot has a heading structure that conflicts with the surrounding page by using several Heading 1s and not appropriate consequent heading nesting. People who are blind or have low vision may struggle to always understand how the chatbot and page content relate. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).
• Most content is presented in a meaningful sequence, except in the Chat window, the keyboard navigation sequence is incorrect. This can create difficulty people who rely on assistive technologies that read content aloud and those who cannot use a mouse or other pointing device. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence (Level A).
• Response options may be presented to the user shortly before the agent responses that should precede it. This means screen readers announce content in a confusing order. This can create difficulty people who rely on assistive technologies that read content aloud. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence (Level A).
• Content can be increased up to 200 percent without loss of content or functionality, but when fully zoomed some content remains off screen. People with low vision may not be able to increase text size and read all the information easily. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.4 Resize text (Level AA).
• The chatbot supports text spacing apart from on placeholder text in text fields. People with low vision and/or dyslexia may struggle to read this information. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 1.4.12 Text Spacing (Level AA).
• Keyboard focus is lost on invoking the Mimimize Chat Window button. After selecting an emoji in the relevant pop-up, there is no visible keyboard focus in the chat window. A focus indicator is not properly visible for some actionable items. People who rely on keyboard navigation may struggle to move around some parts of the chatbot. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 2.4.7 Focus Visible (Level AA).
• There are several ARIA role, label, and attribute issues, such as the aria-role description on elements not having a semantic role on "Good", "Neutral", and "Bad" UI controls. Users of screen readers, screen magnifiers, and speech navigation software, may find the correct information or operation isn't always clear. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).
• Screen readers may announce the End Conversation dialog button as "Menu button Submenu" which is inappropriate. Users of screen readers, screen magnifiers, and speech navigation software, may find the correct information or operation isn't always clear. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).
• Screen readers may not notify when the user toggles the ON/OFF state of the Notifications toggle button. Users of screen readers, screen magnifiers, and speech navigation software, may find the correct information or operation isn't always clear. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).

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

PDFs and other office file formats 

Documents published before 23 September 2018:

The ‘Falco’ chatbot’s responses are based on the content already on the IT site. This means it may reference or link to PDF or other office file formats that were published before 23 September 2018.

Many of our older PDFs and Word documents do not meet accessibility standards. For example, they may not be structured so they’re accessible to a screen reader. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value.

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they’re not essential to providing our services. 

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

Most of the chatbot experience is defined by ServiceNow, the supplier of the chatbot. We’ve been assured that ServiceNow is working on the non-compliances identified here and improvements are expected to be live in line with the planned release schedule of the wider platform versions. We expect improvements to be arrive with the release, and University’s migration to, the ‘Utah’ release expected for between April and June 2023.

For the parts of the experience the University can control, we are actively making improvements from August 2022 onwards. We hope to have all of these resolved by December 2022.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was first prepared on 29 July 2022. It was last reviewed on 29 July 2022. 

The core product behind the ‘Falco’ chatbot, ServiceNow Virtual Agent, was last fully tested on 7 April 2022. The test was carried out by ServiceNow. This test informs most of the non-compliance findings in this statement. 

For its testing, ServiceNow used the following evaluation methods:

• The product was evaluated using the most recent versions of multiple browsers (Chrome, Safari, and Edge Chromium).
• Assistive technologies used in the evaluation included NVDA, JAWS, and VoiceOver, as well as exclusive use of the keyboard to navigate and operate the product content and functionality.
• The evaluation process used a combination of automated checks as well as human testing/evaluation of specific workflows.
• ServiceNow’s findings are based on known conformance issues related to Virtual Agent. Other potential accessibility and usability issues may exist but are unknown at this time.

The University has also performed some simple, usability-based accessibility testing using assistive technologies (such as iOS VoiceOver and Voice Control, Android Talkback, and NVDA) that has provided additional non-compliances.

Updated: 13 January 2023