Live Chat

Read our Accessibility statement

We Make It Happen.

This accessibility statement applies to the Live Chat tool, which exists on all pages of the Ulster Online microsite https://online.ulster.ac.uk

Ulster University is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Due to the size and complexity of the University’s web presence, this is an ongoing process.

If you have any questions or feedback regarding the accessibility of this site, or if you experience any difficulty using it, please contact the web development manager.
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Using this website

This website is run by Ulster University. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, this 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 are disabled.

Disability support

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Unit

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Unit offers a range of support and advice for staff.

The support available includes:

AccessAbility Service

Our AccessAbility Service offers a wide range of support and advice to disabled students and also to parents, staff and external agencies supporting students.

The support available includes:

How accessible is Live Chat?

Some areas of the Live Chat may not meet the AA accessibility standard, such as:

  • Alt text is not available for all elements
  • Information structure is not clear in some instances
  • Some elements have poor colour contrast
  • Some elements are not visible at 400% zoom
  • Keyboard focus is not shown on some elements
  • Some error messages lack clear descriptions
  • Some elements are not compatible with or optimised for screen readers.

Please note that a comprehensive list of the issues is included further down this page.

There may be other areas we have yet to pick up on as we continue to audit the site. The University is in the process of improving its core web templates to meet AA standards. It has set up an accessibility working group and will be running workshops with devolved editors to promote the importance of accessibility and to make sure standards are adhered to.

Feedback and contact information

If you need information on this website in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille:

• email digital@ulster.ac.uk

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in two days.

If you cannot view the maps on our campus locations pages, please contact us for directions.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website.
If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact the web development team.

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 Equality Commission for Northern Ireland (ECNI).

Technical Information

Ulster University is committed to making its 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 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

1.3.1 Info and Relationships – When attempting to click the booking link, screen reader users will incorrectly hear the words “List with 10 items”.

1.4.11 Non-Text Contrast – The contrast of UI components and graphical objects does not always meet the required contrast ratios. Affected elements are:

  • The focus indicator on the main Live Chat Icon.
  • The focus indicator when hovering over the minimise and close buttons.
  • The contrast between the live chat icon and some elements of the page,
  • The contrast of some URLS within the chat.
  • The contrast of the paperclip (attachment) icon.

1.4.12 Text Spacing – The chatbot is not usable and accessible at 200% zoom and above.

1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus – The start conversation button, nor the Live Chay icon, have HOVER status.

2.4.3 Focus Order – All of the chat conversation is focused and announced.

2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) – Screen readers read the full booking page link, when this should say “[Name of Organisation]’s Booking Page opens in new window, external”.

2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) – The link “Privacy policy” is an External link needs and need more instructions. It currently reads “Privacy policy link”, when it should read “Privacy policy opens in new window, external”.

2.4.7 Focus Visible – The chatbot icon does not have focus visible (border).

3.3.2 Labels or Instructions – When attempting to focus on an uploaded file within the chat, the screen reader reads the wrong instruction. It reads “[file name] remove attachment”, when it should read “File(s) attached: [File name] remove attachment”.

3.3.2 Labels or Instructions – Labels are not always clear. To provide specific examples: 1) The ‘Close’ button on the transcript banner does not provide enough context about which component will be closed. 2) the screen reader announces some components twice.

4.1.2 Name, Role, Value – The email input field does not have Label suggestion related.

4.1.2 Name, Role, Value – The screen reader returns an unexpected “Close messaging menu” instruction when the 3 dot menu (…) is open.

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

PDFs and other documents

Some of our PDFs and Word documents are essential to providing our services. For example, we have PDFs with information on how users can access our services, and forms published as Word documents. By September 2021, we plan to either fix these or replace them with accessible HTML pages.

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.

Any new PDFs or Word documents we publish will meet accessibility standards.

How we tested this website

The Live Chat tool was Accessibility tested and a report generated by a third party consultancy.

The findings from the audit are being addressed by a combination of in house and third party developers, and by working with the vendor, Salesforce, to address issues which are out of our control.

We tested:

• our website’s Live Chat tool, which exists on all pages of www.online.ulster.ac.uk and is accessible via an icon in the bottom right hand corner.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We have been working with our in house and Live Chat software vendor to resolve the accessibility issues which specifically affect this solution. We are aiming to have these resolved by in the first half of 2025.

This statement was prepared on 11th July 2024. It was last updated on 11th July 2024.