Accessibility statement for Enlighten

Enlighten (hereafter referred to as 'website') is run by the University of Glasgow.

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

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • 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 have also made the text in the website as simple as possible to understand and have implemented additional accessibility features where possible.

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

How accessible this website is

We intend to continue our efforts to improve the accessibility and will implement updates to the website as they become possible. We are nevertheless aware that there is content served by this website which is not accessible:

  • The website makes available many PDF documents which are not fully accessible to screen reader software and demonstrate other accessibility issues
  • This website runs on the open-source software EPrints version 3.4.5 and has been customised for our own requirements and branding. The parts of EPrints which are not fully accessible prior to these customisations can be found in a list provided on EPrints accessibility information page.

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:

We will consider your request and get back to you within 10 days. 

British Sign Language

BSL users can contact us via contactSCOTLAND-BSL, the online British Sign Language interpreting video relay service.

Find out more about BSL assistance: contactSCOTLAND

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We are always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems that are not listed on this page or think we are not meeting the requirements of the accessibility regulations, contact:  

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 Glasgow is committed to making its online services 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 listed below.

Non-accessible content

While the HTML pages of the website demonstrate high levels of accessibility (e.g. Enlighten main pages, single views, lists, content elements, etc.), we are aware that the file content that the website makes available is not fully accessible:

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations

Issues with PDF content

As the website is an open access research repository, the principal content made available to users are research outputs such as articles, papers, posters and reports, many of which are PDF documents. Many PDF documents, especially older ones, are not fully accessible to screen reader software and do not contain other common accessibility features. In particular:

  • many documents, especially older ones, do not conform to the PDF/A archiving format.
  • many lack bookmarks or document titles, therefore failing to meet WCAG 2.1 success criteria WCAG 2.4.5 and WCAG 2.4.2
  • many discuss scientific or scholarly concepts which may be abbreviated with no mechanism for discovering the meaning of the abbreviations, or unusual words arising from scholarly discourse without definitions. These issues each fail WCAG 2.1 criteria WCAG 3.1.4 and WCAG 3.1.1 respectively.
  • there may be some documents that fail to specify their human language, thereby failing WCAG 2.1 success criterion WCAG 3.1.1
  • many documents may not reflow satisfactorily. This fails WCAG 2.1 success criterion WCAG 1.4.10

Issues with the website more generally

Areas of the website which are not document-based demonstrate good levels of accessibility. However, the following issues have been identified and are in the process of being addressed:

  • Headings on some of our pages do not appear in a logical order. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion WCAG 2.4.10
  • Some of the forms and interactive search pages on our website are not appropriately labelled or do not have labels. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion WCAG 3.3.2
  • Interactive elements of the website (such as search) do not utilise status messages to update screen readers of a change in state. This does not meet WCAG 2.1 success criterion WCAG 3.2.2 

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

  • We will continue to review the accessibility of our website using automated tools and manual testing procedures where necessary
  • A minor refresh of the website's design and user experience was undertaken in early 2025. This re-design work will continue throughout 2025 after which we expect to have addressed many of the outstanding accessibility issues.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 24 November 2020. It was last reviewed on 13 May 2025.

This page was last updated 22 May 2025.