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Accessibility Statement for Moodle

Moodle is the Robert Gordon University's Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) which hosts learning resources and activities for our courses. This Accessibility Statement applies to all student-facing iterations of Moodle.

The University is committed to making its VLE accessible and providing equal and inclusive learning resources and experiences for all students to ensure that everyone can fully participate in their course.

Although Moodle is designed to be accessible, academic staff and other content authors can upload learning resources of their choosing. As a result, it is not possible to guarantee that all content and activities accessed through Moodle are fully compliant with accessibility legislation, but the University is committed to enhancing accessibility and is working in a range of ways to achieve enhancement.

View the site your way

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

Using Moodle with Accessibility Features

With a few simple steps you can customise your browser to make Moodle easier to read and navigate. AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

The University also provides the following assistive software on all computers used by students on campus:

How accessible is Moodle?

RGU is committed to making Moodle as accessible as possible in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Moodle as a Platform

Moodle is based on the Moodle platform, which is an open-source system maintained by Moodle HQ and a community of volunteer developers. It consists of "core" functionality, developed and incorporated by Moodle HQ, and plugins created by Moodle HQ, companies, and individuals. Updates and new versions are released regularly.

Moodle aims to be accessible, to provide equal functionality and information to all people. Moodle was built following Web Content Accessibility guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA and is partially compliant with the guidelines.

RGU currently uses Moodle 4.1 which is managed by our partner CoSector - Moodle HQ maintains an updated list of known accessibility issues.

How accessible is content accessed through Moodle?

Academic staff and other content authors populate their own Moodle pages. Content authors may create and upload, link to or embed materials of their choosing. Whilst we aspire for all teaching, learning and assessment resources hosted on Moodle to be fully accessible to all users, it is not possible to guarantee this.

Compliance status

Some parts of the VLE may not work for everyone. Specifically, it is not possible to guarantee that:

Pre-recorded Video

Our aim is for all pre-recorded video, published after 23 September 2020 using our Panopto recording software, to be accompanied by automated captions or a transcript.

However, at present we cannot guarantee that all video content is fully accessible. Video and audio content at the University uses closed captions generated by automatic speech recognition (ASR). The ASR process is based on machine learning algorithms which automatically transcribe voice to text. According to our technology providers this process is 70-90% accurate depending on the quality of the audio, and consequently video and audio closed captions may include some transcription errors.

If you have a particular need, please contact the Inclusion Centre who will liaise with your course team to provide an accessible version of the content.

Audio and video published before 23 September is unlikely to be accompanied with a text alternative, captions, audio description or sign language interpretation. Video published before this date is exempt from the regulations.

Disproportionate burden

Captions that require substantial editing will involve a significant amount of staff resource to check and correct to make 100% accurate. Expecting colleagues across the University to provide fully accurate captions for all videos is a disproportionate burden based on a cost benefit analysis which has been undertaken by the University. We will prioritise and support video and audio to be fully compliant on those courses where there are students with hearing impairments.

How we have tested Moodle

Testing has been undertaken on 13 August 2024 to check the Moodle platform against accessibility guidelines and included:

This testing did not include accessibility testing of files and resources entered by content authors.

Alternative content formats through Brickfield Education Lab's Accessibility Toolkit

Brickfield automatically checks course materials against WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards. Alternative formats are generated by Ally for course material, the following formats are enabled at RGU:

If you need information on Moodle in a format not listed contact Inclusion Centre.

If you are a student with existing arrangements or reasonable adjustments, please contact the Inclusion Centre.

Reporting accessibility problems with this VLE

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

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 are not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Content that is not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Live Audio and Video

We recommend that staff use Microsoft Teams to deliver live online content. Microsoft Teams allows viewers to enable live captions within their own settings as needed. Where third party software is used, live captions might not always be present.

PDFs and documents

The accessibility regulations do not require us to fix PDFs or other documents published before 23 September 2018 if they are not essential to providing our services. Most of the pre-existing PDFs and Word documents on this site may not currently meet the standards, for example, they may not be marked up, so they are accessible to a screen reader. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 4.1.2.

Reproduction of Heritage Items

Heritage items are exempt from regulations and reproduction in an accessible format is not required. Where it is safely, authentically, and cost-efficiently possible, reproductions will be attempted if reasonable to do so.

Reproductions of heritage items refers to content or items that could include, archaeological items, archives, books, estate records, manuscripts, or paintings. These items, when reproduced on this VLE, could fail multiple WCAG 2.2 success criterion.

Third party content, functionalities, and tools in Moodle

The Moodle VLE is an extremely rich and modular online environment that includes third party content, functionalities, and tools. As a result, you may be directed to a related service, a partner we work with, content or supporting documentation we do not publish or author. We are not responsible for the accessibility of third-party content. Depending on our relationship with the third party, we cannot always guarantee its accessibility. However, if we have paid for content to be created, or have a contractual relationship with the commissioner, we will ensure accessibility guidelines are met and barriers identified as part of contractual obligations and our business processes.

Links to other websites

Module or course pages in Moodle often contain links to other websites that may offer benefits or contain pertinent content to support students in their studies and learning. This may include:

We are not responsible for the accessibility of these or any other websites we do not manage.

RGU Library Resources

Moodle pages may also include third party content from the University Library such as reading lists. Access the RGU Library Accessibility statement to find out about the accessibility of library resources.

Third party integrations

Moodle provides access to functionalities and tools provided by third party suppliers to add value to teaching, learning, our academic and business processes. The main third-party integrations with links to their accessibility statements are listed below:

Where we choose to add functionalities provided by third party, we are responsible for ensuring it meets accessibility standards.

Where we are legally required to feature third party content or functionality, we cannot reasonably accept responsibility for ensuring it meets accessibility standards. However, when within our control, we will make every reasonable effort to work towards third party content and features meeting accessibility requirements. Your feedback and voice count and it will help us in our endeavour to managing our relationship with third parties. Please tell us if you have any problems, or if you find anything particularly useful by contacting Moodle Support.

The current version of the Mahara portfolio system used in the University is partially compliant with WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

What we are doing to improve accessibility

We are dedicated to improving the accessibility of this VLE for all users. To do so we will:

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was first prepared on 8 September 2020. Amendments were made on:

Moodle was last tested on 15 Augusts 2024. Testing was carried out by the Department of Academic Quality and Learning Enhancement and IT and Digital.