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UCL Profiles accessibility statement

This accessibility statement applies to the UCL Profiles platform (https://profiles.ucl.ac.uk/)

UCL Profiles is run by Symplectic for University College London (UCL). We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website, which means that you should be able to:

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts
  • zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
  • navigate the website using just a keyboard
  • navigate the website using speech recognition software
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader

How accessible this website is

Some parts of this website may not be fully accessible:

  • Some third party content is known not to be accessible
  • Some user-generated files and previews of said files linked to from the Discovery Module may be inaccessible.
  • The full feature set of the 'filters' functionality is not yet available on the Mobile view, which is also the view used if a user is operating the site with a high-level of zoom on a desktop device
  • A particular visual component (specifically the ‘collaboration networks’ feature) is not accessible.

To minimise the risk of encountering non-accessible pages in the Discovery Module you could:

  • disable Altmetric and Dimensions badges (see points 1 & 2 below)
  • use the desktop site in preference to viewing the website on a mobile device (see point 4 below)
  • disable the ‘collaboration networks’ feature (see point 4 below).

UCL Profiles is based on the Symplectic Discovery Module and is built on an existing service called Symplectic Elements - known as Research Publications Service (RPS). Symplectic Discovery is therefore a third-party platform which means that some aspects of its accessibility are outside of our immediate control.

There are a number of customisation options for your browser and device that could help you use this website and other websites more effectively. AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

Feedback and contact information

Please contact us if you have an accessibility query including:

  • If you are experiencing issues with accessing information or using the website
  • If you find an accessibility problem not listed on this statement
  • If you have positive feedback on the accessibility considerations made. 

When you contact us if there is a process in place that will acknowledge your contact, tell you who is dealing with it and give you a timescale by which you can expect a reply.

We aim to respond to all contacts within 5 working days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We formally test the accessibility of key user journeys that represent the breadth of content across our website on a regular basis against WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) 2.1 AA standards.

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, please contact us.
Read tips on contacting organisations about inaccessible websites.

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 

University College London is committed to making this 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 (WCAG) 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

The Discovery Module only partially supports WCAG criteria 2.4.4 (“Link Purpose (In Context)”). The has been a problem identified with a third party product integration, specifically, Dimensions badges. In particular, the link name is not descriptive enough. Moreover, on iOS devices, it is read incorrectly in three parts. The problem has been reported and the Dimensions team are working to resolve it, but if full compliance is required immediately, such badges can be disabled in the Discovery Module configuration.

The Discovery Module only partially supports WCAG criteria 4.1.1 (“Parsing”). Valid HTML/CSS is always produced when the application is developed; the development environment is configured to ensure this. However, there is at present a duplicate ID problem with an external product integration (specifically, an Altmetric badge). The problem has been reported and the Altmetric team are working to resolve it, but, if full compliance is required immediately, such badges can be disabled in the Discovery Module configuration.

The Discovery Module only partially supports WCAG criteria 1.4.10 (“Reflow”). The website does support zooming to 400% through the use of responsive design and a dedicated mobile (320 pixel wide) view. However, the full range of functionality is not yet available as we do not yet support the use of filters in this mode. We are working towards introducing this in an upcoming release. Users visiting the site via a desktop device can have use of the full feature set up to a 200% zoom.

The Discovery Module’s ‘collaboration networks’ feature fails to comply with several WCAG success criteria. A particular visual component (specifically the ‘collaboration networks’ feature) is not accessible due to it being impossible to adequately represent the visual nature of the information in table format.

If you find an issue that we have yet to identify, please contact us using one of the routes described in the ‘Reporting accessibility problems with this website’ section of this statement.

Disproportionate burden

At this time, we have not made any disproportionate burden claims.

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

This section covers issues that we do not need to fix right now. The law calls these exemptions.

Third-party content

Our websites contain third-party content. We do not have control over and are not responsible for the accessibility of this content, but we make best endeavours to work with the third-party to improve its accessibility. This may include:

  • links to non-UCL websites
  • content/functionality on our website
  • content hosted on other websites, such as social media sites.

To help accessibility compliance across the sector, University College London supports searchBOX , a centralised, independent directory of third-party accessibility information. 

searchBOX catalogues the contact information and accessibility statements of third-party suppliers, enables the sharing of community-generated accessibility statements, and allows users to map their supplier ecosystem. 

Users can access third-party accessibility statements using the free searchBOX Finder service. 

University College London encourages all our partners and suppliers to support this effort by ensuring that their accessibility information is included in the searchBOX directory. 

Our testing processes

Symplectic state that the website was last tested by external consultants 25 March 2020 where the whole of the platform was tested along with external widgets. It has been tested internally for each release since then, and will be re-tested externally again in 2023.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 7 September 2023. It was last reviewed on 7 September 2023. The test was carried out by Symplectic.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

UCL are working with Symplectic to fix or provide alternatives for all issues that we are made aware of and as identified by our periodic internal testing and auditing processes. Symplectic are committed to continuously improving accessibility as part of a substantial revision to this website, beginning in October 2020, and delivering incremental improvements thereafter on an ongoing basis. Significant accessibility improvements will be documented in each new version’s release notes. For further details, please email: support@symplectic.co.uk.