This accessibility statement applies to users accessing Journal via a web browser.
Journal is a website-building service provided to Falmouth University by a third-party provider, CampusPress. Students can use Journal to create reflective blogs, portfolios, collaborative scrapbooks and forums, with the two main types of use being for individual and class sites. All sites are based on templates (created by the Digital Learning Team).
The Digital Learning team want as many people as possible to be able to use Journal. For example, that means you should be able to:
- change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser or device settings
- zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen
- navigate most of the website using a keyboard or speech recognition software
- listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver)
AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.
Journal (CampusPress) also publishes its own accessibility statement for the platform:
How accessible is Journal?
We know that some parts of Journal are not fully accessible:
- When zooming in on the log in page, some items in the top menu are no longer visible
- On some pages there are text elements that don’t have sufficient colour contrast between the text in the foreground and the background colour behind it.
- Some pages contain links within blocks of text that don’t have sufficient colour contrast
- The ‘image carousel’ (login page) remains as a static image unless hovered over with mouse to reveal arrows at each end which can be clicked to move from image to image, and some page footers include ‘icon’ links to social media pages – e.g. ‘F’ and ‘X’. These elements are not accessible to keyboard users, including visually impaired screen reader users or people who cannot use a mouse.
Feedback and contact information
If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact us using our web form.
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, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).
Technical information about this website’s accessibility
Falmouth University is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.
Non accessible content
The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.
Critical accessibility issues
- Zooming and scaling must not be disabled
Serious accessibility issues
- Elements must meet minimum colour contrast ratio thresholds
- Links must have discernible text
- Links must be distinguishable without relying on colour
Moderate accessibility issues
- Page should contain a level one heading
- All page content should be contained by landmarks
- Landmarks should have a unique role or role/label/title
- Documents should not have more than one banner landmark
Minor accessibility issues
- Aria should be appropriate for the element
- Headings should not be empty
Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations
Zooming and scaling must not be disabled – WCAG 1.4.4 Resize text (Level AA).
The viewport element settings on the Journal login page prevent users from zooming and scaling. Users with impaired vision often enlarge fonts in their web browser to be able to read webpage content easier and when zooming and scaling is enabled, users can do this without the viewport focus area only including a small part of the web page.*
Elements must meet minimum colour contrast ratio thresholds – WCAG 1.4.3: Contrast (Minimum) – Level AA.
Some page elements in the Login page and Showcase site pages do not meet the minimum colour contrast ratio thresholds which can make text difficult to read for users with moderately low vision or impaired contrast perception, without the use of contrast-enhancing assistive technology.
Links must have discernible text – WCAG 2.4.4: Link Purpose (In Context) Level A.
Some pages feature an image carousel with ‘arrow icons’ (visible on hover) that allow users to move from image to image and some page footers include logo links to Facebook and X. None of these elements have discernible text so are not visible to screen readers. *
Links must be distinguishable without relying on colour – WCAG 1.4.1: Use of Color. Some pages include links that are the same colour as surrounding text with the only visual difference being an underline. Links that appear in blocks of text need to be styled effectively so that people with low vision can distinguish between the text and links. This can be achieved by adding a border or underline to links or ensuring there is a colour contrast difference of at least 3:1 with the surrounding text.
Page should contain a level one heading – WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A) .
Webpages usually have a level one header <h1> at the beginning of the main content which makes it easy for screen reader users to use keyboard shortcuts to jump directly to the main content. When pages don’t have a level one header, screen reader users must listen to more of the web page to understand its structure.
All page content should be contained by landmarks – WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).
All page content should be contained within a landmark region, designated with HTML5 landmark elements and/or ARIA landmark regions so that screen reader users can navigate to a section based on its HTML element or ARIA landmark. Most Journal pages contain a menu icon that has a ‘skip – link/skip to content’ element that could be replaced with an ARIA landmark to improve accessibility for screen reader users.*
Landmarks should have a unique role or role/label/title – WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)
When there is more than one landmark on a page, it’s important that names are unique to distinguish between multiple elements of the same kind and prevent confusion and poor user experience for screen reader users.*
Document should not have more than one banner landmark – WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A).
A banner landmark contains elements found at the top of a webpage that are consistent across the site, such as the site logo and navigation menu. As screen reader users rely on landmarks to navigate and find content on the page, it’s important that there is only one banner landmark per page to prevent users from being overwhelmed by repetitive information on multiple pages. *
Aria should be appropriate for the element – WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).
Using ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) roles where they are not allowed can lead to unpredictable behaviour in assistive technologies like screen readers. The ‘My Sites’ admin bar on Journal pages has an ARIA role group that is not allowed for the given element. *
Headings should not be empty – WCAG 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (Level A).
The site titles of some Journal pages are displayed in front of banner images. To prevent duplication of the site title, these pages therefore have an empty <h1>heading.
Colour contrast in text elements
We plan to update font colour on the pages that have been identified so that they meet the minimum colour contrast ratio thresholds and will also update links within blocks of text to ensure they are distinguishable without relying on colour. When we create new template sites, we will endeavour to make sure that new content meets accessibility standards.
* The locations of these issues are part of the software platform and out of our direct control. These issues have been raised with the supplier, and we hope they will be addressed during their next cycle of the development.
Disproportionate burden
For information, we have not classified any of the non-compliant content as a disproportionate burden to fix and we do not have any issues that would class as an exemption under law.
Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations
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 Journal
CampusPress have more information about how they test the service they provide under the sections Measures to Support Accessibility and Assessment Approach that can be found on their website.
What we’re doing to improve accessibility
Our accessibility roadmap shows how and when we plan to improve accessibility on this website.
To summarise, these include:
- Communicating with our supplier Campus Press by feeding back on accessibility issues and working with them to improve their services.
- Preventing new Journal sites from being created using non-accessible themes.
- Providing staff with a curated list of accessible templates to use for their teaching.
- Providing students with an accessible default template.
- Periodically reviewing sample pages on Journal to check for accessibility issues and highlighting issues with site owners.
This statement was prepared on 21st August 2025. It was last updated on 26th August 2025.