University wins prize for improving digital accessibility

University of Staffordshire has been named Regional Winner for Europe & the Middle East in the annual Fix Your Content Day

Four people holding an award

University of Staffordshire has been named Regional Winner for Europe & the Middle East in the annual Fix Your Content Day

Improving digital accessibility is incredibly important. Ensuring that our online resources and learning platforms are more accessible and engaging enables all students to access these valuable resources.

Professor Annabel Kiernan, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic)

The global competition sees universities around the world use Anthology® Ally to improve the accessibility of digital learning materials.

Anthology Ally is an accessibility tool which automatically checks for accessibility issues in course materials, provides guidance to instructors on how to fix them, and offers students alternative formats of content to accommodate different learning needs.

The competition saw participants race against the clock to adjust as many digital course files as possible within 24 hours, from fixing alt text in images to improving colour contrast and document structure,

Overall University of Staffordshire ranked 5th worldwide, achieving an impressive 7,282 fixes – the highest among all participants.

Professor Annabel Kiernan, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic), said: “At University of Staffordshire we are dedicated to creating an inclusive learning environment where every student can thrive.

“Improving digital accessibility is incredibly important. Ensuring that our online resources and learning platforms are more accessible and engaging enables all students to access these valuable resources.”

Rowan Walker, Student Digital Engagement Officer, added: “This incredible accomplishment wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work, collaboration, and dedication of our staff and academics, coming together to make our content more accessible for students.

“While we celebrate this success, the mission to improve accessibility continues!"

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