Information on accessibility

The members of the Accessible Studying Team provide advice about accessible studying to students and prospective students with an impairment. Focus topic “Accessible studies”

Accessibility statement

The University of Vienna is committed to providing accessible websites in accordance with the Austrian Web-Zugänglichkeits-Gesetz (WZG, web accessibility act) as amended to implement the Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on the accessibility of the websites and mobile applications of public sector bodies (Official Journal L 327 issued on 2 December 2016, p. 1).

This accessibility statement applies to the website under the domain www.univie.ac.at and to the following subdomains: studieren.univie.ac.at, websites of individual faculties (tested sample sowi.univie.ac.at), information pages of bibliothek.univie.ac.at, mtbl.univie.ac.at, event.univie.ac.at, rudolphina.univie.ac.at, self-assessment2.pzle.univie.ac.at and all websites hosted via TYPO3.

The University monitors these pages using an automatic monitoring tool.

Status of compliance with the requirements

Due the aspects that are not compliant and/or the exemptions listed below, the websites are partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.

We plan to gradually remedy the existing accessibility deficiencies. Digital accessibility at the University of Vienna is organised in a decentral way. The responsible persons (e.g. at the individual faculties) are included in the process of correcting the existing accessibility deficiencies.

The underlying criteria are based on standard AA as specified in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 and the European Standard EN 301 549 V3.1.2 (PDF).

Clause 9.6 of the WCAG conformance requirements specified in the EN 301 549 is not fulfilled, since the standard AA as specified in the WCAG 2.1 is only partially fulfilled.

Assistance and information for employees

Employees of the University of Vienna can find information about digital accessibility on the intranet under: https://wiki.univie.ac.at/x/15fHCg

Parts of the websites that are not fully accessible

The contents listed below are not accessible due to the following reasons. Some problems only concern individual subdomains.

a) Aspects that are not compliant with the accessibility regulations

  • Not all editorial images on all subpages have a meaningful alt text. Some linked images lack an alt text. Font icons embedded as CSS content are not correctly hidden or labelled for mobile screen readers. WCAG Success Criterion 1.1.1. Non-text Content
  • Podcasts lack a transcription. (1.2.1 Audio-only and Video-only (Prerecorded))
  • Most but not all embedded videos have sufficient text alternatives (e.g. interview with students on the self-assessment page). (1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alternative (Prerecorded))
  • The pages do not have a consistent header structure throughout. PDF files for download (e.g. University Gazette) are not tagged. (1.3.1 Info and Relationships)
  • Links in continuous text on Rudolphina are not underlined. (1.4.1 Use of Colour)
  • Few texts and some icons do not have a sufficient contrast ratio. (1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) and 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast)
  • On two subdomains, the text cannot be resized when using old mobile devices. (1.4.4 Resize Text)
  • Some image sliders on some subpages feature images containing text, which do not have a sufficient alt text. (1.4.5 Images of Text)
  • On some subdomains, not all components are operable through a keyboard interface (e.g. image slider, slider on the self-assessment page). (2.1.1 Keyboard)
  • When using VoiceOver on an iPhone, the focus is trapped in the “Menü schließen” (close the menu) button. (2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap)
  • The image sliders used on some subdomains can be stopped using the mouse but they cannot be stopped using a keyboard interface. (2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide)
  • The skip link “Zum Inhalt” (to the content) does not work correctly on some pages. (2.4.1 Bypass Blocks)
  • The focus order is not implemented correctly for the mobile version in some places on some subdomains (mobile quick links, menus). (2.4.3 Focus Order)
  • Individual links on some subpages do not contain a link text or a meaningful link text. (2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context))
  • The focus styling is not ideal in some elements on several subpages; in individual cases, the focus outline is missing (e.g. mobile search, “Menü schließen” (close the menu) button). 2.4.7 Focus Visible
  • For some PDF files (e.g. University Gazette), the language is not specified. (3.1.1 Language of Page)
  • Occasionally, embedded English-language content is not programmatically determined (e.g. University Gazette, news teaser, individual faculty websites). (3.1.2 Language of Parts)
  • The mobile menus are not consistently implemented on all subdomains.  (3.2.3 Consistent Navigation)
  • Error messages in forms are not semantically allocated to the form fields. (3.3.3 Error Suggestion)
  • WAI-ARIA mark-up is not always used ideally (e.g. toggle elements, image sliders, tabs, sliders). Video iframes lack the title attribute. (WCAG Success Criterion 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value)

b) Exemptions due to disproportionate burden

  • Videos on the website do not have an audio description (WCAG Success Criterion 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded)). The videos can be considered additional content because the information conveyed in the videos is also provided in text on the website or the video features an interview without story elements.
  • Print publications can be downloaded in the form of PDF files on the website. They are not fully accessible. Here too, the content presented is also directly summarised on the website. In case of recent publications, we strive to fulfil the accessibility requirements. In case of older publications, the effort required to fulfil the accessibility requirements would impose a disproportionate burden as specified in the accessibility regulations.

c) This content is not within the scope of the applicable legislation

  • Documents (PDF files) published before 23 September 2018 are available for download on the website. They are not administration-related and are thus not within the scope of the applicable legislation.
  • Videos released before 23 September 2020 are beyond the scope of the applicable legislation.
  • Content by third parties, which is not within our sphere of influence, is exempt from the Directive (EU) 2016/2102. No statement can be made regarding the compatibility of this third-party content with accessibility regulations.
  • Map content presented via the OpenStreetMaps plug-in. 

Release of this accessibility statement 

This statement was released on 25 July 2024.

The websites’ status of compliance with the Austrian web accessibility act to implement the requirements specified in the Directive (EU) 2016/2102 was assessed in the form of an external accessibility audit according to the standard AA of the WCAG 2.1 in September 2022 and in May 2023.

The following websites were checked:

Feedback and contact details

The offers and services provided on this website are being continuously improved, replaced and expanded. Usability and accessibility are our key concerns in this endeavour.

Please send us an e-mail if you encounter any accessibility problems that prevent you from using our website. This applies to issues that are not listed in this accessibility statement or serious shortcomings relating to the accessibility requirements.

We will examine your request and contact you as soon as possible.

Please send all your messages and suggestions to wzg@univie.ac.at. Describe the problem you encountered and provide the URL(s) of the website or document concerned.

Enforcement procedure

If you are not satisfied with how we respond to your request sent to us using the contact option specified above, you can contact the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) and file a complaint. You can file your complaint with the FFG by electronic means using the contact form.

Contact form of the FFG complaints office

https://www.ffg.at/en/form/kontaktformular-beschwerdestelle

The FFG will investigate your complaint to determine whether the accessibility issues you addressed represent a violation of the provisions specified in the Austrian Web-Zugänglichkeits-Gesetz (web accessibility act), in particular shortcomings in compliance with the accessibility requirements, by the Federal Government or an institution affiliated with the Federal Government.

If the complaint is justified, the FFG issues recommendations to the Federal Government or the legal entity concerned and proposes measures that aim at resolving the issue.

Further information about the complaints procedure:

https://www.ffg.at/barrierefreiheit/beschwerdestelle