Use of Flash Writing HTML

Accessibility

September 2007 has seen updates to the three LJMU homepages first launched in July 2005, providing access to the most important and popular website areas for the Staff, Student and Visitor / Prospective Student audiences.

There is a specific Notice for Macintosh users regarding Safari Versions and the new site homepages.

The new homepages take advantage of larger screen resolutions on LJMU client PCs, deployed across the University while maintaining the design on screens still using 800pixels wide by 600 pixels high. More information about the pages can be found at the following link:.

LJMU Accessibility Features

We aim to make the website more accessible to all LJMU users. The following accessibility features are available when viewing the homepage.

They are as follows:

Consistent banner

The site presents a consistent banner across all pages with links to the targeted areas, for improved navigation. The links include:

Visitors
Students
Staff
Business
Research & Expertise
Accessibility
Help
Site Map

To aid navigation, the tab key on your keyboard can be used to navigate through different sections of the homepage.

If you are having difficulty using the mouse, click on the tab key to the link you wish to access, and then press the Return key to enter that area.

Text access

Our new web pages have been designed according to recognised accessibility guidelines and web-standards. The underlying structure of the pages allows good access for various browsing methods, such as screen readers. Visual type size can be changed using browser view options (see Style Sheet below), and a print style sheet will soon provide improved reflowing of the layout for printer output.

Browser

The LJMU site is best viewed in the following web browsers: -

Internet Explorer versions 6 and 7
Mozilla 1;
Firefox 0.9-2.0;
Opera (9.20).
Safari on Macintosh, note that there is a problem with Safari version 2.0.4 and the page resizing javascript we use. On some OSX machines the page will not display loaded content until a mouseclick has occurred, following which the page may behave normally, or may continue to be erratic. This problem is not present on other browsers for Macintosh or other platforms. Our initial advice was to upgrade to the latest Beta release, which in tests solved the problem. However this may not be an option for some users, so we have decided to disable Page Resizing for users of Safari until support is more stable.

Our new content pages and homepages have improved accessibility and compliance with web-standards, giving a consistent look and feel across most platforms and browsers and a more consistent page structure.

Stylesheets

The LJMU site uses cascading style sheets (css) which control the look of the site. However, the user can modify their personal settings, e.g. font size. In Internet Explorer, this can be done by clicking on Tools, Internet Options then Accessibility.

If your browser allows, you may also remove the cascading stylesheet to view the page as plain HTML.

Page Resizing

To maximise screen space our latest homepages use a custom-made javascript control to resize the page for larger displays. Users of smaller screens or those with their browser's javascript facilities disabled will see the smaller screen version, which is optimised for 800 by 600 pixels. The page content is the same at both sizes and accessibility should not be affected.

Printing

Our main site webpages also have print stylesheet, which restyle the page for improved readability and paper usage. In addition, text links on pages will display with their link addresses appended so that you can access the resources directly when typing from a printed sheet.

Mobile Devices

We also have a Stylesheet for Mobile devices, to make our pages readable on the smaller displays used by some mobile phones and PDAs. You may need to refer to your device manual to ensure that your device will recognise the presence of the Handheld stylesheet - Most Windows Mobile devices tested were capable of restyling the page for smaller screens.

Headers and Footers

All subsequent LJMU pages for Schools, Departments, Service teams, etc, should contain the corporate LJMU Headers and Footers.

These have had a feature added so that those who have difficulty using a mouse can use the keyboard to navigate through the links in the LJMU Header.

If you hold down the ALT key (Ctrl on a Mac) and press the letters below:

A for Help
H for Home
P for Site Plan

...followed by RETURN, it will take you to the relevant page.

Prospective students/Visitors' Homepage

Quick Links
Study at LJMU
About us and our City
Accommodation
Events and open days
News centre
University departments
Alumni
Vacancies (This section contains information on all current job vacancies within LJMU. Information on how to apply is available, along with application and equal opportunities forms)

European capital of culture

Courses

This leads you to a search page where all courses can be searched for by either key-word or through an A-Z list. This page contains a full list of all courses, including, undergraduate, postgraduate, research, part-time, full time, etc.

Business

This section provides information on topics targeted at businesses, such as the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP), Research, Training and Education, Bespoke solutions and Expertise.

Research & Expertise

This section provides information on Research courses at LJMU and provides information on the expertise within LJMU.

Key Contacts

This section contains addresses, telephone numbers and email details of certain first point of contact areas in LJMU, e.g. the main switchboard, Student Recruitment, Personnel Office, Student Welfare Enquiries, Commercial Business Enquiries, International Office and the Alumni Office.

Staff Homepage

Quick Links

The quick links section on the staff homepage targets the key areas within the site. You can navigate to the following areas/services:

Help with computers
Help with library services
Regulations and procedures
Teaching and learning
Welfare and support
Working at LJMU
General information
University Structure
Job vacancies
Classifieds

Email

This link allows users to access their personal email, both internally and externally from LJMU.

Off-Campus Support

“The Off Campus Applications Service allows access to a wide range of applications and resources that were previously restricted to users of a PC within the LJMU Network”

Library Catalogue

This link leads users to the library catalogue webpage, where users can search for materials such as books and journal and can track their current records.

Blackboard

Virtual Learning Environment for Students and Staff

Activate / Change Password

This provides a feature that allows users to activate their account or change their password on the computer.

News and Announcements

This section contains current news items and a link to “more news” with archived news items. It also contains a ticker tape for stories with high importance and an area for any important computing announcements.

Student Homepage