Since 2019, Higher Education Institutions across the globe have been tasked with improving the accessibility of content on their Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), in response to the digital accessibility legislation.

At Queen Mary we are no different. The responsibility to improve the content we upload is shared across all faculties and central departments. The onus is on everyone to contribute.

In the pursuit of  mastering accessibility best practice, enter Anthology Ally – a tool which seamlessly integrates with QMplus, our VLE. It checks content for any accessibility issues and provides reports, scores, and guidance on how to fix them.

The objective? To improve your score and get ahead in the accessibility race.

The scores for both content and whole modules range from 0-100 per cent, with a higher score indicating less serious issues / largely accessible content. The percentage ratings are assigned a traffic light colour, to easily see where your content ranks.

• 0 – 33% = Red, severe issues
• 34 – 66% = Orange, a medium priority
• 67 – 99% = Green, meets most accessibility requirements

How is my faculty doing?

Each faculty receives an overall accessibility score that represents the total from each of their QMplus courses.

As you can see, at the end of the 21-22 academic year, the scores for faculties were:
HSS = 73%
FMD = 70%
S&E = 64%

In that season, HSS were victorious and finished in first place. At the end of 22-23, the scores had increased to:
HSS = 79%
FMD = 77%
S&E = 74%

You’ll note that S&E made the most impressive increase, making huge progress over the past academic year. Nevertheless, HSS is still holding onto pole position in the grand accessibility prix.

It is great to see, however, that all faculties have shown improvement. This work enhances the student experience. While we have focused on the three academic faculties with the most content, let’s not forget our colleagues across the University who play a crucial role – let’s champion accessibility together.

So, the 23-24 season is fast approaching, the track is set, and the question looms large: where will your faculty emerge on the podium next year?

It’s too early to say for sure, but HSS is in a strong position to defend its title. FMD and S&E will be looking to close the gap, and it will be interesting to see which faculty makes the most progress.