Accessibility

Access for all, universal access to information 

Providing access to information and services on the University of Montpellier website is a normal part of digital communication.

This universal access, also known as "digital accessibility", enables access to information regardless of how you access the Web. In particular, it enables people with disabilities to consult all information, as well as simply use online services.

This will enable blind people to read the information, tetraplegics to use their special equipment (voice commands, pipettes, etc.) to navigate the site normally, visually-impaired users to be able to enlarge characters from their keyboards, color-blind users not to be disturbed by the colors used, etc. 

The universality of the Web means that everyone can personalize their access to information, while the elderly can still access information independently, and the most nomadic can stay informed wherever they are. 

How does accessibility work? 

Putting an accessible website online means above all paying special attention to site design, and motivating the teams who update content on a daily basis. But it also means respecting national and international norms and standards that define digital accessibility and the quality of Web interfaces. 

Digital accessibility standards include the following requirements: 

  • font sizes can be enlarged and reduced, 
  • images feature alternative text when required, 
  • Change the contrast of the site with a navigation cookie to leave it active when activated. 
  • language changes are indicated
  • It is possible to navigate this site without using the mouse, using tab navigation, 
  • color contrasts are sufficiently nuanced
  • pages are correctly structured and uniform, both graphically and editorially, 
  • external links - opening a new window - are indicated to site users
  • the site's layout is separated from its content through the use of style sheets (CSS). The use of CSS positioning properties, by totally separating presentation and content, allows documents to retain a coherent reading order outside CSS: title, menus, content, etc... 
  • Today, compliance with these standards means complying with the Référentiel Général d'Accessibilité pour les Administrations (RGAA) version 3 2017. This standard comprises 92 criteria divided into 3 levels. The first level, which corresponds to guaranteed accessibility, comprises 55 criteria, themselves divided into 13 chapters. Respecting accessibility means ensuring that every page put online and every piece of content published scrupulously complies with all these criteria. 

By respecting standards, we enable everyone to consult the site with their own equipment, their own particularities or even their own habits. So whatever your browser, the information remains available. Blind people can also use technical aids, software that reads the content and information presented on the screen, and thus listen through a voice synthesizer or read through a Braille display the texts proposed. Efforts have also been made to improve the accessibility and legibility of texts. 

A civic-minded approach 

But beyond a human approach and a quality approach, opening an accessible website is also a response to a legal obligation. Article 47 of the February 11, 2005 law on equal rights and opportunities, participation and citizenship for people with disabilities stipulates: 

"On-line public communication services provided by the State, local authorities and their public establishments must be accessible to people with disabilities. 

Similarly, many European directives call for free access to information for all, without discrimination: this is also what digital accessibility is all about. 

But beyond the necessary respect for the law, respect for all and guaranteed access to information are part of a rationale of environmental quality and sustainable development. In this way, information and access to services can be seen as something that belongs to everyone, and is therefore available to all. 

Human rights defender 

If you notice a lack of accessibility that prevents you from accessing a content or functionality of the site, and you report it to us and do not manage to obtain a rapid response from us, you are entitled to send your complaints or a request for referral to the Rights Defender. There are several ways to do this: 

  1. a contact form: https://www.defenseurdesdroits.fr/  
  2. the list of delegates in your region with their direct contact details: https://www.defenseurdesdroits.fr/fr/saisir/delegues  
  3. a postal address:
    Le Défenseur des droits
    7 rue Saint-Florentin
    75409 Paris Cedex 08