Study Images - 3 pictures of students studying with laptops and in discussion.

Canvas VLE at Glasgow Clyde College

Glasgow Clyde College takes accessibility very seriously. All staff receive training on inclusion and accessibility at induction, and lecturing staff are supported to ensure that they know how to provide and create learning and teaching materials that are accessible.

About Canvas and Accessibility at Glasgow Clyde College

Canvas is the Virtual Learning Environment used to support Learning, Teaching, and Assessment at Glasgow Clyde College (GCC). The Canvas platform at GCC is administered and maintained by the eLearning team. Each Curriculum Team is responsible for the use of Canvas to provide materials and resources to support the delivery of teaching and learning. These include Pages, Quizzes, Assignments, Discussions, and Group Work that are created natively in Canvas. These also include uploaded files such as PDFs, images, Word files, and PowerPoints. Curriculum Teams also make use of embedded video from ClickView and other sources, as well as linking out to resources online.

For the majority of content on Canvas user should be able to:

change contrast levels
zoom in up to 300% without the text spilling off the screen
navigate most of the website using just a keyboard
navigate most of the website using speech recognition software
listen to most of the website using a screen reader

Instructure Accessibility Statement - Canvas

Instructure is committed to ensuring its products are accessible to users with disabilities. The Canvas LMS strives for WCAG 2.1 Level A/AA and Section 508 conformance. Regular testing (both internal and by a third party) is conducted to identify conformance issues, with processes in place for timely remediation of accessibility issues that are identified. Canvas is a complex and broad system.

Canvas has been evaluated by Instructure and WebAIM according to WCAG 2.1 standards. Testing is regularly conducted using automated tools, assistive technology (such as screen readers, keyboard testing, etc.), and coding best practices. Third party accessibility evaluation occurs semi-annually with internal audits conducted with each release. Mechanisms are in place for logging and fixing accessibility defects.

More information from Instructure

Non-accessible Content

This VLE is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed and provided in the link below.

Canvas is a third-party platform, supplied by Instructure, which means that some aspects of its accessibility are outside our immediate control. Instructure’s Canvas LMS Accessibility Conformance Report identifies the platform’s known areas of partial and non-compliance with WCAG 2.1.

Most of the content on Canvas has been created by College Staff. The accessibility level may vary between HTML pages and different file types. The main areas of non-compliance are:

Alternative text for visual content may be missing or insufficient (success criteria 1.1.1)
PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint files and Canvas pages may not have headers to facilitate navigation (success criteria 1.3.1)
Some PDF files may not be readable with screen-readers
Some videos may not have accurate enough captioning

Working to Improve Accessibility

GCC continues to set high expectations for staff with regards to accessibility and inclusion, recognising that good accessible digital materials are an excellent resource for all learners. We continue to provide training through our webinar programme, our Two Minute Tuesday weekly digital training resources, and through our bespoke training for curriculum teams.

In addition, we have a strong Learning Inclusion team that provides direct support for students with additional support needs, including working directly with teaching staff to help them understand how to ensure that they remove barriers to learning.

Furthermore, staff and students can make use of Sensus Access to help create accessible and alternate versions of materials.

Reporting Accessibility Issues

If you experience issues with using Canvas please speak with your lecturer in the first instance. If issues of accessibility remain, please contact eLearning@glasgowclyde.ac.uk.

Enforcement of Accessibility Regulations

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the accessibility regulations. If you are not happy with how GCC has responded to your notification or request, you can contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Glasgow Clyde College Accessibility Statement - Website

GCC Accessibility Statement College Website.docx