News and Events
Cambridge achieves gold for accessibility information
Cambridge University Press & Assessment has become one of only four publishers globally to achieve a 100 percent score from ASPIRE, showing we are providing a high quality of accessibility information for web-users who have disabilities.
The accessibility statement on our main website, cambridge.org, has been awarded a gold standard set by ASPIRE – the Accessible Statements Promoting Improved Reading Experience project – and is the first in 2023 to score full marks.
We are one of only four publishers globally to have achieved the gold rating, showing we are providing a high quality of accessibility information for web-users who have disabilities.
Three of our web platforms now have a 100 percent ASPIRE score: the new accreditation for our main website cambridge.org alongside Cambridge Core, the home of our academic publishing, and Cambridge Advance Online, which offers flexible online learning led by University of Cambridge academics.
Identifying barriers for greater accessibility
The ASPIRE project aims to standardise accessibility statements, so that readers know the functionality they can use or the barriers they need to work around when accessing information in a digital format.
“The statement itself declares what we’re doing well and where users might encounter barriers,” said Julie Elsden, senior developer (accessibility). “It shows that we’re taking accessibility seriously and are continuously finding ways to improve the digital experience for people with disabilities.”
This new gold-rated achievement is the latest example of the work we're doing to provide a fully accessible experience for research, teaching and learning across all our products, platforms and websites.
“I'm really proud of achieving the gold standard but we recognise that we have more to do,” said James Carr, course operations manager, Cambridge Online Education. “The process of going through the review has helped us identify additional barriers for some users, so we know where we need to make changes to provide even greater accessibility.”
As part of our efforts toward greater accessibility, digital products across the organisation have undergone third-party audits with the Digital Accessibility Centre, involving expert reviews and testing by users who have a range of disabilities.
The process of going through through the review has helped us identify additional barriers for some users, so we know where we need to make changes to provide even greater accessibility.
Cambridge University Press & Assessment was also the first signatory to the Publishing Accessibility Action Group (PAAG) charter, which aims to make publishers’ content accessible to all and to aid others in that endeavour. In addition, we have recently become a signatory of the Accessible Books Consortium (ABC) charter for Accessible Publishing, which promotes the production of e-books and other digital publications in accessible formats such as braille, audio or large print for people who are blind, visually impaired or otherwise print disabled through eight aspirational guiding principles.
The ASPIRE project was launched in 2018 as a crowdsourced project to evaluate the quality of accessibility statements in the publishing industry. Since then, it has partnered with textBOX, a company working to improve alt-text descriptions and grown to help publishers create a transparent environment for content.
Our Digital Accessibility Network members champion digital accessibility and share knowledge across departments and teams. Accessibility champions share knowledge, ask questions about accessibility and help to ensure it is integrated into all our products and services. The network is one of several staff networks that help to push us further as an organisation.
