Accessible HAMK

The printers in the common areas and classrooms of the Design Factory (a total of seven) are also intended for student use. There are also computers near these printers that can be logged into with a student ID. The misunderstanding may have arisen because the Peppi system used for room reservations does not allow for advance instructions for room bookers. Unfortunately, Design Factory staff cannot always be present to provide guidance. Written instructions can be found at the entrances to the rooms and next to the devices, and the most essential instructions also include contact information for problem situations.

Question:

I studied at HAMK Design Factory in the E-building of the University Center and needed prints. There were no desktop computers near the KonicaMinolta printer, which made it difficult to modify the print settings. The teachers told me that there are no desktop computers available for students in the building and directed me to the library in the B-building to print. I am particularly concerned about students with mobility impairments who have to move to another building to print. Could computers and printing instructions be placed near the printers for students to use?

Answer:

Thank you for your feedback. Unfortunately, there has been some misunderstanding:

Question:

Is there any information on when we will get an accessible Moodle? The current one is not accessible at all, as it is almost impossible to get an overall picture of the teaching content. Only a title and five links fit on one screen, which normally take up about five centimeters of the screen.

Answer:

Thank you for your feedback on the accessibility of the Moodle environment. Moodle, as a system and in terms of the visual theme used at HAMK, meets the accessibility requirements at the AA level. Effective use of the environment also requires careful planning and organization of teaching content. A more spacious and better accessible theme was adopted in April 2019, after which almost all teachers have updated their content to take into account the possibilities and requirements of the new theme. We recommend that everyone update their own content. If necessary, the Learning Design team and digital pedagogy mentors will be happy to assist in this issue.

At Hämeenlinna University Centre lobby C elevator has a new sign stating that the elevator is only for staff use. However, there are classrooms on all floors and all students have to have access to all classrooms. Why is the use of the elevator restricted to staff only when there are students with reduced mobility and they must have access to all areas int the campus?

Question:

Answer:

Thank you for the feedback. The guidance is recent and is due to the elevator’s load. The problem is that the elevator is often out of order for various reasons. The goal is to reduce the use of the elevator and ensure that it is available for those who really need it (people with mobility impairments, cleaners, goods transporters, etc.). The guidance will be adjusted so that people with mobility impairments can still use the elevator.

Question:

Module maps are currently available on the public website without ECTS credits. It would be convenient for everyone if these maps also included ECTS credits. As a guidance counsellor, I submit statements to the authorities,  student progress, for example, and pre-scored module maps would speed up the process considerably. Students could also make use of these maps, for example, when planning their studies.

Answer:

Thank you for your feedback. We will take this into account in the further development of the module map template and instructions.

The current common module map template ensures technical accessibility and provides a minimum indicative content. Credits can very well be included in the module map! The degree programmes use module maps in different ways:

• Only modules are displayed
• Modules and selected courses are displayed
• Modules and courses with implementation codes are displayed.

ECTS credits are not visible in the template, because by default the scope of the module is 15 ECTS credits during one period. We also feel that the information in the module map alone does not sufficiently support the planning of the student’s studies.

Question:

There is no base map available for the Hämeenlinna campus. Of course, there is a picture of the campus area and its buildings online, but where is each classroom located? Which door should be used and how to get through the buildings? Could the emergency evacuation route maps indicate the room numbers?

Answer:

Thank you for the feedback. Guide maps and exit signs both have their own roles.

Detailed guide maps of open public spaces are no longer recommended to be shared, especially online, for security reasons.

The spaces are numbered according to the buildings and floors. For example, C245 is located on the second floor of building C. This logic helps navigate inside the buildings.

The simplified floor plans of the key premises of the University Center will be added to the information display in the N-lobby for the use of both students and visitors.

The primary purpose of evacuation signs is to guide individuals out in emergency situations, so room numbers have not been added to them for clarity.

We received feedback on the lack of accessibility: 

“The accessible toilet on the 1st floor of building S has been taken out of use. Vandalism is, of course, unfortunate, but there has not been any information on the subject in the facilities or in HAMK’s communications to put an end to the it. It would be important to at least try to address vandalism and not use it as a pretext to reduce the accessibility of services for students with disabilities.” 

The situation has been investigated and, unfortunately, there has been clear repeated inappropriate use and vandalism in the premises. For this reason, the toilet in question will be locked in at least May. The key to the accessible toilet is available at the campus info. We are monitoring the situation of this toilet. A reminder has been posted in the space saying vandalism has no place in our community. Campus-specific rules and regulations are also being drafted, in which vandalism is explicitly prohibited. 

All vandalism is unacceptable, and we always intervene as soon as we become aware of it. For this reason, it is also important that the users of the premises immediately report any issues they observe directly to the staff or via electronic reporting channels (e.g. hamk.fi/safety).

We received feedback on the colors of the interior of the main building of the Hämeenlinna University Center.

“I have been thinking about whether an accessibility assessment was done during the design of the S-building. In my opinion, the color contrasts are insufficient: the toilet signs are inconspicuous. Also, the classroom number signs are difficult to distinguish from the doors. Similarly, the doors are often the same color as the walls, so there is a complete lack of contrast.”

In real estate services, feedback has been considered. The response to the feedback is:

“Thank you for the feedback! Accessibility assessment is included in good architectural design of public spaces. Therefore, it was not separately done in the S-building, but it was included in the design and construction process. The colors of the printed signs can be adjusted to be more visible, and this will be done during the winter. All the doors of the building are factory-painted, so repainting them is not meaningful.”

HAMK’s visual identity has been renewed in the fall of 2023. As part of the change, the font used in Office documents was also changed from Verdana to Arial. The font change received accessibility feedback from within the organization.

“Why has HAMK switched to using Arial font in Office documents, which is not as accessible as Verdana? There is a risk of letters getting mixed up in Arial, because capital I and lowercase l look similar. In Verdana, the letters are clearly different in appearance when placed side by side.”

Answer: balance between appearance and accessibility

The brand renewal has been led by HAMK’s communication, and the feedback will be responded to as follows:

When choosing brand fonts, we have taken into account the accessibility of the font as a whole. The goal is to make the text easy to read and scan.

The WCAG requirements for digital services do not set requirements for fonts, but all specifications regarding fonts are recommendations. It is also stated on Saavutettavasti.fi web service that there are no clear requirements to use a specific font: “Sans serif fonts – (i.e. fonts without serifs) – such as Verdana, Tahoma, Trebuchet or Arial, are considered easy to read in online content. The most important thing is the readability of the font.”

It must also be taken into account that people do not generally read individual letters, but they are almost always part of a word, so the distinctiveness of a single character from another is not the first thing that catches attention.

It is true that in the fonts we have chosen, the lowercase letter l and the uppercase letter I resemble each other. When choosing the font, we made a strong consideration and weighed different options with HAMK’s accessibility experts and other sources. We wanted to choose a font that would be suitable for the brand image and also as accessible as possible.

From a communication perspective, the most essential thing for accessibility is well-crafted, clear text.