Accessibility of administrative services

Accessibility plan

In this plan, we describe how Administration services are produced in an accessible manner at HAMK. 

Accessibility involves taking the difference and diversity of people into account in the design and implementation of online services. Regarding Administration services, accessibility means that the use of online services would be easy for as many users of our services as possible who receive, adopt and structure information in many different ways.

Communications

Administration services include registry services. The registry receives and processes official emails and official documents. The cases are processed in the Dynasty case management system. Documents leaving the registry are produced electronically or sent by post. Outgoing document templates will be made accessible in 2023. In addition, the process ensures that documents made on accessible templates are accessible.

The registry also receives requests for information that it handles in an accessible manner. All email communications for Administration services are produced in an accessible manner.

Administration is responsible for the training and use of the Dynasty case management system throughout the organisation. Instructions for use are available on the Administration intranet. All instructions will be made available during 2023, and accessibility will be ensured in the production of the new instructions.

Administration produces the agendas and minutes of the HAMK Group’s bodies. The agendas and minutes will be made accessible in 2023. Administration also responsible for the accessibility of decision templates for officials. The accessibility of the agendas, minutes and decisions to be published will be ensured as part of the drafting process.

Responsibilities

All Administration employees understand what accessibility is and strive to take accessibility into account in their activities. All persons in the Administration complete training in producing accessible documents. Accessibility is considered in all planning of Administration.

Objectives for 2023

Financial managemet, procurement and project services

Accessibility involves taking the difference and diversity of people into account in the design and implementation of online services. Regarding Finance Services and Project Services, accessibility means that the use of online services would be easy for as many users of our services as possible who receive, adopt and structure information in many different ways.

The instructions for Finance Services have been compiled on the Working at HAMK and Working as supervisor intranet websites. The instructions for Project Services have been compiled on the RDI activities intranet website. As a rule, the intranet is built to be accessible. The main way of presenting information is by text. For possible tables, images, figures and process diagrams, technical accessibility has been considered as follows:

• For Finance Services, the data in the tables will be made machine readable and implemented as actual tables during 2023.
• For Project Services, the information in the tables is machine-readable and implemented as actual tables.
• When using images, their layout is considered and an illustrative caption is added.
• The patterns are made using software designed for making them (e.g. Word or PowerPoint), taking into account the layout and colouring of the shapes used, etc.
• Written instructions on the matters described in the process diagrams are also available.

The oldest documents on the website are not accessible and it is not appropriate to change them to an accessible format. Starting from 2022, new and updated documents will be created in an accessible format.

Current issues are communicated on the Research and Development Yammer group. The aim is to achieve maximum accessibility in the use of email. Accessible Word and PowerPoint templates are used to produce new documents.

Finance Services and Project Services operate as bilingual offices (Finnish and English). Language versions are mainly implemented as separate documents.

The realisation of accessibility is monitored with feedback and personal observations.

Consideration of accessibility in procurements

Accessibility must be considered, depending on the nature of the procurement, when determining the minimum requirements for the goods and services to be procured. For example, in the case of new information systems, the system is already required to meet certain accessibility criteria in the invitation to tender. In the case of machinery and equipment purchases, the ease of use and the existence and accessibility of the necessary instructions are considered.

The accessibility of the tender documents is considered. The tender system Cloudia makes the documents it has formed (e.g. invitation to tender, comparison table) automatically accessible. In addition, accessibility is also considered in other tendering documents such as the appendices to the invitation to tender, the procurement decision and the contracts.

Responsibilities

The staff must familiarise themselves with HAMK’s accessibility guidelines and ensure that accessibility has been considered as far as possible in all external and internal communications. The staff participates in internal trainings on accessibility requirements organised by the employer.

From the beginning of 2023, Project Services will offer low-threshold on-call times on the Teams platform and at the Hämeenlinna University Centre once a month. Topical issues will be compiled in a newsletter format to increase the accessibility of information.