Accessibility statement for Turnitin (Feedback Studio)

This accessibility statement applies to Turnitin (Feedback Studio).  

Turnitin is an online anti-plagiarism and feedback integration, used by staff and students, that integrates with the university’s Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), Learning Space (Moodle) and Falmouth Learn (Canvas). This website is run by third-party vendor, Turnitin LLC. Feedback Studio contains feedback and a similarity report and is the area of Turnitin that staff and students interact with. Falmouth University want as many people as possible to be able to use this service. For example, that means you should be able to: 

  • change colours, contrast levels and fonts using browser or device settings 
  • zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen 
  • navigate most of the website using a keyboard or speech recognition software 
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver) 

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. 

How accessible this website is 

We know some parts of Turnitin (Feedback Studio) are not fully accessible: 

  • Turnitin Assignment Submission Status pages in Learning Space (Moodle) and Falmouth Learn (Canvas) – Accessed by students and staff. 
  • Accepting Turnitin’s End User License Agreement (EULA) in Learning Space (Moodle) – Accessed by students. 
  • Turnitin Feedback Studio integration accessed via Learning Space (Moodle) and Falmouth Learn (Canvas) – Accessed by students and staff. 
  •  Downloaded PDF submissions. PDF submissions downloaded from Feedback Studio are not tagged by Turnitin and they may not be accessible to screen readers. 

Feedback and contact information 

If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact us using our web form. 

Enforcement procedure 

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS). 

Technical information about this website’s accessibility 

Falmouth University is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. 

Compliance status 

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard. 

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below. 

Non-accessible content 

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons. 

Critical accessibility issues 

  • Non-text content without alternative text are present. 
  • Non-text content is still visible to assistive technologies. 
  • Form elements are missing labels  
  • Interactive controls are nested and could cause focus problems for assistive technologies.  
  • Interface contains components which cannot be programmatically determined. 
  • Buttons without discernible are text present. 
  • Use of colour and colour contrast.  
  • Zooming and scaling limitations are present. 

Serious accessibility issues 

  • List items do not contain the correct markup syntax. 
  • Scrollable regions without keyboard access are present. 
  • Not all interactive controls are not keyboard operable.  
  • Instances of ARIA toggle field and ARIA commands not having an accessible name or valid values. 
  • Elements are using non-permitted ARIA attributes. 

Moderate accessibility issues 

  • None 

Minor accessibility issues 

  • None 

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations 

Non-text content - WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A) 
Non-text content in Feedback Studio do not have text alternatives to explain their purpose to assistive technologies. For example, some forms contain empty form labels.  

Hidden non-text content visible to assistive technologies - WCAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A) 
There are instances of hidden non-text content within Feedback Studio that can still be accessed by keyboard or screen reader users. 
 
Form elements missing labels -  WGAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A) 
There are some instances of form elements missing labels meaning their purpose, function, or action is unknown to a screen reader. For example, the Info modal accessed via the Layers panel menu in Feedback Studio. 

Nested Interactive controls - WGAG 1.1.1 Non-text Content (Level A) 
There are instances of interactive controls being nested. For example, in the Grading Layer and Similarity Layer in the Layers panel menu in Feedback Studio. Nested controls are not always announced and result in focus problems for assistive technologies.  

Interface contains components which cannot be programmatically determined -  WGAG 4.1.2: Name, Role, Value (Level A) 
Some areas of Feedback Studio lack semantic structure and contain user interface components whose name, role, state, and value cannot be programmatically determined. Without semantic structure, assistive technologies may not be able to locate controls or other important elements. For example, controls like buttons or tabs do not have appropriate name, role, and/or state information in Similarity panel menu (with layers Match Groups, Top Sources & All Sources), Filters and Navigation bar menus. 

Buttons without discernible are text - WCAG 4.1.2: MUST: Name, Role, Value (Level A) 
There are instances of buttons that do not contain discernible text. For example, in the Grading Layer and Similarity Layer in the Layers panel menu in Feedback Studio. Buttons require discernible text that clearly describes their destination, purpose, function, or action for assistive technologies. 

Use of colour and colour contrast - WCAG 1.4.1 Use of Color (Level A) 
Colour is sometimes used as the only visual means of conveying information, indicating an action, prompting a response, or distinguishing a visual element. For example, the similarity score presented within an assignment submission in the Virtual Learning Environments have a colour range of Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red but no key is presented to the user.  

Some elements do not have sufficient colour contrast. For example, the use of blue and red overlays on an assignment’s text within Feedback Studio is not sufficient for some users.  

Zooming and scaling limitations - WCAG 1.4.4: Resize text (Level A) 
When a web browser is set to 200% zoom and beyond, some content in the Layers panel menu in Feedback Studio is not visible and cannot be accessed by scrolling. 

List items with incorrect markup -  WCAG 1.3.1: Info and Relationships (Level A) 
Feedback Studio does not consistently ensure information, structure and relationships conveyed through presentation can also be determined programmatically or through text. For example, content that appears as a list in the Layers panel menu does not use list markup. 

Interactive controls are not keyboard operable - WCAG 2.1.1: Keyboard (Level A), WCAG  2.1.3: Keyboard (No Exception) (Level A)
Feedback Studio does not consistently ensure that interactive content and functionality is accessible and operable using only a keyboard. For example, some interactive controls cannot be navigated to and/or operated with the keyboard alone in the Similarity Layer panel menu. 

Scrollable regions present that do not have keyboard access -  WCAG 2.1.1: Keyboard (Level A), WCAG 2.1.3: Keyboard (No Exception) (Level A) 
Scrollable content is required for focusable elements enabling keyboard navigation. There are instances of keyboard navigation failing when focus moves to an element within a scrollable region which the keyboard cannot access. For example, within Turnitin’s End User License Agreement (EULA) dialog within assignment submission area of Learning Space (Moodle). 

ARIA toggle field and ARIA commands not having an accessible name or valid values -  WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)
ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) must be used appropriately to enhance accessibility when HTML is not sufficient. There are instances of an ARIA toggle field not having an accessible name. For example, in the Layers panel menu in Feedback Studio. 

There are instances of ARIA commands not having an accessible name or valid values. For example, in the Layers panel menu in Feedback Studio. 

Elements using non-permitted ARIA attributes - WCAG 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A) 
ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) must be used appropriately to enhance accessibility when HTML is not sufficient. Some ARIA attributes are used on some areas which are not permitted for an element's role. For example, in the Grading Layer and Similarity Layer in the Layers panel menu in Feedback Studio.   

Disproportionate burden 

Falmouth University have not classified any of the non-compliant content that we can fix as a disproportionate burden, and we have not identified any issues that would class as an exemption under law.  

Turnitin Feedback Studio is developed by a third-party vendor. We do not have control over the accessibility of their platform, but we endeavour to work with the vendor to improve the accessibility of their service.  

What we’re doing to improve accessibility 

Our accessibility roadmap shows how and when we plan to address the accessibility of Turnitin (Feedback Studio). 

To summarise, these include: 

  • Reacting quickly and effectively to feedback regarding non-compliant content and communicating these issues to relevant the parties. 
  • Meeting with this third-party supplier feeding back accessibility issues and working with them to improve their services. 

Preparation of this accessibility statement 

This statement was prepared on 28 August 2025.   

This website was last tested on 19 August 2025 against the WCAG 2.2 AA standard. 

The test was carried out by the Digital Learning team at Falmouth University. The most viewed page types were tested using automated testing tool, Axe DevTools. A further audit of the software was carried out to the WCAG 2.2 AA standard.