Accessibility statement

This page describes how well git.nrw works with assistive technology and without a mouse, which barriers we know about, and how to report one. We follow the North Rhine-Westphalia Disability Equality Act (BGG NRW, section 10b) and the Ordinance on Accessible Information Technology (BITV NRW, sections 4 and 5). Both implement Directive (EU) 2016/2102. The structure follows the EU model statement (Implementing Decision (EU) 2018/1523).

You do not need a GitLab account to report a barrier. Report an accessibility barrier

Scope

This statement covers the public website git.nrw in German and English. That includes the home page, courses and lessons, documentation, FAQ, news, use cases, the profiling quiz, the profile page and the contact form. It also covers the tool for creating course images at /tools/thumbnail-generator/, which course authors use in the browser.

Not covered by this statement:

  • The GitLab service at gitlab.git.nrw, including sign-in through the universities. There is no assessment and no statement of its own for the GitLab service. We make no statement about its accessibility here.
  • Third-party services that we link to or embed, for example the community chat, the mailing list and video players of external providers.

Responsible body

The publisher of the website is RWTH Aachen University. The git.nrw project consortium is responsible for the content, represented by the IT Center of RWTH Aachen University, Seffenter Weg 23, 52074 Aachen, Germany. The imprint has the full details.

Conformance status

The git.nrw website is partially accessible. It does not fully meet the requirements of the harmonized standard EN 301 549 and of BITV NRW. Our evaluations found barriers at levels A and AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). The areas where they occur are listed in the next section.

The list is not exhaustive. Automated checks find only some barriers, and some areas are not assessed.

The reason for the barriers is that the requirements are not implemented in those places. We do not claim a disproportionate burden.

Known barriers and alternatives

The list names the kind of barrier per area, not individual defects. Where an alternative exists, it follows the barrier. We do not give dates for changes.

Courses and videos

  • Learning videos from other providers that are embedded on git.nrw partly have only automatic or incomplete captions.

The summary and learning objectives of the video courses are available as text on the course page. They do not replace the video.

Tool for course images

  • The layout of the tool does not adapt to narrow screens and strong magnification.

Only course authors need the tool. Course images can also be created from a settings file with bun run thumbnail.

Areas not assessed

  • The GitLab service at gitlab.git.nrw, as described above.
  • The controls of the embedded video players and whether the videos need audio description. We have read the captions only in samples.
  • Text alternatives in all screenshots, diagrams, linked downloads and external learning materials.
  • Use with screen readers, with 200 and 400 percent magnification in all states, and by people with disabilities. No independent assessment by a third party has taken place.

We do not offer explanations in Easy Language or in German Sign Language.

Preparation of this statement

This statement was prepared on 24 October 2026. It is based on a self-assessment by the project team, not on an assessment by a third party.

The assessment relies on:

  • an automated scan of all published pages with axe-core in Chromium against the rules of WCAG 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2 (levels A and AA),
  • a manual keyboard check of selected pages and flows, including the contact form, FAQ, dialogs, quiz, search and the mobile menu,
  • a check of selected pages at 320 pixels width and of the mobile menu at 390 pixels width.

We review the statement at least once a year, and also when we fix an area or add a new one. We track individual defects as tickets labeled a11y in the project repository.

Report a barrier or request information

Did you find a barrier, can you not use some content, or do you want to request information in an accessible form? Then write to us through the contact form with the topic “Report an accessibility barrier” and briefly describe what happened. The form opens with that topic selected and asks for three things:

  • the address of the page,
  • what you wanted to do and what happened instead,
  • optionally, which browser, device and assistive technology you used.

You do not need a GitLab account and do not have to sign in. We do not need any health information. Attachments are optional. The email address info@git.nrw from the imprint also reaches the project consortium. The privacy policy applies to the form as well.

We reply to you by email. Section 5 of BITV NRW sets a period of two to six weeks at most for this, depending on the size of the public body and the complexity of the request. If the matter is not settled by then, you receive an interim message. Our reply points to the ombuds procedure.

Complaint to the ombuds office

If you are not satisfied with our reply or receive none, you can contact the Ombuds Office for Accessible Information Technology of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is assigned to the Commissioner for the Interests of People with Disabilities (section 10d BGG NRW, section 9 BITV NRW). The ombuds office tries to establish the circumstances of the missing accessibility so that the public body can fix them. The official pages are in German.