Welsh language policy in relation to the delivery of services to students and members of the public

1. Policy Statement

1.1. The University welcomes the commitments set out in the Welsh Language Standards received from the Welsh Language Commissioner’s Office in September 2017 and will continue to actively promote the Welsh language amongst its staff student body. As part of its contribution to the culture, society and economy of Wales, the University is committed to treating the Welsh language no less favourably than the English language.

1.2. The Welsh Language (no. 6) Regulations 2017 are designed to support the principle that the Welsh Language is treated no less favourably than the English Language. This policy outlines the University’s responsibilities in relation to its Welsh language service provision in line with the requirements of the Welsh Language Standards.

1.3. Areas of this policy apply across all University departments. It is the responsibility of all staff who are involved in service delivery to adhere to the guidance set out in this document.

2. Objectives of the Policy

2.1. This policy advises on the use of the Welsh language in the University’s delivery of services.

2.2. The policy provides guidance on services that must be provided in both Welsh and English, and our commitment to ensuring that the Welsh language is treated no less favourably than the English language.

3. Correspondence, publications and advertising

3.1. Where any student, prospective student or member of the public writes to the University in Welsh via any medium (email, SMS, written correspondence etc.) a reply must be given in Welsh unless the person who sent the correspondence has indicated that there is no need to reply in Welsh, or if no reply is necessary.

3.2. For the purposes of sending outgoing correspondence and/or producing publications and advertising[1] materials, paragraphs 3.3 onwards of Section 3 will apply if the material is produced on behalf of the University body[2] and aimed at any student(s) or member(s) of the public residing in Wales, where the purpose or content of that publication relates to any one or more of the following:

• the admission and selection of students;
• information provided to students and prospective students about the University body;
• the welfare of students;
• complaints;
• disciplinary proceedings in respect of a student;
• careers services;
• student intranet, virtual learning sites and learning portal sites;
• graduation and award ceremonies;
• the assessment or examination of a student;
• the awarding of grants and the provision of financial assistance;
• public lectures;
• learning opportunities;
• allocation of a personal tutor;
• student accommodation, libraries and art centres;
• calls to helpline, call centre or main telephone numbers and automated telephone systems;
• signs on the University’s buildings.

3.3. Where a student or prospective student’s language choice is known and the communication is personalised and unique to that individual, correspondence/publications and advertising can be sent in the preferred language choice only and does not need to be sent bilingually.

3.4. When the University body sends the same correspondence or publicity and advertising material(s) to several persons, a Welsh language version of the correspondence or material(s) must be sent at the same time as any English language version; unless the material is intended solely for international or EU students.

3.5. For the purposes of sending outgoing communications, the University will apply a policy of placing the content in the language in which it was originally written ahead of any translated content.

3.6. In all correspondence issued by the University and in all publications and notices, a disclaimer must be included stating that the University welcomes correspondence in Welsh and that it will reply to correspondence in Welsh within the same timeframes as English language responses.

3.7. Where separate English and Welsh language versions of publicity and advertising material is produced, the English language version must state that a Welsh language version is available.

3.8. The University is not required to translate into Welsh any text which it has not produced, however best practice would be to request that external providers of information provide bilingual or separate Welsh/English versions wherever possible, as many such organisations may fall under their own Welsh Language Standard requirements in terms of publications and advertising material.

3.9. All university staff will create bilingual email signatures and bilingual automated replies to email correspondence.

3.10. When you advertise telephone numbers, helpline numbers or call centre services, you must not treat the Welsh language less favourably than the English language, as regards the visual presentation of material (size, font, colour, layout), size and format of the material, position or prominence of the material in any public place or when and how material is published, provided or exhibited; you must state (in Welsh) that you welcome calls in Welsh.

4. Signs and notices

4.1. As and when existing signs and notices are renewed, they will be replaced with either a bilingual sign/s or notice/s conveying the same information in both Welsh and English with the Welsh language text positioned so that it is likely to be read first.

4.2. Any temporary signs and notices erected from 1 April 2018 must display the Welsh language text so that it likely to be read before any English language text irrelevant of when the sign or notice was produced.

4.3. Text for both the Welsh and English languages must be equal in font, size, weight and format.

4.4. The Welsh language on all signs and notices must be accurate in terms of meaning and expression.

4.5. Reception areas with staff able to provide a Welsh language service must display either a bilingual sign/notice which states that visitors are welcome to use the Welsh language at that reception.

5. External website and student and staff intranet

5.1. Every existing and new page of the University’s external website, the student intranet and the staff intranet will be available and fully functional through the medium of Welsh and English.

5.1.1. External Website: For the purposes of this policy, ‘External Website’ will mean HTML pages and associated downloadable files (e.g. images, PDFs) that are created for a public audience and where access is not restricted. This definition excludes “user-generated content”.

5.1.2. Student Intranet: For the purposes of this policy, ‘Student Intranet’ will mean HTML pages and associated downloadable files (e.g. images, PDFs) that are not publicly accessible but are published by the University for all our students. This definition excludes “user-generated content”. In cases where there is doubt as to the categorisation of a service please contact the IT Architecture Team (it-architecture@cardiff.ac.uk)

5.1.3. Staff Intranet: For the purposes of this policy, ‘Staff Intranet’ will mean HTML pages and associated downloadable files (e.g. images, PDFs) that are not publicly accessible but are published by the University for all of our employees and where access is not restricted. This definition excludes “user-generated content”.

5.2. Section 5 only applies to content and interfaces that are created by Cardiff University and does not apply to the following:

• Any text that the University has not produced, that is not available in Welsh nor reasonable to translate (e.g. imported from an external source and embedded on our webpages)
• Documents to which a link is provided on a website[3]
• Advertising material on a website that is not created by Cardiff University
• Video and audio clips on a website
• Content that is not published by the University on an interactive page published on our website (e.g. comments or discussion forum, user generated content)
• Social media content
• Any content only available in a language other than English.

*Please note that blog posts produced by the University and available to all staff / the public are not user generated content and must be available in the mediums of both Welsh and English. User generated content such as comments are out of scope.

5.5. Where content that is exempt from the Welsh Language Standards is already consistently translated, this is expected to continue. E.g. Videos may still be provided in the mediums of Welsh and English.

5.6. It must be stated on any English language page with a corresponding Welsh language page that a Welsh version exists and a link must be provided

5.7. The interface and menus on relevant external website, Student and Staff Intranet pages must be available in Welsh if the pages they link to are available in Welsh

5.8. All Welsh and English web pages shall be equal in terms of design, quality and accuracy and will be updated at the same time.

5.9. Online information relating specifically to international students will not be available in Welsh.

6. Virtual Learning Sites and Learning Portals

6.1. For the purposes of this policy, ‘Virtual Learning Sites and Learning Portals’ refer to online services accessed through a web browser that are intended to facilitate learning for students and members of the public. Learning Central is the university’s main virtual learning site. In cases where there is doubt as to the categorisation of a service please contact the IT Architecture Team (itarchitecture@cardiff.ac.uk)

6.2. All course materials and online courses are exempt from being made available in Welsh according to the Welsh Language Standards. This includes academic texts and resources, virtual classrooms and academic discussions forums, recordings of teaching events, formative assessment materials, as well as generic summative assessment feedback, past papers and model answers.

6.3. Other University created or commissioned content that falls within the scope of the Service Delivery Standards must be made available in Welsh. This includes:

6.3.1. Announcements about the following services: information about the University as a whole; student welfare; complaints and student disciplinary matters; careers; the student intranet and Learning Central; graduation and award ceremonies; libraries; examinations and assessment; grants and financial assistance; public lectures; allocation of a personal tutor; student accommodation; libraries. Bilingual announcements shall follow the principle of placing the content in the language in which it was originally written ahead of any translated content.

6.3.2. Resources for students created or commissioned by Cardiff University relating to the following services/activities: information about the University as a whole; student welfare; complaints and student disciplinary matters; careers; the student intranet and Learning Central; graduation and award ceremonies; libraries; examinations and assessment; grants and financial assistance; public lectures; allocation of a personal tutor; student accommodation; libraries. However there are exceptions for video and audio clips and for third party documents embedded in a webpage or to which a link is provided.

6.3.3. Information about summative assessment at the modular or sub-modular level must be made available in Welsh. Where summative assessments are to be carried out online, if a student is required to enter free text the right to submit that assessment in Welsh shall be respected. The process with respect to requesting, setting and marking the assessment will follow the same principles as applied by Registry to handwritten summative assessments.

6.4. Other information relating to the structure and content of programmes of study does not have to be made available in Welsh as it is not in the scope of the Service Delivery Standards.

6.5. Content in Discussion Forums, Journals and Student blogs is excluded from translation to Welsh as it is user-generated content.

6.6. Online information relating specifically to international students will not be available in Welsh.

6.7. System-generated menus and interfaces shall be available in Welsh where the University has created or commissioned them. Individual staff-generated course menus are considered to be course materials and are not required to be translated.

6.8. Interfaces and content in third-party tools do not have to be available in Welsh, unless a Welsh language version already exists, or the University has created or commissioned them.

6.9. It must be stated on any English language page with a corresponding Welsh language page that a Welsh version exists and a link must be provided

6.10. All Welsh and English web pages shall be equal in terms of design, quality and accuracy and will be updated at the same time.

7. Software and web applications

7.1. For the purposes of this policy, definitions of applicable services are as follows. In cases where there is doubt as to the categorisation of a service please contact the IT Architecture Team (itarchitecture@cardiff.ac.uk):

7.1.1. Software: both desktop software installed on a PC, and also enterprise applications that are not simply showing content that has been created by another individual.

7.1.2. Web application: a type of software that users interact with via a browser.

7.1.3. App: applications published for use on mobile phones and/or tablet devices via “App Stores” such as the Apple App Store or Google Play.

7.1.4. Websites, including the student intranet, virtual learning sites and learning portal sites, are excluded from this section of the policy; please refer to section 5.

7.2. Section 6 of the policy only applies to the extent that the activity undertaken or the service provided by or through the app, software or web application:

a. is delivered to persons residing in Wales and

b. relates to one or more of the following:

• the admission and selection of students;
• information created by the University intended for students and prospective students, excluding course material;
• the welfare of students;
• complaints from students or members of the public;
• disciplinary proceedings in respect of a student;
• careers service;
• graduation and award ceremonies;
• the assessment or examination of a student;
• the awarding of grants and the provision of financial assistance;
• public lectures
• learning opportunities; defined as any seminar, training, workshop, taster session, or similar provision which is provided in order to educate or to improve the skills of members of the public; but does not include- courses (including on-line courses) or course materials, or any seminar, training, workshop, taster session or similar provision provided as part of a course; or seminars or presentations relating to a performance or production.
• allocation of a personal tutor;
• student accommodation, libraries and arts centres;
• services interfacing with students or the public to enable calls to the following telephone lines: Main switchboard; IT Service Desk; Admissions; Undergraduate/Postgraduate recruitment; Press Office; Clearing helpline; Student Services; Estates helpline.
• signs on a body’s buildings

7.3. ‘Apps’, defined as applications published for use on mobile phones and/or tablet devices via “App Stores” such as the Apple App Store or Google Play, shall function fully in Welsh.

7.4. Software/web applications shall:

• provide a Welsh Language interface where one exists; or, where no Welsh language interface currently exists, the University shall explore options with the supplier and assess the costs of creating one and maintaining the service throughout the life of the product;
• shall be capable of delivering any content generated by the University (excluding audio and video clips) and issue any correspondence generated by the University, in Welsh as well as in English, treating the Welsh versions no less favourably.

7.5. The availability of a Welsh Language software interface does not have to be a deciding factor in software selection and it should instead be considered against other business requirements.

7.6. Software/web applications not falling within the scope listed in 6.2 do not need to provide any Welsh language capability (unless they provide services to staff – see Staff/Operational Standards Welsh Language Policy for the detail of what is required for staff facing services). Any development of a Welsh language interface for out of scope applications will normally take a lower priority than software or applications in scope.

8. Telephone services

8.1. This section of the policy provides guidance on the Welsh language requirements in terms of the following:

• Receiving telephone calls
• Voicemail messages
• Automated systems

8.2. For the purposes of this policy, ‘telephone calls’ refers to external calls to the University, not internal calls between staff members unless that call is to transfer an external call to another department.

8.3. For the purposes of this policy, ‘telephone calls’ means any call to a University telephone number where the purpose or content of that communication relates to any one or more of the following:

• the admission and selection of students;
• information provided to students and prospective students about the University body;
• the welfare of students;
• complaints;
• disciplinary proceedings in respect of a student;
• careers services;
• student intranet, virtual learning sites and learning portal sites;
• graduation and award ceremonies;
• the assessment or examination of a student;
• the awarding of grants and the provision of financial assistance;
• public lectures;
• learning opportunities;
• allocation of a personal tutor;
• student accommodation, libraries and art centres;
• calls to helpline, call centre or main telephone numbers and automated telephone systems;
• signs on the University’s buildings.

8.4. Staff responsible for greeting external callers on any main telephone number (or numbers), helpline numbers or call centre numbers, must greet the person in Welsh (and English) and deal with the call in Welsh if requested until such a point as;

(a) it is necessary to transfer the call to a member of staff who does not speak Welsh who can provide a service on a specific subject matter; and

(b) no Welsh speaking member of staff is available to provide a service on that specific subject matter.

8.5. If you offer a Welsh language service on your main telephone number (or numbers), on any helpline numbers or call centre numbers, the telephone number for the Welsh language service must be the same as for the corresponding English language service.

8.6. A bilingual voicemail message must be provided on any main telephone number (or numbers), helpline numbers or call centre numbers.

8.7. If you have performance indicators for dealing with telephone calls, you must ensure that those performance indicators do not treat telephone calls made in Welsh any less favourably than calls made in English.

8.8. When there is no Welsh language service available on your main telephone number (or numbers), or on any helpline numbers or call centre numbers, you must inform persons calling in Welsh (by way of an automated message or other), when a Welsh language service will be available.

8.9. Any automated telephone systems in operation must provide the complete automated service in Welsh (and English).

8.10. When any staff member makes outbound calls on behalf of the ‘University body’ to persons residing in Wales, the respondent must be asked if they wish to discuss the matter in hand in Welsh; this preference must be recorded with future calls relating to that matter conducted in Welsh.

9. Reception services

9.1. A bilingual reception service will be available at the following locations as of 1 October 2018

• Main Building
• McKenzie House
• Glamorgan Building
• Centre for Student Life
• IT Services Reception, 40-41 Park Place

9.2. If you arrange a visit or appointment in advance with an individual, where they will come to your reception, and the visit relates to any one or more of the following matters:

• the admission and selection of students;
• information provided to students and prospective students about the University body;
• the welfare of students;
• complaints;
• disciplinary proceedings in respect of a student;
• careers services;
• student intranet, virtual learning sites and learning portal sites;
• graduation and award ceremonies;
• the assessment or examination of a student;
• the awarding of grants and the provision of financial assistance;
• public lectures;
• learning opportunities;
• allocation of a personal tutor;
• student accommodation, libraries and art centres;
• calls to helpline, call centre or main telephone numbers and automated telephone systems;
• signs on the University’s buildings.

you must ask them whether they wish to receive a Welsh language reception service and provide this if requested.

9.3. A sign must be displayed (in Welsh) in bilingual reception locations stating that people are welcome to use the Welsh language at the reception.

9.4. If there is no face to face Welsh language reception service available, a Welsh language reception service will be available over a phone at the reception.

9.5. Welsh speaking reception staff must wear a badge to convey that they are able to provide a Welsh language service.

10. Meetings

10.1. When a member of staff arranges any meeting on behalf of the University with any student(s) or person(s) external to the University, where the purpose or content of that meeting relates to any one or more of the below matters:

• the admission and selection of students;
• information provided to students and prospective students about the University body;
• careers services;
• the assessment or examination of a student;
• the awarding of grants and the provision of financial assistance;
• learning opportunities;
• allocation of a personal tutor;

it is necessary to ask the person(s) invited to attend if they wish to use the Welsh language at the meeting. If hosting the meeting in Welsh is not possible, a simultaneous translation service will be provided to translate from Welsh to English to allow the attendee to contribute in Welsh if they so wish.

10.2. When a member of staff arranges any meeting on behalf of the University with any student(s) or person(s) external to the University, where the purpose or content of that meeting relates to any one or more of the below matters:

• a complaint made about or by a student or member of the public
• disciplinary proceedings in respect of a student
• providing student support in the form of counselling or support in relation to mental health issues

it is necessary to ask the person(s) invited to attend if they wish to use the Welsh language at the meeting. If hosting the meeting in Welsh is not possible, a simultaneous translation service will be provided to translate content from both Welsh to English and from English to Welsh.

11. Personal tutors

11.1. All students will be asked if they would like to be assigned a Welsh speaking Personal Tutor when they begin their studies. If there are no Welsh-speaking members in the teaching staff within the School, an appropriate member of staff from another School should be asked to tutor the student; a School based academic tutor who does not need to be a Welsh speaker can be allocated in addition to the Personal Tutor.

12. Assessments and examinations

12.1. The University’s Registry department shall have a process in place to ensure that all students are informed of their right to complete written assessments (including theses and dissertations)[4] through the medium of Welsh.

12.2. Where a student wishes to sit a written assessment in Welsh, the University will endeavour to ensure that all coursework, examination papers and scripts are marked in Welsh. Where this is not possible, the University will endeavour to ensure that examination papers and scripts are translated into English by a qualified translator with confidence in the relevant field of study.

12.3. Personal Tutors should discuss with their students if they want to present their assignments/work in the Welsh language. If they wish to do so and aren't studying through the medium of Welsh, the School will need at least 6 weeks’ notice before the work (written or oral) is due to be presented.

12.4. The decision to complete any assessment through the medium of Welsh will not affect the outcome of the assessment or the time taken to award a grade in any way.

12.5. Where a student is not studying in the medium of Welsh, the student must to inform the Exams Team by the end of Week 9 for each Semester if they want to sit exams in the Welsh language.

12.6. Submissions for consideration of extenuating circumstances can be completed in Welsh or English

12.7. This policy does not apply to written examinations and assessments on courses or modules in which proficiency in a language other than Welsh is being assessed.

13. Public lectures, events and learning opportunities

13.1. When arranging any public event (including where the University funds at least 50% of another host’s public event), where the event relates to any of the below matters:

• the admission and selection of students;
• information provided to students and prospective students about the University body;
• the welfare of students;
• complaints;
• disciplinary proceedings in respect of a student;
• careers services;
• student intranet, virtual learning sites and learning portal sites;
• graduation and award ceremonies;
• the assessment or examination of a student;
• the awarding of grants and the provision of financial assistance;
• public lectures;
• learning opportunities;
• allocation of a personal tutor;
• student accommodation, libraries and art centres;
• calls to helpline, call centre or main telephone numbers and automated telephone systems;
• signs on the University’s buildings;

you must ensure that:

• Services offered to attendees prior to and at the event must be available in Welsh (and English) in relation to the registration process, reception, audio announcements, signage.
• Materials promoting the event must be available bilingually (or by means of separate Welsh and English versions)

13.2. The following activities are excluded from this section of the policy:

• performances of music
• artistic or dramatic productions
• seminars or oral presentations relating to the performance or production
• any recording of the performance, production, seminar or presentation
• announcements made during an emergency or an emergency drill

13.3. When arranging any public lecture, where the subject matter of the lecture or anticipated audience makes it likely members of the public would expect to be able to contribute in Welsh, a simultaneous translation service from Welsh to English must be made available for any Q & A session and attendees must be orally informed that they are welcome to use the Welsh language at the session.

13.4. Any learning opportunity that the University offers that is open to the public must be provided in Welsh

13.4.1. A learning opportunity is defined as any seminar, training, workshop, taster session, or similar provision which is provided in order to educate or to improve the skills of members of the public; but does not include any seminar, training, workshop, taster session or similar provision provided as part of a course or seminars or presentations relating to a performance or production.

14. Complaints

14.1. The University will investigate and respond to complaints made in relation to Welsh language compliance where the complaint is received within 12 months of the issue occurring; complaints relating to a period greater than 12 months prior will only be investigated at the discretion of the University.

14.2. The University has a process in place for handling complaints in relation to Welsh language.

14.3. Any complaint received will be acknowledged and investigated by the Senior Compliance Advisor and Welsh Language         Officer.

14.4. Following the investigation, the Senior Compliance Advisor and Welsh Language Officer will respond to the complainant advising of the outcome and of any remedial actions that has been put in place where a complaint has been upheld.

14.5. The Senior Compliance Advisor and Welsh Language Officer may delegate these responsibilities to other members of staff. Training, support and guidance will be offered by Senior Officer on how to deal with complaints.

15. Responsibility and monitoring

15.1. Ultimate responsibility for ensuring the University’s overall compliance with the Welsh Language (No. 6) Regulations 2017, along with all other policy implementation and monitoring matters, lies with the University Executive Board.

15.2. Specific responsibility for guidance and advice on Welsh Language matters relating to the implementation of work required under the Welsh Language (No. 6) Regulations 2017 lies with the Compliance and Risk Team.

15.3. The guidance outlined in this policy is the responsibility of all staff who undertake work within the policy areas covered.

15.4. Compliance with the Welsh Language Standards covered by this policy will only be achieved where individuals and departments take on their responsibilities on a day-to-day basis

15.5. The standard of services offered in Welsh will be monitored by the Annual Report to the EDI Committee, highlighting number and nature of any complaints.

15.6. The University will take steps to monitor the differential impact of its policies, procedures, practices and services on Welsh and English-speaking students through its Equality Impact Assessment toolkit.

[1] ‘publications and advertising’ includes any materials relating to promoting, publicising, advertising or marketing of University services, including but not limited to: hard copy versions for display or distribution, or electronic versions of this material shared via websites (see Section 5).

[2] The ‘University body’ refers to the University as a whole or teams or departments or Colleges or Schools which represent the university.

[3] Documents relating to activities outlined in the service delivery scope will be in scope, i.e. publicity and advertising materials.

[4] Quotations and technical terms may be given in the language in which they were written, be them in Welsh or English
irrespective of the language used throughout the assessment.