Reviewing Accessibility Documentation for Procurement - Campus Reviewers

Overview

When purchasing digital resources & software, the software requester needs to request accessibility documentation from the vendor. Campus Reviewers need to review the vendor's accessibility documents and document the level of compliance. 

Step 1: Confirm all Required Documents are Available

Faculty or Staff procuring the digital content is responsible for connecting with vendors to get the accessibility documentation and doing a cursory review of the VPAT and Conformance and Remediation Form (C&R Form) to see (generally) if it meets the criteria. If they decided to proceed with the purchase, then a campus reviewer needs to vet the accessibility documents.

Start by looking at the documents the Requestor has gathered.

  1. Is there a completed VPAT that aligns to the WCAG A & AA 2.1 standards?
  2. Is there any item on the WCAG 2.1 list of standards that is listed as "Partially Supported" or "Not Supported"?
    • Yes - Confirm that there is also a Conformance and Remediation form included in the accessibility documents. If the C&R form is missing, communicate with the requestor that the documents they provided don't meet the requirements. Refer the requestor to this helpful resource- Requesting Accessibility Documentation & Creating Alternate Access Plans
    • No - Really look at the VPAT to access its trustworthiness. If you have concerns about the validity of the VPAT, work with the requestor on communicating the concerns with the vendor. If the validity looks good, you can continue with the process without a C&R from

Step 2: Review the VPAT and Conformance and Remediation Form

Step 2a - Review the VPAT

Review the VPAT against the WCAG 2.1 checklist (click to download document) .

Are each of the standards (WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA) listed on the VPAT?

  • Yes - On the checklist, note all non-conformant and partially conformant standards.
  • No - On the checklist, mark the ones missing as non-conformant and note that they are missing.

Step 2b - Review the Conformance & Remediation form

Are all the non-conformant and partially conformant issues are on the Conformance and Remediation form?

  • Yes - Complete the Accessibility section of the Risk Assessment form (likely this form or a link to it will be sent to you by Suzanne in IT). If the material is not fully conformant, be sure to include the fact that they will need to create an Alternate Access plan to address any non-conformance issues.
  • No - Send an email to the requestor explaining why the C&R form provided is not sufficient. Alert the requestor that they need to communicate the concerns with the vendor. Refer the requestor to this helpful resource- Requesting Accessibility Documentation & Creating Alternate Access Plans

Step 3: Send Documents to IT to Process for Signatures and Procurement

To move forward with purchasing, IT needs the Risk Assessment form with the Accessibility section completed (this part of the process is under construction - It may mean uploading it to a TeamDynamix ticket, or sending it to Suzanne in IT.)

  1. Send the completed Risk Assessment Form to Suzanne. 
    Suzanne will then route the Risk Assessment form to the requestor's department, the CIO, and you, the Accessibility Reviewer, for signature. When you get the signature form, it should have your completed accessibility review and only need your signature added.
  2. If an alternate action plan is needed, send the completed WCAG 2.1 checklist to the requestor.
    Let them know that the checklist along with the VPAT and C&R form provided by the vendor should be the basis for their alternate access plan. Tell the requestor they need complete the Alternate Access Plan once it has been completed and signed. You will need to add this document to the AIMT Database, see below.

Step 4: Upload any new or updated documents to the AIMT Database

You will now need to upload the gathered and created accessibility documents to the AIMT database. Even if the requestor decides not to purchase the item, please still upload all the materials you have gathered into the AIMT database.

The following documents are required to upload:

Gathered by the Requestor:

  1. VPAT
  2. Accessibility Statement (this is a recommended but not required document)
  3. Conformance and Remediation Form

Completed by You:

  1. The WCAG 2.1 Checklist for this software/digital content.

Created by the Requestor after receiving the WCAG 2.1 checklist and Risk Assessment form:

  1. Alternative Access Plan (from institution)
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