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Procurement

Procurement Accessibility Conformance Standards

Accessibility Standards in Procurement are essential to ensure all purchased products and services are usable by individuals with disabilities, to improve user experience, and to comply with legal requirements. Below are some resources available to the SUNY Cobleskill community to ensure requested products align with our long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Key terms

  • VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template): the standard form vendors use to report how their product meets accessibility standards.
  • ACR (Accessibility Conformance Report): a completed VPAT for a specific product.
  • HECVAT (Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Toolkit): a questionnaire vendors complete about security, privacy, and accessibility.
  • EIT: Electronic and Information Technology.

  1. Preliminary Steps

    Use the Accessibility Impact Framework to gauge how the accessibility of a requested product or service could affect SUNY Cobleskill.

    Resource: Accessibility Impact Framework (Excel) (opens in a new tab)

  2. Gathering Information

    Prior to requesting assistance from Business and Fiscal Affairs and Information Technology Services, be sure to collect an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) verifying EIT accessibility conformance when working with a vendor to obtain a product or service.

    Vendors should provide a copy of their VPAT using the most updated template, which can be found at the link below. A third-party tested ACR/VPAT is strongly preferred and should be dated within the last 12 months.

    Resource: VPAT template from the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) (opens in a new tab)

  3. Reviewing Products and Services

    High Impact EIT products and services should be evaluated by the Business and Fiscal Affairs Office in conjunction with Information Technology Services. Be prepared to complete the Equally Effective Alternate Access Plan for non-conforming EIT.

    Resource: Equally Effective Alternate Access Plan template (Word) (opens in a new tab)

    If you intend to purchase a product or service that does not conform to accessibility standards, you must obtain an Accessibility Roadmap from the vendor. This document should address all accessibility gaps, include timelines by which these gaps will be remediated, and provide recommendations for interim workarounds. This is also a good time to request that the vendor complete the Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Toolkit (HECVAT).

    Resource: Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Toolkit (HECVAT) from EDUCAUSE (opens in a new tab)

  4. Place Order and Follow Up

    The work doesn’t end once the product or service has been purchased. Campus individuals need to check in with their vendors on accessibility status and improvements. We suggest setting an annual calendar date to check in with your vendor contacts.

    Resource: Vendor Accessibility Check Form (Word) (opens in a new tab)

    SUNY has also provided a notice to vendors providing digital resources, which can be viewed at the link below.

    Resource: SUNY notice to vendors providing digital resources (opens in a new tab)