Accessible Procurement

All technology used at IC for and by faculty, staff, and students should be accessible (or have an accessible alternative). The Division of Information Technology and Analytics (IT&A) has a number of pathways to assist with the purchase of new campus technologies, all of which include an accessibility review.

• To request a major technology change, such as the identification or implementation of a new technology solution, IT&A has a request form available through the IC Knowledge Base.
• The Educational Technologies Advisory Committee (ETAC) is responsible for evaluating classroom, teaching, or learning software and technologies. Part of this review includes an assessment of product accessibility.
• All other routine technology and service requests can be directed to the IT Service Desk. 

If you find yourself in the position of exploring the purchase of digital technology (or a service that has a digital presence, such as an online ordering or scheduling system), there are a number of tools that can help you evaluate the accessibility of that product.

Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT)

A VPAT is a document template that allows companies to report the level of accessibility compliance of information and communication technology (ITC). It provides a kind of checklist that shows how a product meets (or does not meet) a series of accessibility standards. VPATs should be:

• Complete and current - Reviewing the VPAT for software version 1.2 does little good if you intend to purchase version 3.6!
• Specific - vague language in the VPAT is an indication that it was completed by someone who does not have a comprehensive understanding of accessibility standards.
• Easy to obtain - if you speak with a company that does not know whether they have a VPAT or have a hard time tracking one down most likely has little understanding of whether their product meets accessibility standards or not.

It is not necessarily a deal-breaker if a product does not meet all of the standards listed in a VPAT. For all standards that are not met, however, the company should have a plan and timeline for remediating any deficiencies or there should be a clear and equitable alternative method for a user to access content or functionality.

When the VPAT becomes an ACR

Once the VPAT is completed, it becomes an ACR, or Accessibility Conformance Report. These two terms are often used interchangeably, but the VPAT is technically the blank template, while the ACR is the completed document that provides information on how a product conforms to various accessibility standards.

HECVAT - a tool for security and accessibility

Another tool for evaluating how seriously a company treats accessibility is the Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Toolkit, or HECVAT. The HECVAT was developed in collaboration with EDUCAUSE, and helps document information related to cybersecurity, privacy, and compliance standards—including accessibility standards. The most current version of the HECVAT is version 4, which was released in early 2025.