Accessibility Procurement Request Instructions

The University commits that Information and Communication Technology products and services acquired, adopted, developed or updated after the effective date of the  Information and Communication Technology policy shall be accessible to individuals with disabilities.  This page documents the required information for different types of requests. 

Important Notes: 

• Please allow a minimum of a two-week turnaround to receive a response from the Accessibility Assessment Committee (ACC) for requests submitted with all required information.   Incomplete requests will not be reviewed by the AAC.

• Forms are updated regularly, so please download a new document each time.

• See our FAQ page for frequently asked questions.
• See the AAC Past Requests page, for history of software and hardware requests with statuses.  Login is required.
• See the ICT Accessibility Procurement Process page for a diagram of the process.
• To Procure Accessible Information and Communication Technology (PAICT) send email to the ACC at paict@ot.syr.edu.

Forms and Required Documentation

For Software Requests

Covers all content and technology, including websites, web-based and mobile applications, non-web software, email, webconferencing, video conferencing, video streaming, instructional materials, electronic documents, blended and online courses, and all academic and administrative software applications.

• • ICT Accessibility Procurement Request Form (.docx) - Parts A&C

  • Appropriate manual evaluation form(s) as needed:

    • WCAG 2.x A and AA Accessibility Checklist for Web (.docx) 

    • WCAG 2.x A and AA Accessibility Checklist for Mobile (.docx)

    • Accessibility Checklist for Non-Web Software (.docx)
      

  • Vendor VPAT (if available)

  • Vendor roadmap (if available)

For Hardware Requests

Hardware covered by the policy and subject to AAC review includes University shared use hardware (ex: lab equipment) for areas covered by Section 508 Standards: Single-use, specialized hardware is excluded from the policy.

“Where components of ICT are hardware and transmit information or have a user interface, such components shall conform” to the Section 508 hardware requirements.  Hardware is defined in the Section 508 Standards as “a tangible device, equipment, or physical component of ICT, such as telephones, computers, multifunction copy machines, and keyboards”. 

For more information on what ICT includes, reference the definition of ‘Information and Communication Technology’ in the University policy.  If you have a question, contact paict@ot.syr.edu.

• • ICT Accesssibility Procurement Request Form (.docx) – Parts A&C
  • Section 508 Hardware Evaluation Form (.docx)
  • Vendor VPAT (if available)
  • Vendor roadmap (if available)

Exclusion Requests

Certain Information and Communication Technology may be excluded from the mandates of this policy, including:

1. 1. 1. Individual Web pages published by students, employees, or non-university organizations that do not conduct University-related business. While all parties are encouraged to adopt the University’s Information and Communication Technology policy and standards, students, employees, or non-university organizations that do not conduct University-related business fall outside of the jurisdiction of this policy.
      2. Archived web pages and course content do not have to comply with the Standard unless specifically requested by a University student, faculty, or staff member with a disability.
      3. In order to use non-captioned video, the video must be contained in a secure, password-protected environment, there must be no students requiring captioning and the video can only be used for a single term. Other exclusions to captioning include student work and raw footage that will never be archived after the current use, as well as video with foreign language subtitles, and instructor-made videos that record feedback to an individual student who doesn’t require captioning.
      4. Single instance, specialized software or hardware purchased for individual use. (i.e.: a single user)

Important:  A request for an exclusion does not guarantee that it will be granted; if the exclusion request is denied, resubmitting the request form with Part C completed will be required to continue with the procurement request.

• • ICT Accessibility Procurement Request Form (.docx) – Parts A&B

Exception Appeal Request

In the event that a full review has been completed by the Accessibility Assessment Committee (AAC) and has resulted in a procurement denial, and the requestor believes that compliance is not technically possible, the Policy has provisions to escalate to the Accessibility Compliance Committee (ACC) to request an exception to the policy.  Exception requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Submitting an exception request does not guarantee approval.

• • ICT Accessibility Compliance Committee (ACC) Exception Appeal Request (.docx)

Additional / Supporting Information

Overview

On Friday, December 1, 2017, the University adopted a policy governing the accessibility of Information and Communication Technology (ICT).  The policy is effective on January 1, 2018. One aspect in the policy describes the procurement of information technology products and services. 

The University will use the criteria of accessibility as part of its decision-making process when purchasing or renewing ICT. Purchasing priority is to be given to technologies that meet accessibility Standards and Guidelines.  We ask vendors who wish to do business with the University to provide written information about their product’s conformance to applicable accessibility Standards and Guidelines.  Vendor-supplied statements about accessibility will be verified through hands-on evaluation of the product prior to purchase.

To ensure accessibility compliance, University shoppers will need to perform a three-step assessment process. Alternatively, buyers or vendors can contract with a specialized third party to check the accessibility of a product or service. An automated testing tool, a manual keyboard test, and finally a test by a person with disabilities are used to determine the accessibility of a product or service. Information Technology Services can provide guidance on how to check a product or service.

The ICT Accessibility Assessment Committee (AAC) will review the product or service for compliance using the results from the test and the procurement application form. The AAC can approve the purchase, recommend acceptance based on contingencies, or reject the purchase. A rejected product or service can be submitted to the larger ICT Accessibility Compliance Committee for consideration when an exception to the policy is being requested.

Process diagram

The process used to evaluate the accessibility of a product or service can be found at the ICT Accessibility Procurement Process page. 

Need Assistance

Assistance with information and communication technology purchases are available from your department support staff and the ITS Accessibility Center. You can find contact information for your department support staff at http://its.syr.edu/supportsvc. You can contact the ITS Accessibility Center by emailing help@syr.edu or accessibleIT@syr.edu.

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