Using and Procuring Accessible Technology and Materials?

This page is intended for purchasing administrators. Ensuring accessibility is an important part of quality assurance in regards to purchasing. Companies are not required to sell accessible products, so we must choose well.

The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) provides a useful Canvas module on using and procuring accessible materials.

Procurement of accessible digital technology is handled by LCC's IT department. 

Vendors and publishers are not required to make content and products accessible. If someone working at a public agency decides to use their product or service, it's the public agency that becomes liable in terms of accessibility. For example, let's say I decide I don't have time to create this training, but I find a company that has designed a similar training on their own platform that I can link to. Well, if their training isn't accessible, it's my fault - I chose to use their product. If an e-book is not accessible to a student, that student isn't going to file a complaint against the publisher. They will file a complaint against the institution for selecting/requiring an inaccessible product. Unfortunately, this is news to those of us who are not trained to evaluate whether or not a web platform, or e-book, or website is accessible. BUT, there's a silver lining. We can use our purchasing power to pressure publishers and vendors to improve the accessibility of their products.

• Ask vendors, publishers, or sales representatives if their product/site is accessible.
  • Many times software and application vendors will provide a VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template).
  • If a vendor doesn't have a VPAT, that's a red flag; they aren't even thinking about accessibility. If they do it’s a good start, but again, that doesn't mean the product is accessible.
• Questions for vendors and publishers
  • How to talk and discuss about accessibility with vendors

Videos

• How to Find a VPAT on a Product’s Website

Resources on the Web

• Interacting with Vendors
• Example VPAT: Canvas by Instructure
• Procuring Accessible IT

Still Have Questions?

Accessibility is constantly evolving to keep up with emerging technologies, and the information herein is not comprehensive. If you still have questions, please fill out our form. We recommend completing the Canvas training "Accessibility Training: How to Create Content that Works for Everyone" first!