The ITI (Information Technology Industry) Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (ITI VPAT®) is a free template that presents testing criteria developed from accessibility requirements and standards to help buyers of technology confirm that the technology is accessible and has accessibility features. Products and services are tested against each section of the VPAT®, and the template is used to document results.
Technology products (software and hardware) that are purchased through the university should have a VPAT acquired before purchase. The VPAT must then be reviewed before purchasing the technology product.
Step one: Acquiring a VPAT
A VPAT must be acquired for any new IT purchases of software or hardware.
Manufacturers or vendors may have already completed VPATs and/or created Accessibility Conformance Reports (ACRs) for their products. Check the manufacturer/vendor’s website or contact the manufacturer/vendor to request the VPAT for the product.
If the manufacturer or vendor does not have a VPAT for the product you wish to purchase, you will need to contact the manufacturer, vendor, or reseller and request that one be completed for their product.
The Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) is usually the best source to conduct the testing necessary to complete the VPAT, but a reseller may also complete the VPAT.
To create their product’s VPAT per your request, the manufacturer, vendor, or reseller will need to:
- Go to the ITI VPAT page at:
https://www.itic.org/policy/accessibility/vpat
- Under Resources, select:
VPAT 2.5 WCAG (November 2023) for web-based and mobile applications
or
VPAT 2.5 508 (November 2023) for desktop applications,
and download the MS Word document.
Open the MS Word document, read the instructions, and complete the template for the product.
Instructions for completing the VPAT can be found at VPAT Training.
Once completed, the VPAT with documented testing results is referred to as an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) that details the accessible features of the tested product or service.
Step two: VPAT Review
Request a VPAT review
Complete the VPAT Review request form, attach the VPAT from the vendor, and submit the form.
Digital Accessibility Meeting
The review process will begin with a meeting via Teams with a member of the Digital Accessibility Team and the asset owner and/or functional/technical lead to go through the asset survey together.
If access to the software has not been provided, the Digital Accessibility Team member will do an over-the-shoulder review during this meeting.
Hands-on testing, review, and scoring of the asset will then be completed by a Digital Accessibility Team member.
A hands-on review and testing of the asset will be completed using:
- JAWS screen reader
- NVDA screen reader
- if web-based: web browser plug-ins, such as WAVE, Colorzilla, and link checkers
- basic mobile tests with iOS and Android devices
Both JAWS and NVDA are used because even though they are similar there are different behaviors within the applications. If testing is done with only one screen reader, JAWS will be used since it’s the most commonly used screen reader for Windows PCs.
VPAT Scoring
Our VPAT scoring is done using a rubric based on a rubric used by the state of Minnesota combined with other criteria specific to the needs of the university. The rubric balances two features of the VPAT, the number of WCAG 2.0 criteria that the vendor has marked as "Supported" and the evaluation methods and documentation that they include that shows that the software does indeed support these criteria.
- Provides little or no data or clearly lacks significant accessible functionality. Supports less than half the criteria with poor documentation or explanation of evaluation methods.
- Supports less than half the criteria with some evaluation/documentation. A score of 2 indicates that the vendor has determined their software has major accessibility issues.
- This is an average score. Supports 50-75% of applicable A and AA criteria with good evaluation/documentation OR supports more than 75% of the criteria with poor evaluation/documentation. Poor evaluation/documentation means that there is not enough data to be assured of accessibility or to be confident in the vendor’s ability to improve the solution’s accessibility. Supporting all criteria will achieve a VPAT score of 3. A higher score will depend on the quality of their documentation.
- Supports more than 75% of applicable A and AA criteria, and the vendor’s information indicates knowledge of how the solution supports each criterion and there is sufficient data to negotiate future improvements.
- Supports all or nearly all applicable A and AA criteria, and The vendor demonstrates extensive knowledge of accessibility and is able to illustrate how the solution supports most or all criteria. Where the solution does not support criteria, the vendor provides a documented roadmap toward future compliance.
Please note the TDX ID for reference after receiving VPAT approval.
Resources and Information
See the Accommodations and Accessibility Services page on Procuring Accessible IT for more information.
VPAT Training