universal-design-center

Accessibility Review for ICT

ICT Products will be placed in a queue to undergo an Accessibility Compliance Evaluation by the Universal Design Center. The accessibility compliance evaluation is a targeted accessibility test to identify key gaps in a product based on Federal and State laws and standards regarding accessibility.  A product's priority in the queue will depend on its potential impact, based in part upon significant exposure or impact to the campus. 

When UDC completes their evaluation, they will submit a report to requesting departments. Requesting departments must forward this report to vendors along with an accessibility roadmap to initiate the remediation of the product.

 Accessibility Review Process

Step 1: Impact Analysis

When departments submit the technology procurement form, their request will be vetted to determine the campus impact in terms of accessibility risk. Products with high or moderate exposure will classify as medium or high impact and will be prioritized in the queue for an accessibility review.

 Step 2: Accessibility Review

  • When the UDC is ready to conduct an accessibility review, they will initiate by contacting the product owner and your college/division ATI Coordinator. The product owner is the person in the department who will be responsible for all executive decisions related to the ICT product. This person is also responsible for the accessibility of the product. All colleges/ divisions at CSUN have a designated ATI coordinator who is responsible for working with their area on all accessibility related topics. Go to the ATI Coordinators Page to find out who is the coordinator in your area.
  • The UDC will conduct one (or more) of the following reviews:
    • Basic Accessibility Assessment: A preliminary assessment of a vendors accessibility practices as defined in the Vendor Accessibility Assessment Form and other documentation.
    • VPAT Review:  Comprehensive review of the accessibility conformance of a product as described in the product VPAT.  
    • Accessibility Demo: UDC may coordinate an accessibility vendor to allow the vendor to showcase the accessibility of their product.
    • Targeted Accessibility Test: Review of the product against select accessibility criteria
    • Complete Accessibility Test: Product will undergo a full test against all accessibility standards defined by Section 508, WCAG 2.0, and CSUATI Criteria.
  • If a targeted or a complete accessibility test are required, the UDC will need a test instance or a demo page to conduct the test. This is to ensure the testing does not interfere with the normal activities of the product. 

Step 3: UDC Report

  • Departments will receive an accessibility report and/or summary by the UDC. The report will typically include: 
    • A list of accessibility barriers in the product
    • A summary explaining the impact these barriers will have on users with disabilities. 
    • Methods to fix the barriers
    • Requirement for Department and /or Vendors. 
  • If a VPAT review is conducted, the UDC will send the report to the Vendor. 
  • Departments can send other reports to vendors as well.

Step 4: Final Requirements for Departments and Vendors 

Departments:

  • Once departments receive the UDC report, they may be required to create a Plan for Alternate Access. This plan addresses how departments will address accessibility barriers identified within the UDC report. 
  • Departments with high-impact public facing products or products that pose a significant risk for students will be scheduled to meet with the Alternative Access Working Group. The Alternative Access Working Group is a new subcommittee of Campus ATI Procurement Committee that works with departments to strategize alternate access methods for the products they are procuring. 

Vendors:

  • Vendors will be required to complete an accessibility road-map. An accessibility road-map defines a vendor's timeline for fixing accessibility gaps in their product and describes workarounds for gaps that are not fixable.  
  • When a VPAT review is conducted, vendors must correct any issues identified with the VPAT. Vendors must fix their VPAT’s before any future purchase or renewals of their products can be completed.

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