Information for Vendors

Digital accessibility procurement requirements at UO are changing! Please read our Letter to Vendors Regarding New Accessibility Rules for more information.

All ICT or digital content (including software, web services, hardware, and digital content) procured by the University of Oregon is subject to the university’s ICT Accessibility Policy. Accessibility language is part of the university’s Standard Terms and Conditions.

Most web, mobile, and kiosk products and services that are public- or student-facing go through the accessibility review process outlined below before a contract can be signed. Some purchases are not subject to detailed review; if review is required, you will be notified.

Many purchases are also subject to other types of review (e.g., information security), which are not related to accessibility. If you have general procurement/purchasing questions, please contact the relevant person or office. Do not contact the Digital Accessibility Architect with any issues not directly related to digital accessibility.

Jump to a section:

Review process for commercial off-the-shelf products and services

You will be required to complete a Third-Party Procurement Form. This form will ask for the following:

  1. An current, complete Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) using Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) 2.3 or later for WCAG 2.1 AA or WCAG 2.2 AA. You will be allowed to proceed if you do not have one, but should plan to get one as soon as possible.
  2. A remediation plan for bringing all violations into compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA. You will be allowed to proceed if you do not have one, but should prepare one as soon as possible.
  3. A current, complete HECVAT Lite or HECVAT Full version 3.0 or later. If you do not have one, you will be required to provide answers to HECVAT ITAC-01 through ITAC-08.

Review process for custom-developed products and services (e.g., university web pages)

  1. If you agree to the standard accessibility terms, the contract can be immediately approved. Per the standard terms, you are responsible for ensuring that the content you create meets the university’s accessibility standards (WCAG 2.1 AA and/or Section 508).
  2. You will be required to provide access to the university’s Digital Accessibility Architect prior to the university accepting the deliverable. If the Digital Accessibility Architect identifies any accessibility violations, you will be responsible for fixing them (at no additional cost to the university) before the deliverable is accepted.

Review process for RFPs, RFQs, and other types of competitive procurements

  1. For commercial off-the-shelf products and services, you may be required to provide an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR)/VPAT using WCAG 2.1 AA and/or Section 508 (2018 Revision) and/or evaluation access for the university to conduct an independent investigation of the accessibility of the product/service (access must be available for at least two weeks). For custom-developed products and services, you may be asked to provide documentation or a portfolio that demonstrates your capacity to develop accessible materials. The RFP/RFQ may include additional requirements related to digital accessibility.
  2. You may be asked to provide a remediation plan for resolving accessibility violations, if any are identified.
  3. If your product is selected, the standard accessibility contract approval requirements will be used at the time of contracting (commercial off-the-shelf or custom development). If you have already provided documentation, evaluation access, or remediation plans, the process will proceed more quickly.