Accessibility Exception Requests
All websites, web applications, and other electronic and information resources (EIR) must comply with technical accessibility standards. (See chart at bottom of the page.) If achieving compliance is not possible, an EIR Accessibility Exception Request form may need to be completed.
Whenever possible, multiple EIR should be vetted to ensure procurement of the most accessible EIR which meets your business need. This involves an analysis of vendor-completed Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates®, also known as VPATs® or Accessibility Conformance Reports.
Using steps to ensure EIR compliance can improve access to digital assets of the university.
1: Vet multiple products
Utilize our ACE Tool or contact vendors to request a completed Section 508 VPAT® for each product you're considering. If not available, ask for supporting evidence of each product's degree of conformance with Section 508 accessibility criteria.
2: Contact the IT accessibility team
Email ITaccessibility@tamu.edu; the IT accessibility team can help you narrow down your selections and determine if an exception request is necessary for your preferred option. They can also show you tools and tips for future assessments and routing.
3: Review form instructions
If an exception is deemed necessary, review form instructions or download them for reference prior to completing the form.
4: Fill out the online form
Complete the online EIR Accessibility Exception Request form, making sure to upload pertinent documentation such as the VPAT®, vendor accessibility statements, or other evidence of accessibility compliance.
5: Look for status updates
Your request will be reviewed by the accessibility team and routed to your dean or vice president and, subsequently, the President, or designee. You will receive status notifications throughout the process.
6: Receive final decision
As the requestor, you're notified of the final decision and exception duration through an automated email, and the resulting document is saved within the Laserfiche repository. If you filled out the form on behalf of an EIR owner/administrator and added them to the form, they will also receive notifications and the results of the review.
7: Notify purchasing agents
If you're procuring the product, you will need to notify purchasing personnel of the exception approval or forward the email approval to them.
*An approved exception request is not an exemption from making EIR accessible. Instead, it is documentation of temporary acceptance of risk until the EIR or associated service can be brought into compliance through modification, substitution with a comparable EIR, or discontinuation of use due to end of life (EOL).
Approaching the expiration of the exception, you will be notified of the need to renew the exception.
EIR Accessibility Standards
Effective April 18, 2020, unless an exception is approved by the president or chancellor of an institution of higher education or an exemption has been made for the following EIR categories pursuant to 1 Texas Administrative Code §213.37, all EIR developed, procured, or changed by an institution of higher education shall comply with the standards described in the following subchapters.
| EIR Category | Technical Accessibility Standards |
|---|---|
| Software Applications and Operating Systems | Title 1, Rule §213.30 of the Texas Administrative Code |
| Websites |
|
| Telecommunications Products | Title 1, Rule §213.31 of the Texas Administrative Code |
| Video and Multimedia | Title 1, Rule §213.32 of the Texas Administrative Code |
| Hardware | Title 1, Rule §213.33 of the Texas Administrative Code |
| Functional Performance Criteria | Title 1, Rule §213.35 of the Texas Administrative Code |
| Support Documentation and Services | Title 1, Rule §213.36 of the Texas Administrative Code |
This requirement does not apply to:
- EIR that have been exempted by the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR). See listing on the DIR website.
- Devices containing embedded information resources that are integral to the product, but the principal function of the product is not to be an information resource.
- Medical equipment in which EIR are integral to its operation.
See more information within EIR Accessibility in Texas A&M Procurement.
Contact the Division of Information Technology accessibility team if you have any questions or comments.
Did you know?
- In the United States, about 55 million people have a disability (src: 2010 U.S. Census).
- About 1 in 5 Americans have some kind of disability (src: 2010 U.S. Census).
- The percentage of people affected by disabilities is growing as our population ages.
- Two popular, free screen readers are VoiceOver (Mac OS and iOS) and NVDA (Win).
- Good accessibility practices can improve the search ranking of your website.
- Form fields without labels can cause problems for some assistive technology users.
- Low color contrast makes content difficult to see, especially for users with low vision.
- Documents linked on a website need to be accessible too (e.g., PDF and Word files).
- Audio content, like podcasts, need transcripts for deaf or hard of hearing users.
- Online videos should be captioned for deaf or hard of hearing users.
- Using HTML tags correctly is very important for accessibility.
- Descriptive link text helps make a website more accessible. Avoid using "Click here" or "Read more."
- A "screen reader" is an application that reads content aloud to a user.
- There is no "alt tag" in HTML. "Alt" is an attribute used with the img tag.
- HTML uses the alt attribute to provide a text description of an image.
- Alt text should describe an image, if the purpose of the image is to convey information.
- If an image is a link, the alt text for the image should explain where the link goes.
- If an image is only being used for decoration, the alt text should be null (i.e., alt="").
- If a table has headers, using header tags (<th>) will make the table more accessible.
- An accessible website is one that can be navigated and understood by everyone.