Considering Accessibility First

Would you procure a service that a significant portion of your employees couldn't utilize? Would you purchase a product that not all students could access?

That could be the reality if accessibility is not considered first when procuring Digital Resources. According to the Texas Department of Information Resources, more than four million Texans have disabilities that can affect their interaction with the Internet, the telephone, and other means of electronic communication. In the United States, nearly one in five Americans has some level of disability; one in four of us has a visual difficulty or impairment; one in four of us has a dexterity difficulty or impairment, and one in five of us has a hearing difficulty or impairment.

Why it's so important

• It facilitates access. Considering accessibility requirements allows everyone to gain access to the programs, activities, and services that Texas A&M offers.
• It makes sense. As an institution, it allows us to reach more individuals with our teaching and learning initiatives, with our research findings, and with the real-life applications associated with each of them.
• It's required by law. As a state-supported institution, as well as one that receives federal funding for grants and initiatives, our university is required to provide accessible Digial Resources.

What you can do

• Ask vendors questions about the accessibility of their products and services. If they have never heard of accessibility, chances are their products and services are not accessible.
• Request an Accessibility Conformance Report from vendors. If they do not have one, ask them to fill out a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) based on WCAG 2.x criteria.
• Make accessibility a part of RFPs, Purchase Order requests, and other essential parts of your business processes.