IT Procurement Accessibility Guidelines

Overview

Princeton University's Policy on Digital Accessibility requires that academic and administrative units conducting core educational or administrative activities align websites and other information technology with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA.

Princeton expects IT suppliers to have already developed their products to be fully accessible to and usable by people with disabilities per the WCAG guidelines.


Architecture and Security Review

Departments are encouraged to discuss proposed products, and those up for contract renewals, with the Architecture and Security Review (ASR) team to help ensure they meet accessibility requirements along with those for cybersecurity and infrastructure. Suppliers are expected to bring a member of their accessibility team to ASR meetings.


HECVAT Questionnaire

Princeton relies on the most current version of the Higher Education Community Vendor Assessment Toolkit to help it assess data, cybersecurity and accessibility risk. Suppliers should provide the HECVAT 3.x Full or Lite questionnaire in advance of an Architecture and Security Review.


VPAT Accessibility Conformance Report

IT products

The University expects suppliers to have their products tested by professionals with accessibility testing expertise, using best practices, and to document the accessibility of their products using the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) report. Suppliers should use the 2.4 WCAG version of the report to indicate conformance to the World Wide Web Consortium's Content Accessibility Guidelines.

Fill out the VPAT template in its entirety and include:

  • Testing methodology, which should include manual testing with assistive technology
  • Accessibility expertise of the evaluator
  • Conformance level for each criteria
  • Detailed remarks for any partially-supported or non-supported level per the WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria.

For suppliers that do not have expert accessibility testing staff, the University expects the supplier's products to be tested and documented by an industry-recognized accessibility testing company or organization.

Websites

Suppliers that are designing and developing a website for the University should demonstrate their accessibility capabilities, including in previous projects.


Accessibility Roadmap Matched to Conformance Report

Suppliers are asked to provide the University with an Accessibility Roadmap (.docx) document, structured to match the findings of accessibility test results. Each issue to be remediated should indicate a date by which it will be fixed. 

Departments should ensure the contract requires the supplier to commit to the roadmap, and should follow up with the supplier on a regular basis to ensure follow through.


University Testing

IT products

The University may conduct its own product testing. The supplier should be prepared to provide a test account. In general, the University does not test until after the supplier has conducted its own thorough testing and attested to accessibility as described above.

Websites

Campus partners who engage suppliers for website design should:

All websites are reviewed for accessibility before go-live. Suppliers are responsible for ensuring any site they deliver is accessible to and provides an equitable experience for people with disabilities.


Accessibility Link

Websites and other IT must include the Accessibility link in the footer or other persistent location, to allow people with disabilities to request assistance from Princeton. The link address is: https://accessibility.princeton.edu/help