Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act states that Electronic Information Technology (EIT) "includes information technology and any equipment or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment that is used in the creation, conversion, or duplication of data or information.
Procurement Services as an initial step to comply with the law will begin to require Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPAT) from suppliers of (EIT) products to the university. A VPAT is a vendor-generated statement (using the required template) that provides relevant information on how a vendor's product or service claims to conform to the Section 508 Standards
Those responsible for making EIT procurement decisions (Information Technology, Procurement Services and Campus customer) must consider accessibility as one of the criteria for acquisition. This is especially crucial for enterprise-level systems or technologies that affect a large number of students, faculty, and/or staff. EIT suppliers will be requested to provide a VPAT pertaining to their products when quotes are requested, bids issues, and purchase orders or contract are issued.
More information is provided below on the procedures and language for Accessible Electronic Information Technology.
Accessible Electronic Information Technology Procurement Language
Accessible Electronic Information Technology Procurement Procedures