Consider accessibility when evaluating for purchase and prior to recommending use of a free digital resource or procuring a new digital product or service for the college. Initial steps that anyone can take are listed below, but please make an AskIT request if you would like help evaluating a product or purchase.
Initial Steps to Assess Accessibility
- Determine the scope and impact of the purchase by answering the following questions:
- Is this technology public facing or only available with campus authentication?
- How many people will see/use this technology?
- Who will use this technology? (students, faculty, staff, and/or public?)
- Who requested this technology? (you or someone else?)
- Do a web search for the name of the product and the word "accessibility". You can also add site:.edu to the search terms to see results from higher education institutions.
- Ask the Vendor to complete and return the Vendor/Bidder EIT Accessibility Questionnaire.
- Run some simple Accessibility tests:
- Can you navigate the web pages without mouse?
- Use the WebAIM WAVE browser tool to scan the page, and see how many errors it finds.
