Digital Accessibility in Procurement

All web-based tools and mobile apps procured for use in University services, programs, and activities must meet the accessibility standard set forth in the Administrative Policy: Accessibility of Digital Content and Information Technology (“the Policy”), unless one of the Policy’s exemptions applies. For more information about available Policy exemptions, please review Administrative Procedure: Exemptions from Accessibility Standard Requirements for Certain Digital Content and Information Technology.

This Procedure describes steps that University of Minnesota purchasers of web-based tools and mobile apps must take to promote compliance with the Policy’s accessibility standard. The Office for Digital Accessibility has discretion to grant exemptions from one or more of the steps described below when such steps are determined unnecessary to ensure compliance with the Policy or for other reasons.

For more information about procuring accessible web-based tools or mobile apps, please review the Digital Accessibility Stakeholders Purchasing Playbook or contact the University’s Office for Digital Accessibility.

I. Scope of accessibility requirement in procurement

The requirements set forth in this procedure do not apply to procurement of software that is not web-based or a mobile app. The requirements do apply to, among other things: 1) web-based tools or mobile apps that the University licenses or procures from third-party vendors; and 2) service contracts that include an agreement that University members will access certain services through a vendor-provided web-based tool or mobile app.

II. Entering into contracts for the procurement of web-based tools or mobile apps

University members or units entering into a contract to procure a web-based tool or mobile app for use in University services, programs, or activities must take the following steps to ensure that the tool or mobile app meets the Policy’s accessibility standard. 

1. Complete the accessibility review process described in this section.

   The accessibility review process described in this section may take place simultaneously with any security review conducted by University Information Security, and must take place before legal review, if required, by the Office of the General Counsel.

   For purchases made outside of a Request for Proposal process: 

   To the extent possible, inquire whether the product meets the standards established in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA. In some cases, this information about the product may be publicly available. In other cases, you may need to ask a vendor representative for this information. 

   If you are unable to gather information (such as from a vendor representative or from the vendor’s published information about the product) indicating that the product meets the standards established in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA, you must submit this Form for Requesting a Digital Accessibility Review Process by the Office for Digital Accessibility.

   The Office for Digital Accessibility will determine the steps needed to effectively review the product’s accessibility depending on the features and planned usage of the product. For example, in some cases the Office for Digital Accessibility may determine that it does not need to conduct further review of the product. In other cases, the Office for Digital Accessibility may determine that it needs to test the product or request and review additional information about the product’s accessibility. 

   If you gather information (such as from a vendor representative or from the vendor’s published information about the product) indicating that the product meets the standards established in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, Level AA, you do not need to initiate an accessibility review by the Office for Digital Accessibility. Please note that the contract with the vendor still must contain an accessibility provision as described in Section 2.

   For purchases made through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process:

   Complete the accessibility review that is part of the RFP process. The RFP process requires participating vendors to answer questions about the accessibility of their product, to upload a report that explains how the web-based tool or mobile app meets the Policy’s accessibility standards, and, among other things, to agree to meet the accessibility standards required by this policy and state and federal law. This information collected about the product’s accessibility will be shared with the Office for Digital Accessibility for review and scoring as part of the RFP process.

   For finalist vendors: 1) request contact information for customers for whom accessibility was also a priority; 2) require the submission of documentation of accessibility features as appropriate; 3) require that the vendor provide the Office for Digital Accessibility with the ability to test the product; and 4) require that the vendor demonstrate compliance with the Policy’s accessibility standards in any presentation that is part of the RFP process.

2. Ensure that the procurement contract contains an accessibility provision.

   A University contract for the procurement of the web-based tool or mobile app must contain this accessibility provision, or another provision approved by the Office of the General Counsel, that requires compliance with the Policy.

   If a vendor of web-based tools or mobile apps refuses to agree to a contractual provision requiring compliance with the Policy, the Office of the General Counsel, in consultation with the Office for Digital Accessibility, has discretion to negotiate an alternate contractual provision that describes a plan for the vendor to become compliant with the Policy’s accessibility standard. If such a provision cannot be negotiated, the tool or mobile app should not be purchased except in rare circumstances where the college or unit leader approves a waiver of this accessibility contract provision requirement.

III. Ensuring accessibility of web-based tools or mobile apps that are in use at the University and that have not yet been reviewed for accessibility

University purchasers of web-based tools or mobile apps that are currently in use in University services, programs, or activities must ensure that the web-based tools and mobile apps meet the Policy’s accessibility standard, unless one of the Policy’s exemptions applies. 

Where a web-based tool or mobile app currently in use has not yet been reviewed to ensure it meets the Policy’s accessibility standard, the University purchaser should gather information from their vendor about the product’s compliance with the Policy’s accessibility standard. For example, the University purchaser could send this Dear Vendor Letter, or a similar written communication, to their vendor contact. The Office for Digital Accessibility is available to review the vendor’s response and, in cases where the product does not meet the Policy’s standard, to work on a remediation plan for bringing the product into compliance.