Higher Education

VPAT Primer: What is a VPAT?

By Sanjay Nasta | December 14, 2020 | | 114

What does VPAT® stand for? VPAT® stands for Voluntary Product Accessibility Template. The VPAT is a template used to document how accessible an information and communication technology product (ICT) is as part of a procurement process. VPATs are used to evaluate compliance with accessibility standards for software, mobile applications, e-learning, web sites, documentation, and hardware. Once the VPAT is complete, it becomes an Accessibility Conformance Report (also called an[…]

Understanding Digital Accessibility in the Procurement Process

By Hiram Kuykendall | September 23, 2020 | | 5

This post adapted from the article, “Understanding Accessibility in the Procurement Process” originally published in the September 2020 issue of Mealey’s™ Litigation Report: Cyber Tech & E-Commerce. Mealey’s is a subscription-based information provider and a division of LexisNexis. Why Digital Accessibility Matters Public sector entities such as the federal government, state government, and higher education institutions are required by various laws to try and procure products that are usable by[…]

VPAT 2.X, The Evolution of the Accessibility Conformance Report | Part One: An Overview

By Hiram Kuykendall | November 21, 2019 | |

*NOTE: The Information Technology Industry Council has released subsequent minor VPAT revisions, available on the ITIC VPAT® web page. The Current VPAT Version 2.4 was released February 2020. Last reviewed / updated: 4/30/2021 This post adapted from the article, “VPAT 2.X, The Evolution of the Accessibility Conformance Report,” originally published in the November 2019 issue of Mealey’s™ Litigation Report: Cyber Tech & E-Commerce. Mealey’s is a subscription-based information provider and a[…]

Accessibility in the News, Legal Edition: Updates on ADA Title III News and More

By Jack McElaney | April 8, 2021 | | 22

This “Accessibility in the News, Legal Edition” page offers an ongoing collection of articles primarily related to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) news and analysis. Please bookmark this page to keep up to date on legal developments related to disabilities. Also, if you have a web page focused on disabilities, civil rights, or web development, we would appreciate a link back to this resource. Thank you! ADA News: Updates on[…]

CSUN 2018 Accessibility Interview: Elizabeth Simister, Blackboard Accessibility Manager

By Vivian Cullipher | March 30, 2018 | |

While at the 2018 CSUN Assistive Technology Conference in San Diego, Content and Marketing Specialist Vivian Cullipher set out to interview folks on their involvement in CSUN. Here, Vivian talks with Elizabeth Simister, Accessibility Manager at Blackboard. Blackboard provides education technology and services to K-12, higher education, and private and public sector organizations. Elizabeth Simister Interview Topics, CSUN 2018 To hear the entire :11 interview at once, try the full playlist[…]

OCR Website Accessibility Complaints Hit Schools and Universities

By Vivian Cullipher | November 28, 2017 | | 5

From Rural Districts to Prominent Universities, Education Organizations Face a Tidal Wave of OCR Website Accessibility Complaints An onslaught of complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights (OCR) targets public and private school websites that are inaccessible to people with disabilities. These OCR website accessibility complaints say that these public-facing websites—and other digital materials from K-12 and higher education organizations—fail to comply with federal law and[…]

Accessible Tech Enables Possibilities across Multiple Disabilities

By Jack McElaney | November 3, 2017 | | 2

Accessibility in the News—11/03/17. This issue: A journalist paralyzed for more than twenty years uses a high-tech exoskeleton to walk, new glasses enable a man born without optic nerves to read the abundance of text in his environment, and accessible computer applications provide a voice to a young college author and presenter with cerebral palsy. NOTE: To get news like this every week in your inbox, before it hits our[…]

Higher Education and Accessibility: Tackling Facilities Access, Online Access, and Inclusion

By Jack McElaney | April 13, 2017 | |

Accessibility in the News—4/13/17. Colleges and universities have been in the accessibility spotlight recently, and this issue showcases a host of initiatives and needs within that sector. Here’s some of the goings on with higher education and accessibility: In Cincinnati, the student body is pursuing more immediately accessible digital content for both its websites and elearning programs. In New York, Cornell has documented its commitment to web accessibility and continues to[…]

Enabling ADA Compliance at Institutions of Higher Education

By Kevin Gumienny | March 15, 2017 | | 2

Online courses that don’t meet the needs of learners with disabilities have come under fire at colleges and universities. Institutions can find themselves at a crossroads if found in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act: Compliance. Or avoidance. If a college or university wants to enable higher education ADA compliance, what might that attempt look like? This article adapted from the March 2017 issue of Mealey’s™ Litigation Report: Cyber Tech[…]

The Berkeley Web Accessibility Ruling…

By Kevin Gumienny | November 17, 2016 | | 1

And What It Means for Online Education Background: University’s Online Courses Deemed Inaccessible On August 30, 2016, the Department of Justice informed University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) that large segments of UC Berkeley’s free, publicly available online content was not accessible to individuals with hearing, vision, or manual disabilities. The DOJ’s letter to university administration stated that UC Berkeley’s courses were in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act[…]

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