It is the responsibility of every MSU unit to comply with the MSU Digital Accessibility Policy when designing, building, or purchasing websites, software, and other digital products and services. Digital accessibility compliance is ultimately the responsibility of the unit making the purchase request. MSU units should use the information and resources detailed on this page while they verify a product's digital accessibility compliance and work with suppliers to remediate any identified issues.
In most cases, units are required to fill out the IT Readiness form when purchasing digital products and services. This form, required before submission of a purchase requisition, helps MSU IT and the Office for Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance (OCR) determine whether a potential purchase meets the criteria for additional accessibility review.
The IT Readiness form contains a Digital Accessibility Acknowledgement that requires units to confirm an understanding of the MSU Digital Accessibility Policy and agree to develop and file an Equally Effective Alternative Access Plan, if necessary.
Based on a unit’s responses in the IT Readiness form, MSU IT and OCR may perform additional IT Security and Digital Accessibility reviews of a product prior to purchase. Both of these reviews may generate information on a product’s level of digital accessibility compliance.
Prospective suppliers may be asked to supply a VPAT, which serves as a standardized assessment of their product or service’s current level of digital accessibility compliance. The Digital Accessibility Team can review a VPAT using a spreadsheet-based scorecard, with a turnaround time of one to two days. This review provides requesting unit staff with a nontechnical score and risk metric that can be used to compare products or make supplier scoring decisions.
An accessibility review will consist of a recommendation to either proceed with the purchase requisition or to proceed with recommendation of certain requirements for the supplier. These requirements typically consist of contract language or other agreements for remediation of identified accessibility issues, particularly critical issues. Rarely, there may be a recommendation to reconsider a purchasing requisition.
If it is not possible for a digital product or service to fully comply with the MSU Digital Accessibility Policy then an MSU unit must fill out and submit an Equally Effective Alternative Access Plan. This plan guides units in providing equal access to content and services in a proactive way and establishes how they will communicate this alternative to their audience.
In addition to any specific remediation language recommended during an accessibility review, there is specific ADA language required for certain purchases, the provision of which is guided by the MSU Office of General Counsel, MSU signature authorities for procurement, MSU IT, and the Office for Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance.
Units can request a full digital accessibility review of a product during procurement. The procurement process will be paused while this prioritized review is conducted. This type of review will take around one to two weeks from the time demo access to the product is made available to the reviewer. The review will generate detailed digital accessibility recommendations.