VPATS

Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT®)

What is a VPAT®?

A VPAT® is a form completed by a vendor or a developer to advise which of the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) criteria are supported, and which are not supported.

Why does UTA need a VPAT®?

UTA, like all State of Texas agencies, must comply with Texas Administrative Code 206 and 213 to ensure that electronic and information resources comply with the WCAG to ensure that the resource is accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities. If UTA decides to use a resource that is not accessible, paperwork that must be completed, approved, and tracked.

The State of Texas follows the guidelines invoked in Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act.

Note: In April 2024, the U. S. Department of Justice published a new rule that elevates the minimum requirement to WCAG 2.1 A/AA.

More information regarding VPAT®s is listed below.  If you have any questions, please contact accessibility@uta.edu or call 817-272-5961.

 

 

 

VPAT Information

The VPAT® templates are published by the Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC) and are free to download from itic.org. There are four templates to choose from:

  • EU - Criteria includes WCAG 2.0, WCAG 2.1, and EN 301 549 2021-03 criteria.
  • INT - Criteria includes WCAG 2.0, WCAG 2.1, WCAG 2.2 and Revised Section 508 1/22/2018, EN (Harmonised European Standard) 301 549 2019-11 ,and EN 301 549 2021-03 criteria.
  • Rev 508 - Criteria includes WCAG 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2 and Revised Section 508 1 criteria.
  • WCAG - Criteria includes WACG 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2 criteria.

Texas agencies are required to meet WCAG 2.0 guidelines. All of the VPAT® templates include the 2.0 criteria, so any will be accepted.

We may discount a VPAT® report if any of these red flags apply:

  • The report is more than two years old.
  • The report is based on resource knowledge but not actual testing or assessment.
  • The vendor requires a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to provide the report.
  • Responses on the report are not logical.
  • Responses on the report do not match our own assessment.

It is necessary to have a scoring system to compare multiple resources and compare year over year progress towards accessibility. In addition to a numerical score, we also apply a letter grade so that even if the numerical scale is updated, the letter grade can be compared year over year.

The EIR Accessibility Coordinator at UTA developed an Excel scorecard for a VPAT®. Contact accessibility@uta.edu to request a copy of the scorecard.

The scorecard Excel file has 5 worksheets:

Worksheet 1 - Instructions

Worksheet 2 - Score: This worksheet has 8 separate tables as described below:

  1. EIR Details
  2. Accessibility and Risk Grade
  3. Score
  4. Responses
  5. Weights
  6. Disabilities Impacted
  7. UTA Approval Methods
  8. Risk Grade Legend

Worksheet 3 - ACR Responses

Worksheet 4 - Criteria by Impact

Worksheet 5 - File Updates