ACRs/VPATs and EEAAPs

By policy and in practice, Highline College requires that Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) be accessible and usable by all people including people with disabilities. All EIT in use at the college should have an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR), most commonly distributed as a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) describing the product’s accessibility conformance on file. Where it is not possible to provide fully accessible technology, an Equally Effective Alternative Access Plan (EEAAP) must be developed to document resources and processes for ensuring access to EIT products and services.

Finding ACRs/VPATs

While researching and choosing new EIT, including hardware, software, and electronic textbooks (including hardcopy textbooks with an electronic component), search the vendor/publisher website for “accessibility conformance report”, “ACR”, or “VPAT”, or ask the vendor/publisher representative to provide the ACR/VPAT for the resource under consideration. ACRs/VPATs should be current (no more than 24 months old unless the resource has not been updated in that time).

Vendors/publishers who are able to provide recently updated ACRs/VPATs should be prioritized over vendors/publishers who cannot provide this documentation.

Open Educational Resource (OER) textbooks may not have an ACR/VPAT available. There may be an ACR/VPAT available for the service used to create the OER material, but these generally will only cover the service’s accessibility features, and will not apply to the material created by a user of the service. OER material should have an EEAAP created and on file.

Finding Existing ACRs/VPATs

When researching software, hardware, or textbooks for use at Highline College, it can be useful to know if someone else has already reviewed and submitted an ACR/VPAT for the resource being investigated. Highline College employees may look up any ACRs/VPATs on file with the ACR/VPAT/EEAAP Tracking document.

Reviewing ACRs/VPATs

The ACR/VPAT should list the various features of the product being evaluated and describe how they do or do not support accessibility standards. Review the ACR/VPAT to determine how much any lack of accessibility is likely to affect disabled users.

While more accessible EIT is preferred over less accessible EIT, it is unlikely that any product will be entirely accessible.

Creating EEAAPs

The Equally Effective Alternative Access Plan (EEAAP) is a document that addresses the known accessibility issues with the product and presents a plan for how to allow disabled users to access the same information or perform the same duties as non-disabled users.

Highline College provides a standardized Highline EEAAP form (186 KB Acrobat .pdf). This form is also available to Highline faculty and staff as a Word document in a Google Drive EEAAP Templates folder.

Finding Existing EEAAPs

When researching software, hardware, or textbooks for use at Highline College, it can be useful to know if someone else has already reviewed and submitted an EEAAP for the resource being investigated. Highline College employees may look up any EEAAPs on file with the ACR/VPAT/EEAAP Tracking document.

Submitting ACRs/VPATs and EEAAPs

When a resource has been selected for use, the ACR/VPAT and EEAAP should be submitted for review. The ACR/VPAT and EEAAP will be reviewed by Highline Accessible Technology staff before being filed. We will contact the submitter if there are any errors or if any clarifications are needed.

Submit ACRs/VPATs and EEAAPs with the ACR/VPAT/EEAAP Submission web form. The form will accept VPATs and completed EEAAP forms. If an EEAAP form has not yet been completed, all required information can be submitted directly through this form.

Key Links

ACR/VPAT/EEAAP Tracking

Google Sheets spreadsheet listing all ACRs/VPATs and EEAAPs on file.

EEAAP Templates

Google Drive folder with EEAAP template files in Word .doc and Acrobat .pdf format.

ACR/VPAT/EEAAP Submission

Web form for submitting ACRs/VPATs, completed EEAAPs, or all information needed to complete an EEAAP.

These links are restricted to Highline College employees.