For procurement requests in Workflow, or as part of an Equally Effective Alternate Access Plan, the vendor should receive a standard message on behalf of the customer.

Sample language:

As part of our procurement process, I have been asked to learn more about the accessibility of [product]. Specifically, we would like to determine whether this product is usable by people with disabilities and those who use assistive technologies, and whether it conforms to relevant IT Accessibility Guidelines per University of Iowa policy. I would very much appreciate it if someone on your team could help us out with the following:

• Does [product] conform to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, version 2.1, Level AA, Section 508, or other applicable accessibility standards?
• Please provide, if available, an Accessibility Conformance Report based on the most recent version of Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT 2.1), or similar accessibility documentation.
• Please provide contact information (name, job title, email, phone) for [vendor]’s primary accessibility contact.
• Please describe how [product] is usable with equivalent effectiveness by users with disabilities, including mouse-free users and users of assistive technologies such as screen readers? Please include any known barriers to access.
• Please describe [vendor]’s accessibility roadmap or other plans to maintain or improve the accessibility of [product].
• Please describe remedies [vendor] will provide or recommend if accessibility deficits are discovered after purchase, licensing, or the execution of a contract for same.
• Please provide any other relevant information about the accessibility of [product].

Accessibility is an issue of real importance at the University of Iowa, and we certainly welcome the support of vendors like [vendor] as we strive to provide accessible technology for all of our users.