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Re: VPAT repository?

for

From: Karla Kmetz
Date: Nov 4, 2011 2:36PM

Hi Rachel,

I am very interested in this topic as well. I don't know the answers to
your questions, because I have the same ones myself.

I am starting to collect VPATs for the LMS systems we are considering and I
think I may host them in our University's Digital Archives, but you bring
up a good point. That archive is available to the public and that may be an
issue.

Karla

On Fri, Nov 4, 2011 at 4:14 PM, Shuttlesworth, Rachel < <EMAIL REMOVED> >wrote:

> Hi, all.
>
> We are considering how we should collect and make available to those who
> need them VPATs for the technology tools used for our campus. The vendors
> who have been asked so far have just been given the link:
> http://www.itic.org/index.php?src=gendocs&;ref=vpat&category=resources and
> told that they should email the VPAT or its URL to me. As we expand our
> efforts, several questions have come up. If you have experience with this
> or ideas about it, could you share?
>
> - Is there a central area on campus that should collect VPATs from vendors?
> - Is there a commonly/publically available area online that is hosted by
> the campus where the VPATs can be accessed? Is there any reason NOT to make
> these public?
> - Is a vendor REQUIRED to produce a VPAT (even though the name says
> 'voluntary' :-)) before its bid is considered? i.e. is submitting a VPAT a
> prerequisite for us doing business with your firm?
> - VPATs don't ensure accessibility by a long shot. How does the vendor
> VPAT content affect the decision to go with the product?
> - How do you deal with one-off tech purchases? Say, if one faculty member
> in one department chooses a certain free online product for use with his or
> her class, who collects the VPAT?
> - How do we coordinate requesting updated VPATs when a product is updated?
>
> Thanks for any ideas or advice you may have.
>
> Rachel
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Dr. Rachel Shuttlesworth Thompson
> Director, Emerging Technologies and Research, Center for Instructional
> Technology
> University of Alabama
> Box 870346 * Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0346
> 205.348.0216
>
>