What’s a VPAT?

This is a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template. It "is a tool used to document a product's conformance with the accessibility standards under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. The purpose of the VPAT is to assist federal contracting officials and other buyers in making preliminary assessments regarding the availability of commercial "Electronic and Information Technology" products and services with features that support accessibility."  In a nut shell everything we can say around our accessibility is in this document. For more information, visit Section508.gov.

What is an ACR vs. a VPAT?

An ACR or Accessibility Conformance Report is a filled in VPAT. The VPAT is the empty template.

What does the ACR creation process involve?

At Vista Higher Learning, we have a partner, Tetralogical, who performs testing on representative content and features each year, then our internal technology team does a remediation pass on the platform before the next round of testing, so each year our ACR should show increased compliance. That said, the test plan each year also expands to cover new features and activity types in our platform, so it may be difficult to see the improvement reflected in the ACR.

How does Vista Higher Learning approach accessibility?

• Accessibility is a pillar of our product development process. From product requirements through design, implementation, and testing, we develop software and content to meet accessibility standards.

• Accessibility is a core commitment across our organization. Since 2018, our Accessibility Cross-Functional Team comprising leaders from technology, editorial, and production, has met monthly to advance best practices, resolve challenges, and ensure our products meet the highest standards of inclusive design.

• Accessibility compliance across all our educational materials is our goal. With an external partner, we complete an annual VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) that results in an updated ACR (Accessibility Conformance Report). The results help us identify and prioritize work and learn about new areas of compliance. The learning is then integrated into our product development process.

  • Platform accessibility issues are reviewed by Product Management, who identifies core accessibility items to address in our product roadmap. 

  • Program-specific content accessibility issues are reviewed by our Editorial team as each title comes up for revision.  

We welcome your questions, feedback, or requests regarding our accessibility commitment and available resources via our web form. Please select these problem, subproblem options from the drop-down menus: Compatibility Questions, Accessibility/Compliance Request.

Where can I learn more about vhlcentral’s accessibility features?

• Review the list of features for each user type (coming soon)

• Accessibility Features How to Video