Question ITAC-09

Does your product rely on activating a special "accessibility mode," a "lite version," or accessing an alternate interface for accessibility purposes?

Standard Guidance

EDUCAUSE provides no guidance here

Answering "NO"

EDUCAUSE provides no guidance here

Answering "YES"

Describe any feature differences between standard and accessible modes along with any timelines or plans to merge products into a universally designed platform.

Reason for Question

Separate accessibility modes or interfaces are indicative of a product design creating an attempted "separate but equal" environment for disabled users. In practice, separate modes or interfaces for accessibility almost never have feature parity and typically get new features less frequently and after the primary version. They therefore provide unequal experiences for disabled users compared with their non-disabled peers. Interfaces, overlays, or extensions that create a separate experience or mimic such an environment should be avoided.

Follow-Up Inquiries

In-development

HECVAT Pro Advice

[Add expert insights and best practices]

Implementation Tips

[Add practical steps for SME SaaS vendors]

FAQ

[Add common questions related to this HECVAT item]

Resources

[Add links to relevant articles or tools]