All digital products must be verified to ensure they meet Ohio State's accessibility standards. This includes any product that is: built (whether built in-house or by hiring a third-party vendor to build to Ohio State’s specifications); purchased from a vendor; or acquired for use.
Note: If you are creating content to post on a website or application, please review the Producing Accessible Digital Content section.
What is a Digital Product?
Digital products include any software, freeware, computer or mobile application, website or other digital service used by the university community.
How Do I Ensure Digital Products Are Accessible?
Digital products must meet Ohio State's Minimum Digital Accessibility Standards (MDAS) which adopt the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 as a minimum standard.
An accessibility evaluation needs to be done for ALL digital products, whether free, purchased or built. The only exception to this rule is for a product that is going to be used only for personal productivity, and whose output will not be used by individuals other than the person acquiring the product.
The level of scrutiny to which a product will be subjected depends upon its risk level in the Ohio State Accessibility Risk Management Framework. Some lower-risk products will only require a basic accessibility evaluation, while higher-risk products will require a more rigorous, comprehensive evaluation.
Accessibility evaluations generally increase both the time and money required to implement a digital product. Plan accordingly for your project timeline and your budget. All evaluations must be completed and, if necessary, an approved exception must be in place, BEFORE a product may go live.
When a Full Manual Evaluation is required for a product, it must be performed by an OSU ADA Certified Evaluator, which includes internal staff who have successfully completed the ADA Coordinator's Office accessibility evaluation training, or an OSU-Approved Accessibility Evaluation Supplier.
Contact Your Coordinator
Each unit has its own unique process for implementing digital products, whether built or purchased. When starting the process, please contact your unit's Digital Accessibility Coordinator to ensure the proper process is followed for your unit.
Training and Resources for Builders
If you are a web or mobile app developer, skills training courses and resources are available to assist you in learning how to build accessible websites and applications.