About the Temporary Equally Effective Alternative Access Plan
A Temporary Equally Effective Alternate Access Plan (TEEAAP) involves documenting the plan around how disabled people will access a digital product or service in an equally effective way when the product or service is not fully accessible yet and contains barriers that would block the disabled person from accessing or using that product or service. It outlines known accessibility barriers in a product, identifies which disability groups are affected, and provides alternative means of access that the university will implement while the vendor works toward compliance. A TEEAAP ensures we do not shift the burden of workarounds onto our disabled employees, students, and the public.
This plan was developed for UMass President's Office products and services specifically. Campus employees should reach out to their designated campus digital accessibility contacts.
Definitions to understand
"Temporary" means that the plan is only in place while the barriers are being worked on either internally or by a vendor. It is expected that the plan will be revisited and updated on a regular cadence as that work happens.
"Equally effective" means that the alternative access must meet all of the following requirements to be deemed equally effective:
- Allows access to the same information, engagement, and services
- Offers the same availability as the primary solution
- Can be accessed independently without additional assistance
- Does not result in disparate burden or impact on the user
- Has substantially equivalent ease of use
- Protects the privacy of the individuals affected
Developing a Temporary Equally Effective Alternative Access Plan
A President's Office product owner can work on completing a TEEAAP on their own or can collaborate directly with the digital accessibility specialist. When completed, the plan should be reviewed by digital accessibility and legal. Final review and approval is completed by the Division Vice President or Chief Officer.
Completing a TEEAAP when purchasing a product
A TEEAAP should be the last resort when purchasing a product or service. It should be completed when the following is true:
- No available accessible products or services that meet both the department’s needs and the Web Content Accessibility A and AA, version 2.1 or later.
- The desired product or service is only partially accessible and blockers have been identified. Blockers mean that a disabled person will not be able to complete a task and will need to complete that task in an equally effective way.
Completing a TEEAAP for an existing product
Many of our products were previously purchased without digital accessibility in mind. They often need a TEEAAP until the digital accessibility specialist has worked with the vendor to resolve all accessibility issues with a status of "blocker." In addition, a vendor could introduce major accessibility barriers (known as blockers in the tracker) during an update. In both cases, a product owner will need to complete a TEEAAP until the blockers are remediated by the vendor.
Getting Started
- If this is your first time creating a Temporary Equally Effective Alternative Access Plan, please set up time with the Digital Experience team by contacting us at dxteam@umassp.edu. The Temporary Equally Effective Alternative Access Plan form is a complex form so you will most likely have questions as you complete each field.
- Access the Temporary Equally Effective Alternative Access Plan form and begin adding content to the form.
- You can uncheck the "Published" checkbox at the bottom of the form while you work on it until you are ready to share the draft for review. Then you can select the "Published" checkbox to publish it to the site and share it for review.
- You must complete all fields in the form that appear above the Reviews and Approvals section before it can be sent for final review.
TEEAAP Structure Credit
This TEEAAP leveraged the work that California State has done in revamping their Temporary Alternative Access Plan to meet the new requirements under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. In addition, content was influenced by North Carolina State University's current Equally Effective Alternative Access Plan process.