[NABS-L] Blind and low-vision undergraduate and graduate students needed for research on accessibility barriers of online learning platforms

[Blake, Lou Ann]

The below research participant solicitation is being provided for informational purposes only. The National Federation of the Blind has no involvement in this research, but we believe that it may contribute to our research mission.

Dear Student,
My name is Heidi Ancar. I am a doctoral student at the University of Arizona Global Campus. I am kindly requesting your participation in a doctoral research project that I am conducting titled: Accessibility Challenges of Online Learning Affecting Successful Degree Completion Among Visually Impaired Undergraduate/Graduate
Students: An Exploratory Case Study. The intention is to explore how online college students with visual impairment perceive accessibility challenges and how these challenges might influence successful degree completion for this student population. The option of distance education and online learning provides individuals with visual impairment the opportunity to pursue higher education through using virtual classroom platforms. With this delivery method of providing students the opportunity of pursuing and possibly completing their academic studies, the online/distance learning environment needs to be completely accessible to these students for them to be successful in their journey of degree completion.

I would like to interview undergraduate/graduate students with visual impairment who are currently taking at least one college course via distance learning/online platforms to explore if these students have encountered any perceived accessible challenges in the classroom and if they perceive these challenges as having any impact on successful degree completion in their studies. To be eligible for participation in this study, potential participants must be:
* An undergraduate/graduate college student enrolled in at least one online course at a two- or four-year college/university.
* Have a visual impairment that impacts their ability to access course materials/resources.
* Have experience with online learning that is not fully accessible to the student because of the student's visual impairment.
* At least 18 years of age or older.

Participation in this study is voluntary, and participants may withdraw from the study at any time without any notice. The study is completely anonymous; therefore, it does not require you to provide your name or any other identifying information. There is no compensation for participating in this study.
If you choose to participate in the study, you will be contacted via email or telephone and schedule an interview at a time mutually agreeable to you and the researcher. The researcher will provide information on the virtual location (Zoom) and how to access the platform. The interview will take approximately
one hour to complete.
If you have questions regarding your participation in the study, or if you seek to verify authenticity of the study, please contact the University of Arizona Global Campus (UAGC) Institutional Review Board chair at irb at uagc.edu<mailto:irb at uagc.edu> or the study chair, Susan Gunther, PhD, at susan.gunther at faculty.uagc.edu<mailto:susan.gunther at faculty.uagc.edu>. To participate in the study please contact me at heidi.ancar at my.rockies.edu<mailto:heidi.ancar at my.rockies.edu>.

Thank you for your time and participation.

Yours sincerely,
Heidi Riley-Ancar, University of Arizona Global Campus

Lou Ann Blake, J.D.
Director of Research Programs, Blindness Initiatives
200 East Wells Street, Baltimore, MD 21230
(410) 659-9314, extension 2221 | lblake at nfb.org<mailto:lblake at nfb.org>


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