Academic attainment in visually impaired students in distance education

Abstract

This investigation studied attainment in visually impaired students taking modules by distance learning with the Open University in 2012. Students with visual impairment alone were less likely to complete their modules and less likely to pass the modules that they had completed than non-disabled students, but they were just as likely to obtain good grades on the modules that they had passed. Students with visual impairment plus additional disabilities were less likely to complete their modules, less likely to pass the modules that they had completed, and less likely to obtain good grades on the modules that they had passed than non-disabled students. These findings are in contrast to those of earlier studies, which suggested that visual impairment had little or no impact upon attainment in higher education. The disparity is attributed to a student population which is nowadays much more diverse both in its abilities and in its disabilities.