Two visually impaired students who met as undergraduates at West Virginia State University are speaking out about educational obstacles they’ve faced while pursuing graduate degrees at West Virginia University.
Harold Rogers and Miranda Lacy, who both consider their undergraduate campus home, have encountered substantial difficulties accessing digital educational content as blind students in graduate school.
The challenges they describe highlight a broader problem in higher education, where digital technology has become essential for learning but accessibility features for students with disabilities are frequently overlooked.
Universities increasingly depend on computers, smartphones, and online platforms for coursework delivery, yet many institutions have failed to ensure these digital tools work properly with assistive technologies used by students with disabilities.
A new federal regulation currently in development aims to address these accessibility gaps that have long hindered educational opportunities for disabled students across the country.
The proposed rule could require colleges and universities to make their digital platforms and educational materials more accessible to students who rely on screen readers and other assistive devices.
For students like Rogers and Lacy, such changes could mean the difference between struggling to access course materials and having equal educational opportunities alongside their peers.
