Perceptions of Academic Quality and Approaches to Studying among Students with Print Disabilities Enrolled in Distance Education

A mailed survey compared the experiences of distance-learning students with print disabilities who were supported by audio recordings of materials, the experiences of students with print disabilities who were supported by an electronic system that permitted more effective access to the same materials, and the experiences of students with no disability. Findings showed that the students with print disabilities rated their courses less favorably and were more likely to adopt a surface approach to studying than were students with no disability. However, the students with print disabilities were just as likely to adopt a deep or a strategic approach to studying as were the students with no disability, and there was no significant difference in the satisfaction ratings of the students with and without print disabilities. Finally, there were no significant differences between the experiences of the students with print disabilities who used the electronic system and the experiences of those who used audio recordings, and no significant differences between the experiences of the students with print disabilities who were visually impaired and the experiences of those with another kind of disability. (Contains 6 tables.)