The teacher shows a practice assignment on the screen. He then elaborates the assignment on the chalkboard. Where this is informative for most students, a lot of information passes Thomas Crol by. This makes it a lot harder for him to keep up at the same pace as other students.

Thomas is 25 years old, has completed the Bachelor and Research Master in Economics at the UG and is currently doing a PhD in Economics in Uppsala (Sweden). He loves playing sports and making music. In daily life, he is hampered by cone rod dystrophy. A congenital condition, which causes his vision to progressively deteriorate from the age of 12. He now still sees about 16% from a distance and 12.5% up close.

Not being able to follow everything

This visual impairment made it difficult for Thomas to follow all the information during a lecture. "I was more concerned with deciphering what was written on the chalkboard than with understanding the lecture material. Understanding then only came after the lecture, once the slides were available." As a result, he spent much more time studying, which prevented him from having a side job alongside his studies, for example.

"What benefited me most was to have the material on my computer ahead of time, so I could follow the lecture material on my computer during class." Usually this was not a problem and he got the slides or material from the lecturer before his class started or it was shared with everyone in advance anyway via Brightspace. Occasionally a lecturer did not want to send the material in advance. "They were then afraid that it would circulate and students would stop coming to the tutorials or lectures."

Support from study advisor and teachers

Good support from people within the study is essential for a student with a visual impairment. Thomas studied Econometrics first. For example, in a maths subject, everything was communicated through a chalkboard and it was impossible to get material in advance that would be discussed in class. "The study advisor told me that this is how the teacher teaches and they can't do anything about it." Such obstacles played a role into Thomas' consideration of switching studies.

Through this experience, however, he had learned a lot. For his Economics degree, he visited the study advisor well in advance so that everything would go smoothly. "The study advisor was pleasant and accessible, and really thought along with me. For example, she helped me get exam facilities through the board of examiners, such as extra time and a larger font for exams."

The realization of the facilities is still sometimes a point of attention. For example, during several exams, he was not given an A4 format with a larger font, but the same layout printed on an A3 format.

"For the teacher, this was easier because the document didn't have to be modified separately for me. For me, however, this was not so convenient, because there is barely room on your table for such a large sheet. It would be nice if there was a better balance between convenience for the teacher and what is optimal for the student. This should be better coordinated with the teachers." In this, the study advisor could play a helping role.

Online lectures

During corona time, teaching was temporarily offered online. For Thomas, this was great. He experienced no disadvantage compared to other students during that period. He could easily follow everything on his own screen, both the slides and the notes on the digital whiteboard. Taking exams on the computer was also enjoyable because it allowed him to easily zoom in when needed. "For studying, this was ideal. For the social side it was a shame, of course, as it is nice to go to campus and meet everybody there."

Even after the corona period, Thomas would have benefited greatly from online education. He asked if teachers could send recorded lectures. Occasionally this worked out, although more often than not, the teachers no longer had the recordings or had not recorded the lecture.

For many more students, online forms of education such as making lecture recordings available would be a good addition to their studies. In fact, for some students with support needs, this is essential.

Contact your study advisor in time

After completing his studies, Thomas went to Uppsala for a PhD position. His ambition is to continue in the scientific field. "Although life with a visual impairment can be stressful, I also believe that you should not let your limitation stop you in achieving your goals."

Thomas' story illustrates that it is important to contact the study advisor at an early stage if you experience a (visual) impairment. Study advisors can help you with your support needs and think along with you about ways to make studying less stressful.

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