Original title: "Coder first, advocate second, college student third": The Liminality of Going to College as a Blind Computing Student
Isabela Figueira, Josahandi M. Cisneros, Stacy M. Branham · September 2026
Blind or low vision students are less likely to graduate from college, especially in computer science. Researchers wanted to understand the tricky transition into college that causes this loss of students. To find out, they interviewed ten blind or low vision students who went to college to study computing. They analyzed the students' experiences of entering a new phase of life. They discovered that some students run into massive obstacles with digital accessibility and adjusting to campus life. These barriers are so intense that students face a tough choice. To continue as coders, they must either take on a demanding "second job" advocating for accessibility or drop out of the computing major entirely. Therefore, this transition requires better technological support.
Imagine moving to a new city for a job. You have to learn the streets, find a place to live, and start working. But every building you enter has doors that only open if you say a secret phrase, and you don't know it. You spend hours each day just getting inside. In this paper, blind computing students face a similar situation: they must learn college life and coding, but every digital tool they need is hard to use without sight, forcing them to constantly ask for help or find workarounds. That extra work becomes a second job.
Blind and low-vision students are less likely to graduate in computing. This research shows that the transition to college creates a compounding burden: students must fight for basic accessibility while learning to code. Without intervention, many leave computing entirely. Understanding this 'second job' of advocacy can help universities redesign support systems to retain these students.
The abstract doesn't say what the limitations are. It notes the study is based on interviews with ten students, which is a small qualitative sample. The findings may not be generalizable, and the focus is on the transition period.
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"Coder first, advocate second, college student third": The Liminality of Going to College as a Blind Computing Student — Isabela Figueira, Josahandi M. Cisneros, Stacy M. Branham
Abstract licence: CC0
Explanation generated by Synthesis from the abstract — it is not the original paper. This is a preprint, so it hasn't necessarily been peer reviewed.