Access Denied: When Computer Says Nothing

Chloe is an ambitious individual who completed her Master’s in Education at the University of Sheffield. Even with her vision impairment Chloe had not imagined the hurdles she would have to face whilst on this journey.

“I have a few conditions. I was born with cataracts which was removed at birth and then I developed glaucoma. I then lost my right eye to a retinal detachment as a child so am completely blind in that eye and wear a prosthetic. I also have Nystagmus.”

This had a significant impact on Chloe’s ability to access her course fully. As part of the course, it was mandatory to take a research module and use SPSS. This is not unusual as many disciplines in Higher Education (HE) use SPSS, particularly within social sciences, psychology, and health studies. It is often a mandatory component of research methods and data analysis modules. However, despite its widespread use, SPSS remains consistently inaccessible and unusable for blind and partially sighted users.

Tech Turbulence

“Using SPSS overall felt very uncertain. We had the practical sessions once a week and I often felt a little excluded from them, as my peers were able to follow along with what was being shown on the whiteboard. My peers used the university computers and I had to use my  DSA provided laptop and try to follow along with the workbook provided. but the magnification software would constantly crash meaning that I had to restart my laptop and would lose my place in what I was doing on SPSS which would leave me feeling frustrated. It meant I had to spend extra time outside of classes trying to understand it. Generally, it took me much longer to understand than my peers which made me worry about getting assignments completed on time as we often had multiple due around the same time.”

The challenges do not stop there…

“When you are so zoomed in you miss icons and other information on the screen. Pop-ups and windows became difficult to navigate especially when they generated for no reason. I found it so annoying trying to do the basics and with figures being so small I had no choice in zooming in.”

SPSS’s design relies heavily on multiple layered pop-up windows and dialog boxes for even the simplest analyses. However, as Chloe has experienced, this design is confusing and inefficient when magnification tools are used.

The Human Cost of the Code

“It was difficult to have a social element to studying with my friends. We would spend time in the library trying to understand SPSS together and interpret the data output but it was challenging for me to compare what was on my friend’s screen to my own as I couldn’t see theirs, or I would have to zoom out and show them how to use my laptop for them to check mine which felt clunky and like I was being a burden to them.”

This can often break the workflow and with complex menus and navigation make it nearly impossible to use without sighted assistance.

“I had the constant worry I had limited number of hours with my Non-Medical Help through DSA, so was trying to be mindful to spread my hours across the many deadlines. I knew that it would not be possible for me to use them for SPSS support and for proofreading assignments without having to request more hours through DSA. I had already gone back to them once and it felt unnecessarily laborious to have a needs assessment review where I would have to explain my disability all over again just to get more hours, so I made the decision to use SPSS as little as possible.”

Nevertheless, Chloe continued persevering, even as her vision began to deteriorate, leading to her using a Specialist Support Professional for Vision Impairment (SSPVI). This was not the ideal approach, with limited knowledge from the SSPVI, and no alternative software to use, Chloe struggled to produce the quality of work she would like.

When asking Chloe if she or her lecturers were aware of the visual adjustments available for users with a vision impairment, her response was…

“My university were generally very accommodating and would have been willing to work with me to find a solution. But it seemed very stressful, and I didn’t see any way of improving it. It might have helped if I had been made aware of the accessibility features available on SPSS. I think it would be helpful if this option was presented when downloading the software, or If IBM would work with HE providers to make their students aware of these options. It is hard to know if something will help you if you don’t know it exists and don’t have the option to try it out.”

The Personal Impact

Being denied access to this important skills development has an extensive impact.

“I lost more of my sight part way through my degree. As a result I purchased a MacBook which was easier to use, but I had found it so time consuming to use that I steered away from using it for my dissertation and stuck to only qualitative data collection methods. I can’t help but think that maybe my dissertation would have been strengthened by using quantitative data. But I felt like that was not an option for me as I needed it to be as simple as possible, and I wasn’t even sure I would be able to finish my degree due to deteriorating vision and requiring surgery. I was already forced to push back deadlines that I did not want to overcomplicate things further by trying to use SPSS.”

It is not acceptable for decisions to have to be made based on software inaccessibility not academic ability. But Chloe felt she had no choice and avoided using SPSS to minimise her isolation, frustration, and diminished confidence. Without access to this key software, what has Chloe missed from her course, and what impact will this have on her skills development and future opportunities?

“I was doing the bare minimum (with SPSS) and did not actually learn a valuable skill and could not apply it to future scenarios if needed, which is disheartening. I am perhaps not as confident in using SPSS compared to my peers because it was much harder for me to practice with it and actually enjoy the process of learning a new skill.”

The persistent inaccessibility of SPSS for blind and partially sighted users is systemic. Despite being an essential tool in many academic fields, SPSS remains unusable with assistive technology, placing unnecessary stress on students with a vision impairment. Institutions must demand better from IBM to prioritize inclusive teaching tools to ensure all students have equal access to learning opportunities.

Next Steps

Thomas Pocklington Trust has launched a new LinkedIn Community of Practice Group for students, lecturers and other academic professionals who struggle using SPSS with assistive technology. It is a space to share experiences, ask questions, offer tips, and collaborate on improving the accessibility of SPSS for blind and partially sighted users.

Join the group here

To discuss your experience on a one-to-one basis, please contact us at EducationPolicy@pocklington.org.uk

For more bespoke advice and guidance on using SPSS, or you need support as a blind and partially sighted student, you can contact our Education Advice Service at EducationAdvice@pocklington.org.uk