About Us

The Northeast Resource Center for Vision Education (NERCVE) is an established center within the Institute for Community Inclusion, and is academically affiliated with the University of Massachusetts, School for Global Inclusion and Social Development. UMass Boston's Vision Studies program is New England's only academic center for preparing Teachers of Students with Visual Impairment, Orientation and Mobility Specialists, Vision Rehabilitation Therapists, and Assistive Technology Instructional Specialists. These four key specialties help people with visual impairment to achieve their goals of accessing high quality education, finding employment, and traveling independently. NERCVE is committed to improving quality of life for individuals with visual impairments through:

  • Supporting Personnel Preparation
  • Professional Development
  • Technology & Research

The mission of this university-based resource center is to improve educational outcomes of individuals who are blind or visually impaired with attention to local, national and international communities requesting assistance. Observable and measurable improved outcomes are achieved through strategic leadership, field-initiated innovations, continuous technological advancement, evidence-based practices, community engagement, professional development, multidimensional capacity building, and integration of resources at all levels. Vision education is empowered by local leadership and capacities that establish a broadly-based collaborative initiative. We strive to bring a solid basis of shared resources and professional support to serve local, national and international communities in critical need of improved vision educational outcomes. Through rapid expansion over the past 10 years, our current university collaborations include the University of Guam, University of Puerto Rico, George Mason University and Jackson State University in Mississippi.  Our State Education Agency Partnerships include Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine Connecticut, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia.