At San Diego Community College District, the Interpreting Services Office provides communication access accommodations for deaf and hard-of-hearing students with a documented disability. The communication access accommodations provided by the Interpreting Services Office include sign language interpreting and/or speech-to-text services. The Interpreting Services Office, in conjunction with Disability Support Programs and Services, provides services in State supported activities and classes, and related academic requirements that are directly related to the student’s educational process. If interpreting services and/or speech-to-text services are needed for other student activities that are part of the college, but not related to educational process, the services must be provided and should be funded by the respective department in the San Diego Community College District using resources other than Disability Support Program and Services. Typically, the deaf or hard-of-hearing students meet with the campus Disability Support Programs and Services counselor to determine the appropriate communication access accommodations and the service requests are then handled by the Interpreting Services Office. Interpreting Services Office Mission Statement: The mission of the Interpreting Services Office is to provide quality sign language and speech-to-text service accommodations to deaf and hard-of-hearing students throughout the San Diego Community College District, increasing their communication access and empowering them to meet their educational and career goals. Our Services All inquiries and requests from any student, faculty or staff member for interpreting services must be referred to the DSPS Office of the college at which the class or activity is located. Request for interpreting services with less than four weeks notice for on-going classes may result in delayed services. At least 3 business days are required for special requests/one time services such as for extracurricular activities. Sign Language Interpreter Services Sign language interpreting provides the facilitation of communication between people who are deaf or hard of hearing and individuals who are hearing. To ensure the quality of interpreting services, typically a team of two interpreters is assigned for a session one hour or more in length. Speech-to-Text Services (STS) Students who do not use sign language or cannot access information presented orally may need Speech-to-Text Services. This involves a service provider transcribing a lecture into written language that is then displayed on a laptop computer screen for the student. The service provider may be in the classroom or at a remote location. Speech-to-Text Services include Real-Time Captioning (RTC) service and TypeWell service. TypeWell is a method of providing real-time communication access to deaf and hard of hearing students through the use of a speech to text transcription service. It uses a spelling based, abbreviation system and provides a meaning for meaning transcript. The deaf or hard-of-hearing student reads the transcript in real-time from a display. RTC involves a service provider using court reporter (stenotype) equipment transcribing a lecture into written language that is then displayed on a laptop computer screen for the student. A RTC provider will render nearly instantaneous English text translation of the spoken English as nearly word for word as possible while striving to convey the content and spirit of the speaker’s message. |