The Office of Disability Services provides reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities, including American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters and/or CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) captioning, upon request.

Requesting an ASL Interpreter or CART for Campus Events:

To request an interpreter or captioner for campus events, meetings, etc., please complete the CART/ASL Request form. The form must be completed in its entirety. If the student is unsure of any details, they may obtain information from the event coordinator. A notice of one-and-a-half weeks if requested to provide time to secure accommodations, but the Office of Disability Services will work to provide accommodations on a shorter notice.

Requesting an ASL Interpreter or CART for Classes:

To request an interpreter or CART captioner for classes, the student will need to register with the Office of Disability Services by completing the necessary forms. Once completed, they will set up an intake meeting to review the request and what accommodations are available to them. 

Current students with an accommodation for an ASL interpreter or CART captioning should work with Disability Services in advance of each semester that they expect to request an interpreter or CART services. This ensures that their accommodations are arranged in advance of the semester and ready once the semester begins.

Regarding Interpreters

You can expect one to two interpreters to attend class. Two interpreters are needed for classes longer than one hour so that the interpreter can rest. Interpreters are present solely to facilitate communication between the deaf student, instructor, and the class. Their role is not to assist the student with class material, take notes, etc. They translate spoken language into visual language to ensure that everyone has equal access.

The interpreters will convey all auditory speech into sign language, and all sign language into auditory speech, so that the hearing and deaf participants in the class can fully interact. Interpreters are highly trained professionals who adhere to a code of professional conduct with strict standards of confidentiality, neutrality, professionalism, and respect.

For in-person classes, the ASL interpreter will find a location to stand so that the interpreter and instructor are both in the deaf student’s line of sight. Whenever possible, work with interpreters so that they can stand in front of a neutral background, rather than a window or backlit background. For online classes, the interpreter will provide services virtually. 

Regarding CART

CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) is a live captioning service provided by remote or in-person certified captioners, depending on the type of request. The live captioning appears on the student's laptop. 

With this accommodation, the student will need to have their professors use a small Buetooth microphone so that the CART captioner can hear what is being said. That way, they can remotely caption the class lecture- they will not be physically in class. Every class they will give the professor small microphone that can be either clipped to their shirt or worn around their neck with an included lanyard. If they prefer not to wear it, they can place the microphone on a table/desk near them, or have they student place it.