General Sign Language and Real Time Captioning Information
- Sign language interpreters and Real Time captioners work under the direction of the Disability Support Services (DSS) Director to provide sign language interpreting and Real Time captioning services for classroom and related activities. The interpreter or captioner functions as the support service provider to facilitate communication between the deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing students, faculty, staff, and visitors on the campus through the use of sign language, oral interpretation/transliteration, and captioning services.
- Sign language interpreters and Real Time captioners are not working as a teacher's aide, private assistant, or tutor.
- The student is responsible for homework, lecture content, classroom organization, knowing due dates and deadlines, tests, asking questions, and classroom behavior. It is not the interpreter's or captioner's responsibility nor his or her job to remind the student of due dates, deadlines, or test dates. The interpreter or captioner is not a note taker or tutor. If the student has questions related to the lecture or reading material, he or she should ask the professor, another student, or the tutoring center.
- If an interpreter or captioner is needed outside of the regularly scheduled class times (e.g., meeting with professor; tutoring center, writing lab, or math lab appointments; financial aid; advising; additional required class hours; etc.) the student, professor, or staff must make a request through the DSS Office. Interpreters and captioners cannot add time to their schedule without prior DSS approval, due to Clark College's policies and procedures regarding hourly employees.
- If a student needs to talk with the professor or another student regarding the class immediately after the class has finished, the interpreter or captioner can work if he or she is available without prior DSS approval. Be aware that the interpreter or captioner may not be able to stay later than the scheduled class time due to other commitments.
- If an interpreter or captioner does not show up for a class or scheduled meeting, immediately call the DSS Office. If the student leaves class to contact the DSS Office the professor needs to ensure someone is taking notes for the student. After DSS has been contacted, the student should return to class. The DSS Office will make every attempt to get an interpreter or captioner to the class immediately. If there is no interpreter or captioner available, the DSS Office will tape record the lecture and then schedule an interpreter or captioner to meet with the student and interpret or caption the tape.
