Overview

Disability Services makes every effort to secure appropriate providers for deaf and hard of hearing students when such services are needed. Please contact Disability Services as soon as you know that you will need to request deaf and hard of hearing services and supports.

Examples of providers and supports include the following:

• American Sign Language Interpreters
• Transliterators
• Captioning-Print (C-Print) and Communications Access Real-Time Translation (CART) Captionists
• FM Systems

Providers play a crucial role in making our educational environment accessible, and are relied on by members of the College community (students, faculty and staff) to relay information accurately and intelligibly to and from Deaf and hard of hearing students.

Provider Definitions/Certification

ASL INTERPRETER: An interpreter should have a demonstrated ability to interpret between American Sign Language (ASL) and spoken English, as well as, the bicultural skills needed to mediate across cultures. ASL Interpreters should be certified by the Registry of Interpreters of the Deaf, Inc. (RID) and/or the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), or screened by the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MCDHH).

TRANSLITERATOR: A Transliterator should have a demonstrated ability to transliterate between spoken English and a signed code for English, as well as, the bicultural skills needed to mediate across cultures. Transliterators should be certified by the Registry of Interpreters of the Deaf, Inc. (RID) and/or the National Association of the Deaf (NAD), or screened by the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (MCDHH).

CAPTIONISTS: A Captionist should have a demonstrated ability to key spoken English into electronic text that can be accessed and viewed by the Deaf or hard of hearing student. These services are referred to as C-Print or CART (Communication Access Real time Translation).

Provider Standards of Conduct

Providers are expected to maintain high standards of professionalism and reliability, to dress in a manner appropriate to the situation, to adhere to the procedures in the GCC Deaf and Hard of Hearing Service Provider Handbook, to follow the NAD-RID Code of Professional Conduct, as well as all College policies and applicable standards.

National Association of the Deaf - Registry of Interpreters of the Deaf, Inc. (NAD-RID) Code of Professional Conduct Tenets:

1. Interpreters adhere to standards of confidential communication.
2. Interpreters possess the professional skills and knowledge required for the specific interpreting situation.
3. Interpreters conduct themselves in a manner appropriate to the specific interpreting situation.
4. Interpreters demonstrate respect for consumers.
5. Interpreters demonstrate respect for colleagues, interns, and students of the profession.
6. Interpreters maintain ethical business practices.
7. Interpreters engage in professional development.

A full version of the Code of Professional Conduct is available on the Web.

Student Responsibilities to Interpreters

At the beginning of the semester (first day of classes), students should discuss with their interpreters the best way to contact each other (e.g., cell phone, email, pagers, home phone numbers, text message, etc.) in the event of last minute changes.

Classes: Assignments will be primarily in the classroom; however, providers may be contracted for work at meetings with instructors and/or advisors, as well as for tutoring, and special events, such as lectures or other college-sponsored activities. The Disability Services office needs as much advance notice as possible to schedule interpreters for events outside of the regular class schedule. Disability Services gives providers as much information as possible about each assignment (e.g., student's name, course name, instructor’s name, dates, times, and location of assignment), while at the same time notifying students of the name(s) of the assigned providers.  At the initial class meeting, students and interpreters should discuss particulars of the assignment (e.g., seating, lighting).

Additional Interpreter Time:  A student may ask an interpreter if she/he is available for services, but the interpreter must be given the assignment through the Disability Services office. Assignments that are not dispatched through Disability Services are considered to be privately contracted at the expense of the student and not Greenfield Community College. If a student needs accommodations for an event outside of regularly scheduled classes or other events (such as peer tutoring), the student must make that request through the Disability Services office as soon as possible. If the student requires a brief (5-15 min) meeting with the instructor, the student should first check with the interpreter to find out if they are available and still under contract.

Inclement Weather: In the event of inclement weather, it is the responsibility of the student and interpreters to determine if inclement weather has caused a delayed opening or a closure of the College. Up-to-date information is available on Greenfield Community College’s home webpage, or by calling Greenfield Community College’s weather advisory storm line at (413) 775-1010.

If the college is closed, the student does not need to contact the interpreters.

When there is a delayed opening, the classes that begin prior to the delayed opening time are cancelled by the College. If the student does not have any other scheduled classes, then the student does not need to contact the interpreters.

For classes that begin after the delayed opening time, the student needs to contact the interpreters to let them know if they will, or will not, be attending their classes. An email notification should also be sent to the Disability Services Administrative Assistant.

Late for Class: The student needs to contact the interpreter(s) to let them know their expected arrival time to class. To minimize class disruptions, interpreters will not enter a classroom until the student arrives. If the student does not contact the interpreter(s), then the interpreter(s) will wait 15 minutes for every hour of class time for the student to arrive (e.g., 15 minute wait time for a 50-60 minute class, 30 minutes for a 2 hour class). If the student does not arrive by the end of the wait time, the interpreter(s) may leave.

If Student Will Not Be Attending Class: As soon as the student knows that they will not be attending class, they need to contact the interpreter(s). An email notification should also be sent to the Disability Services Administrative Assistant.

Student Responsibilities to Disability Services

Final Exams:  The student should contact Disability Services Administrative Assistant (as soon as possible) when they feel an interpreter is needed for final exams. The student will need to provide the Disability Services Administrative Assistant with the name of the course, the date of the exam, the beginning and end exam times, and the room number. With input from the class instructor, Disability Services will decide how many (if any) interpreters need to be present at the final exam. The interpreter who is present at the time of the exam will only interpret questions from the student to the teacher and vice versa; they will not interpret the printed English test questions.

The Interpreter is not well matched to the assignment:  Disability Services does its’ best to promptly notify and secure providers in support of the students’ access needs.  As much as possible, providers are offered assignments on the basis of the student's preferences, certification and skill levels, type of situation, prior experience, education and specialization, evaluations, availability, and reliability. Disability Services reserves the right to make the final decision as to which provider receives an assignment. If at any time a student (or provider) believes that a mismatch has occurred, this should be reported to Disability Services as soon as possible.

Incidents Involving the Student, Faculty, Staff, and/or Provider

There may be occasions when serious problems or difficult situations arise between students, faculty, staff and/or providers.  All incidents that occur must be reported to the Office of Disability Services (ODS).  Please email the Coordinator of Disability Services with a detailed description of the incident.  If you do not have email, call the Coordinator at (413) 775-1812.  Once the information has been reviewed, the Coordinator will contact you if additional information is required and/or to discuss the recommended path to resolution.

If any incidents require the services of GCC Public Safety please contact them directly at:

Non-Emergency:

CALL (413) 775-1212 (from non-campus phone) or 1212 (from a campus hall or office phone), and the ODS at (413) 775-1812 or 775-1332 (from non-campus phone), or 1812 or 1332 (from a campus hall or office phone).

Emergency:

CALL (413) 775-1111 (from non-campus phone) or 1111 (from a campus hall or office phone), and the ODS at (413) 775-1812 or 775-1332 (from non-campus phone), or 1812 or 1332 (from a campus hall or office phone).

Provider Initiated Cancellation

When a provider is unable to complete a scheduled assignment, the provider should work with the Coordinator of Disability Services to find an acceptable replacement with the appropriate skills to do the job satisfactorily.

In the event of a sudden illness or other emergency resulting in the inability to report to an assignment, or assist in locating a replacement, the provider should notify the student(s), the other provider (if a team), and the Coordinator, as soon as possible.  If a team is involved, the provider that is available to work the assignment should consider their options (below) and let the student(s) and the Coordinator know of their decision as soon as possible:

• The provider may attempt to find a team member on their own and provide that information to the Disability Services Coordinator.
• The provider may choose to do the assignment alone, negotiating with the Disability Services Coordinator and student as needed for breaks and other supports.
• The provider may choose to cancel as well.

Captioning-Print (C-Print) and Communications Access Real-Time Translation (CART) Captionists

C-Print and CART provide speech captioning services in which a hired provider listens to spoken communication in a class lecture or class discussion and transcribes this spoken information into typed text which is simultaneously received by the student on their computer. More information about  C-Print can be found at the Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf website.  Additional information on CART can be found on the National Association for the Deaf website.

FM Systems

FM Systems, also known as personal frequency modulation systems, consist of a microphone that a person speaking (such as the classroom professor) wears that is paired to transmit to the hearing aids/hearing system that the student wears.