Meeting & Agendas

MOTION by Lisa to approve previous meeting minutes; seconded by Stacey.

The Elgin Campus (EGN) is now open. It resembles South Austin Campus (SAC) and the focus there is on veterinary medicine. At this time, we are not considering offering courses at EGN but may at a later date. The Kyle campus (HYS) will be a smaller campus and will open January 2014. We will be offering one ASL I course at that location. Part of Highland Mall (HLC) has been purchased. We were bidding against another business for the mall space and then ended up partnering together. Construction will begin at HLC January 2014 with a large open Math Lab area on the ground floor and classrooms on the second floor. The HLC location will house general academic as well as developmental courses. We will offer both ASL I & II at that location.

If passed next year, RGC will be renovated. The campus has had internal facility problems that need to be addressed (but the outside will remain historical). Emily asked for everyone’s support (and support from their employees) to vote in the bond election. Emily had concerns that If the bond election doesn’t pass they may close RGC. If renovated, the ASLI program would temporarily move to the Riverside Campus (RVS) where there are already a lot of Deaf students.

Addition of Expanded ASL Studies Certificate / Revisions to current ASL Studies Certificate Emily briefly mentioned the proposals discussed at the last meeting to add courses to the ASL Studies Certificate and advised further research is needed. Ritchie advised of the need to increase the number of Paraprofessionals who have knowledge of ASL and assessment skills, and the need to expand their level of knowledge regarding ASL, grammar and the rules and structure of ASL. Presently, we have Tutors who are very fluent signers but they are unable to explain why rules are the way they are in ASL. Ritchie’s desire is to have DARS (who are mandated by the Legislature to increase the number of Interpreters) provide funding for program improvements (for mentoring, etc.). Tutors and mentors need formal training to be able to assess skills, explain and document their assessments. Ritchie added that a huge part of the problem is not having access to materials regarding the instruction of ASL. There are materials available, but they are old and need updating. An alternate solution is to bring in those who can train and develop ASL instructional materials. For example, in regards to testing, we want to be able to test students without using English, and the video process currently being used is very time consuming. We need to find a way to train Deaf professionals to set up their own businesses and specialize in ASL testing and resource development, and mentoring. Some ASL resources could include video, self-assessment, written work, apps. There is a new generation of ASL entrepreneurs, Deaf people are setting up their own businesses to sell their own linguistic materials. We need persons who will help with signing skills and improving the processing of information. Lisa asked if this particular Certificate could be used as proof of their language proficiency (for foreign language) when a student furthers their education towards a BA, but Ritchie stated there is another Certificate for that purpose and that this particular Certificate is geared towards Workforce Education. Ritchie discussed ACCs procedure for establishing certificates, noting there are two levels (Level I and Level II), the third level being the AAS. The differences between the two are that Level I doesn’t require TX Success Initiative with TSI, but Level II does (and we are focusing on Level I). These courses can be completed in one calendar year (if a full-time student), and credit hours can’t exceed 42 credit hours. These students are not required to take the TSI. These are the three components of a Level I Certificate. Regarding assessment, it is the department’s responsibility to assess the student’s level of ASL knowledge (which is also an integral part of graduation statistics reporting). The importance of the Certificate is that it has a lot of special topics. The WECM manual encompasses the entire state of TX and lists all types of standardized courses that are already being offered. If there are no special topics classes listed in the ACC catalog (or in the WECM manual) then a special topics course can be established. We are limited, however, to create one special topics course for this Certificate program. ASL V and VI should both be three and three credit hours (on purple handout). John inquired about the change from last year’s meeting regarding Introduction to Deaf Community. Ritchie advised the department has not changed the name because the internal process to make that change has not been completed. Ritchie advised the Deaf Support Specialist information is available on the handout (yellow handout) and the course descriptions listed are already established at ACC. The course offerings by WECM indicate ACC doesn’t have the courses and if the course is listed in the WECM manual, we can adopt it from WECM. The last category (Special Topics) is what we as a department would create internally. The Level I maximum credit hours are at 42 and right now, for the ASL Studies Certificate, we are looking at a total of 32 credit hours for a Level I Certificate (allowing room for additional courses to be added at some future date). The new Special Topics classes being considered for addition are ASL Literature (analyzing ASL literature, the history, the culture, etc.) and Visual Media (producing, vlogs, story-telling, different ways you can share through media and practicing how to edit those videos). The difference between Fundamentals and the Advanced Deaf Support Specialist provider classes are that the Fundamentals class focuses on potential job opportunities and helps students identify which areas they are more interested in (do they want to work as a mentor, a tutor, etc.), and once that’s been determined then the student can specialize in that area. The Advanced Deaf Support Specialist class will focus more on ASL mentoring techniques, working with students, working on developing resources and how they are disseminated (its more hands on and more specific). Also in looking at assessments, hands on training on how to do and improve their skills at an ASL Certificate level. John asked about the rationale behind adding Digital Publishing. Ritchie responded that regarding the ASL Certificate discussions that have been held, there are not a lot of materials available and so experience and fluency in different types of technology and media are needed in order to develop materials (apps, video, layouts, etc.). For example, if a student is given a project to develop curriculum or materials related to testing, how does the layout look, what software would you use to make it professional, etc. The question was posed as to whether the idea behind this would be to lead into gainful employment, and if so, should a marketing class also be considered (providing information on how to advertise their skills). Ritchie stated that marketing would most likely be included in the Advanced Deaf Support Specialist course as discussions about developing porfolios would be a part of the class. These are all employment opportunities for someone with an ASL Studies Certificate. The question was raised as to what ASL Therapy would entail. Ritchie explained that the purpose behind speech therapy is to help people with speech and language problems to speak more clearly and that is the goal of ASL Therapy. It would potentially focus on students who might have difficulty with motor movement in their hands, or someone who may have a language delay, or autism. Research shows that children with Autism really benefit from ASL communication. . Deaf Support Services Certificate This Certificate is under the responsibility of the Human Services department. Ritchie has worked on this Certificate with Lynn Beaman and asked if anyone had any feedback. In the past, the focus of this Certificate was in the educational area and now it is being broadened to include both the educational area and social services. Half of the course work is related to ASL and Deaf Studies, while the other half is related to Human Services (i.e., Introduction to Alcohol and Other Drug Addictions, Therapeutic Recreation, etc.). Ritchie referenced one of the handouts and referred to “Suggested Course for Career-Related Employment”—reiterating course selection depends on which track you are on. Whether a paraprofessional in a school setting as a teacher’s aide, or if looking for the social services track such as a group home, or Goodwill, these would be the type of courses you would take. These are examples of employment possibilities for this Certificate. Sign Communication Studies Certificate There used to be an ASL Studies Certificate (old terminology) that has now been moved under Workforce Education. Some have suggested changing the name of “Sign Communication Studies Certificate to another name. This is the Certificate that would meet the Foreign Language requirement. Emily added that students majoring in Nursing (or Vet Tech) could use this Certificate to prove they have signing skills. Ritchie is open to changing the Certificate name. CDI Track Ritchie discussed the contemplation of establishing a CDI track. The AAS already includes Interpreting but Ritchie asked if there might be a possibility for a CDI track under that. John confirmed the need for CDIs but for those hiring Interpreters now (i.e, TSD, etc.), will there be enough work opportunities for CDIs to support them on a full-time basis. John suggested employers (who are already hiring Interpreters), do research to find out what the needs are for CDI work. Lisa G. proposed using the ACAP process for obtaining that information. John also recommended hiring authorities getting together to discuss whether or not it would be beneficial for ACC to invest the time and effort to develop a CDI track for students. Lisa G. stated CDI salaries aren’t great, but that CDI certification is still needed. The CDI track is not far enough along to be its own entity but it does well being paired with the ASL & Interpreter Training program. It is the wave of the future if the money is there. Ritchie has designed the idea of the CDI track and it only diverges with five courses, with the rest of the track following the Interpreting degree; however, everything will remain on hold until Advisory Board approval. Trey added there are only a small number of CDIs in Austin and there could be a potential problem if the opportunity for CDIs arose and we couldn’t meet the need(s). Ritchie presented the idea that if we had CDIs ready to work, could they be hired to work full-time in the same manner as a free-lance Interpreter. Trey added the responsibility to educate Interpreters about what it looks like to have a CDI lies with the Interpreting profession. Certified Interpreters in the field are aware of the needs and use of CDIs and hopefully this will allow for work to expand in the future. On January 25th, Ritchie and other CDIs will be here in Austin. We have the goal of setting up a workshop to provide an opportunity for the community (both a hearing and Deaf panel, CDIs) to answer a lot of these questions about what is the purpose, when are they used, and how do I as an hearing Interpreter publicize the need for the work of a CDI. We want to support these events and need to advertise that CDIs need to be used in appropriate situations. Lisa asked about whether there are classes where students work with CDIs, is it a part of a topic in a class? Emily said there are students in class now training to become CDIs, but they need work. ACC can’t focus on CDIs only because there are hearing and deaf students in classes. Lisa asked again is there is a class that’s working with a CDI, that trains Interpreters how to work with CDIs? There is not, but students are exposed to the idea. But the philosophy and principles may be an area in the curriculum that may need to be reviewed. John asked whether or not a date had been decided upon for the workshop. The CDI representatives on the panel are: Ritchie, Franky, Fallon and Alicia. The hearing panel will have similar representatives (students and other hearing Interpreters). CDI’s are experiencing the same thing hearing Interpreters experienced previously, of those who didn’t think they needed to provide a hearing Interpreter. People in the field are unaware of CDIs and when to use them, so as a hearing Interpreter community we need to define and expand what is the perfect setting for a CDI. When hearing Interpreters arrive at their location and identify a need in the community they need to notify the scheduler or agency and let them know when a situation requires a CDI, because there are too many Interpreters who don’t know what the appropriate situation is for a CDI, but exposure and education can change all that. John liked the idea and doesn’t know which agencies have the authority to make some of those decisions and how those decisions will come into play. Trey is currently using seven CDIs at his location. John said knowing when it’s appropriate to hire a CDI and how that would be negotiated is worth discussion. Trey advised he would not be able to hire a full-time (32-hour/week) CDI (and they are using individual contractors at the moment) but he hopeful that in the future there will be enough work within the community. Travis country currently has a CDI on staff who also functions in multiple roles; which may be a starting point (to have a CDI/other roles) on staff and then as the work grows the position may be able to move into a more full-time position. Ritchie solicited support for the Certificates in order to be able to pursue the new ASL Studies Certificate, the Signs Communications and the Deaf Services Certificate in Human Services. Melinda motioned to approve the Certificate program changes in the curriculum; seconded by.Lisa.

Teresa, Instructional Design Manager @ HBC, advised the ACAP process has been successful in assisting with other programs here in the College and would be beneficial for the ASL & Interpreter Training (ASLI) area. In scheduling an ACAP event, consideration would need to be given to include at least eight (but no more than 12) business and community partners who have had experience with Interpreting and already know what ACC students’ would need (skills, etc.) in order to be effective beyond the classroom. ACAP does not maintain a list of business, community partners and would need to defer to the ASLI department and Advisory Committee to find those who are already using services. Emily advised discussions had already been held about the possibility of having three ACC graduates and three consumers (two Deaf and one hearing), and three community partners who already hire Interpreters. The purpose behind conducting the ACAP meeting would be to bring everyone together to review curriculum and provide an analysis that will aid in determining gaps within the program and aid in the development of better, measurable curriculum for the program (methods to provide consistency within the program). The initial invitation to the community experts will generate from within the department and ACAP would follow up with a reminder.

The Committee previously selected Arlene as Chair person, but she couldn’t attend today due to a scheduling conflict. Emily stated she would wait on selecting a Chair. Lisa has returned as Full-time Faculty to the ASLI department and Fallon (the newest member of the ASLI Ful-time faculty team) came on board in January. Students will be able to take ASL I as a dual-credit class at McNeil High School beginning fall 2014. The course is for a full school year, versus ACC’s 16 week classes. Emily shared all six of the May graduating class passed their BEI. She also added that since leaving the Human Services department, ASLI still had not developed a real mission statement. Adjourned @ 2:30pm.