Meeting & Agendas

Announced that all full-time Faculty in the Human Services department will soon hold Doctorates. Byron completed his Doctorate in spring of 2007; and Nathie will complete hers in December of 2007. Lisa and Emily are currently working on theirs as well. The Innovation grant allowed for needed purchases and changes in the ASL Lab; the Lab is now open 54 hours a week. The Virtual ASL Lab is also available online allowing ASL students greater access. Dan Hoffman was hired as an Adjunct fall of 2007. He is teaching upper level ASL courses. Don Miller is the new ASL Lab Assistant. He works 75% of his time in the ASL Lab and he also teaches in the ESOL department. The Interpreter Preparation Program (IPP) is growing and more courses are being added including a second section of Interpreting I (fall of 2008). Another full-time ASL Instructor will be hired to begin teaching fall of 2008 (Lynn advised hiring the Instructor by February, or March of 2008). The position is posted on the website for those who are interested. The ASL Lab now has 15 new iMACs which include Studiocode software. Training was provided for department Faculty and the new software allows students to view their videos with Instructor input. Purchased through Perkin's grant money, there are a lot of possibilities now. The students really enjoy the webcams too. Emily reported having 13 Interns ready in spring, 2008. IPP Internships will now be offered in both spring and fall.

Inquired as to the discussion about meeting twice a year (meeting together at ACC, and others who train and employ Interpreters meeting on their own). The meetings would provide the opportunity to share information regarding developing mentoring program(s), identifying long-term goals on how to improve, etc. (which would then be shared with all others on the Advisory Committee Board). MOTION by Holly to meet twice a year (once in the spring and again in the fall); seconded by Stacy. Motion approved. Corrections were made to last year's minutes. MOTION to approve corrected minutes was made by Billy; seconded by Holly. Motion approved. Stephen Baldwin was recruited to teach a drama course (he would be able to expose students to a different kind of signing). Although his course (all Deaf students) didn't make he is now teaching a 12 week course with hearing and Deaf students.

Gave accolades on the wonderful job Cathy has done as IPP Chair. The question was raised as to whether or not a 'rotation' basis for the position of Chair should be considered. Cathy advised she would be happy to stay, but would gladly step down if anyone else would be interested. The Advisory Committee Board decided to keep Cathy as Chair. Lynn discussed requiring Master's level education for all ASL/Interpreter Faculty. Presently, the minimum level of education requirement is an Associate degree. With the hiring of the incoming new ASL full-time Instructor in the spring, it would be a good time for the department to request a change in the educational minimum requirements regarding the future hiring of ASL Faculty. Currently, IPP has one ASL Instructor holding an Associates degree and one with a BA-Instructors with an Associates degree would have to leave. Requiring a Master's would be beneficial, as we may have a BA program in the future. Requiring a Master's in their teaching field, or a Master's plus 18 hours would bring us to the overall general standard with other community colleges in the State. The option to divert back to an Associate Degree would still be available, but could include 'additions'. MOTION by Stacy for the requirement of a Master's; seconded by Lauren. Fall 2008 would be a realistic time to implement this change. Motion was approved. The current job posting for the new ASL Instructor requires a Master's, but a doctorate is preferred. Byron discussed the necessity of requiring doctorates for all ASL Faculty to raise the standard of interpreting quality. He added Interpreters need to have higher credentials and that ACC needs to be selective in promoting that. RID is requiring a BA now (national level). Discussion was also held on requiring an Associate BEI by January 2012. Julie has the same problem with 'observing' versus 'interpreting.' The Intern's skill level means that frequently the Intern has to be pulled out. Lauren shared she'd asked a student from ACC to interpret for a softball team and the Intern worked out really well. DARS office has interpreting opportunities. A plea was made for agencies to commit to taking Interns (i.e., IRS Staff Interpreting, DARS had problems with their scheduling; and TSD only offers 'observation'). There is a need for more Hispanic Interpreters to be involved in the Tri-lingual program; ACC really needs to establish this. San Antonio College (SAC) currently has a Tri-lingual class. Angela indicated there will be a BEI Tri-lingual test soon; it's being piloted now. Lots of training is needed for Tri-lingual interpreting. Emily inquired if anyone had ideas on motivating Interpreters to become mentors; John also included the need for Deaf persons to become language mentors. Holly indicated Interpreters can no longer interpret in school settings without a Certificate. TSD is offering mentoring through Distance Learning for those who need BASIC level certification. Byron discussed observing an ASL immersion program in Minnesota where Deaf persons were language models within the community. John added researching the idea of obtaining grant money to pay Deaf persons to become mentors. Byron indicated the need for both Deaf and hearing mentors in order to have ASL and interpreting skills feedback. Byron discussed issues with BEI regarding the lack of feedback on their behalf regarding why Interpreters fail their tests. Someone is needed to evaluate the skills of those who fail the test so that problems can be identified and corrected. Very few Interpreters are choosing Educational interpreting upon graduation. Students seem to be uncertain as to what employment options are available and go directly into Community interpreting. They are filling the gap left by other Interpreters going into VRS. Cathy inquired that if ACC did offer a 4-year degree program would BASIC level certification be required before graduation; Byron responded with 'Yes'. Holly stated that the excitement regarding VRS is now over and the need for Interpreters in the community is back. Billy agreed everything is balancing out now and added VRS interpreting is difficult work. MOTION by Billy to explore the possibility of starting a 4-year degree program at ACC; seconded by Lauren. Motion approved. Angela stated BEI has contracted with the University of Texas in Austin (UT) to be the Administrator. She provided an update regarding the BEI testing that began January, 2007. Statistics reflect that out of the 448 students tested only 287 passed leaving a 64% passing rate. There were also complaints about the time limit; 30 of the 448 tested did not finish their exam. Another concern is the six-month waiting time before being able to test again. The BEI Board felt it was an appropriate waiting time in order to allow each person to improve their skills. Testing also reflected that of the 135 tests taken, 89 failed. BASIC level testing reflected of the 94 tests taken, only 28% passed; at the ADVANCED level of the 27 tests taken, only 30% passed; at the MASTER level of the 6 tests taken, only 1 passed. New BEI test dates have been added; and BEI seems to be going in the right direction. Stacy and John both agreed on the benefits of having higher standards. It is a challenge to train students in two years. Another meeting is being considered for spring 2008 (sometime in April in the afternoon). IPP Graduates will soon be added as new members to the Board.

Meeting adjourned at 4:00pm.